A CONVERSATION WITH

ELSA PÉREZ

This is not just another interview added to YOLIÉ's Journal. It's an invitation to leisurely inhabit the universe of writer Elsa Pérez. To read and understand that, through her reflections, there is a version of you seeking to flourish.
Elsa writes from a place of calm. She chooses her tone carefully and is rigorous with her words. She loves to create and contemplate beauty, but she knows that real life happens far from artifice, and she expresses it as such.
Her texts, published on her blog “Café y Diarios” are a refuge of peace, a safe place where one can be oneself. In them, literature, art, and everyday life coexist. There are recommendations from other writers, fragments of days that pass slowly, and thoughts that don't need to be resolved, or at least not with the urgency we are accustomed to. Everything is presented with the honesty of someone who writes to understand herself, and in doing so, also helps you find yourself.
This special universe is accompanied by images and paintings, which emerge from the same perspective: attention to the small, to the intimate, to what happens when no one is watching.
For Elsa, writing is a vital necessity, "medicine for the soul" as she calls it, and it is this beautiful sensibility that makes us at YOLIÉ stop to listen to her literary and artistic world.
Letters, drawings and YOLIÉ's silver art.
You are dedicated to "listening to life and expressing it in words." When did you feel that writing was a necessity and not just a form of expression?
Precisely when I discovered that expressing oneself is not optional. I believe writing came to save my life, and today it has become my way of savoring it intensely.
I was a very small child, in the literal sense of the word, I thought small and expressed myself quietly, but, thank God, that ended up making a tremendous noise inside me.
Although my parents have always supported and loved me, years passed and I myself put chains and limits on myself. My priority was to survive. I lived forced and disguised because I didn't know myself. I didn't believe I had the right to inhabit my true nature, I didn't even know of its existence.
There came a time when I had no disguises left nor the desire to put them on. I got tired of fighting myself. I ended up truly exhausted and simply surrendered to what I am, without even knowing what that meant. I surrendered to simply moving by instinct and thus did the only thing that keeps me alive to this day: telling myself the truth. Expressing myself. And I did it in silence, to listen to myself loudly, on paper. Through writing, I learned to love myself and, since then, we walk and savor life hand in hand. It is the best gift I could give myself.
How does your creative process begin? Does space influence it at that moment?

Something unmistakable is the intuitive pulse.
My intuition is what plants the seed for everything that is now an article on my blog, a sketch in my notebook, a character in my novel...
I usually feel it in my chest and I like to imagine it as a little light that flickers and asks things of me.
Perhaps to jot down a word in my notebook, to go to my journal to muse over an idea, to underline a quote from a book... Or even things that are seemingly unrelated to writing, like having coffee with someone, leaning in to smell something, picking up a small flower from the ground, or going into an antique shop.
I unconsciously meet its needs, and then, consciously, I give them form in the intimacy of my desk, perhaps with a couple of coffees and in silence.
Silence is undoubtedly something I value above any other element when writing.
As one of my favorite authors, Carlos R. Zafón, used to say, "Writing is rewriting. You write for yourself, and then you rewrite for others."
“Café y Diarios” is a very personal place. Why is it special to you and what are you trying to convey through your writing?
It's an ecosystem of words that was born relatively few months ago, and I'm very excited to see how much it has grown in this time. The special affection I have for it is because I perceive it as an embryo of what will one day be my written universe. It is the beginning of something greater.
Having created this space allows me to honor the reason why I have been given a body capable of opening my eyes every morning, which is none other than the act of creating, enjoying it, and finally, giving it to the world. Like a mother who dresses her daughter as a bride and finally opens the doors of the house for her to experience her choices freely.
Writing began as the antidote to my ills, or rather, it illuminated everything I refused to acknowledge, and today, it is a kind of sweetener to my existence. The little spoonful of sugar. It reminds me that no matter what happens, it all always comes down to the best gift being alive. Little else.
To exist, with all that it entails, is a true miracle, and writing is what anchors me to that way of thinking and living.
By writing, I live attentively. Being very aware of the true value of everything around me. That is the gift I give myself through writing and the one I intend to offer to anyone who wishes to read me.
You also express yourself through painting and share spoken reflections. What place do these other forms of creation hold in your life?
I believe that the different artistic manifestations through which I express myself are attached to my skin. They have been part of my language since the day I was born. I believe that they choose me; I have simply learned to surrender, to let myself be a channel.
Writing appeared later in life, but painting has cradled and nurtured me since I can remember.
I don't know a life without easily turning to it. Simply for fun and for the pleasure of giving physical life to something that already exists in my head.
Especially through pencil, beyond watercolors, oils, acrylics... I have always felt a devotion to the beauty of pencil strokes on cream-colored surfaces, which is the tone I choose for my pads and notebooks.
As for spoken reflections, I enjoy hearing my voice read what I write and also exploring new ways to share words, thoughts, and emotions.
How would you describe your lifestyle?
I am a very solitary person, and my life has found a curious balance. It's as if I'm given a reprieve, weeks and days of tranquility, in silence, where seemingly nothing changes.
As if I ration challenges or exciting, frantic, and stimulating events, in between long periods of calm and normalcy. I believe this is so I can receive them with renewed energy and open arms, ready to experience and test myself.
While life surprises me, I dedicate myself to reading, writing; currently, I'm learning a lot about ancient Greece and its mythology. I attend French and theater classes, get lost in the art section of the library, have dinners, coffees, and drinks with loved ones... I walk a lot by the river and through the historic center of my city. There are days when I simply don't consume anything because my mind doesn't feel like it; it asks me to simply be bored staring at the ceiling, to empty myself and renew myself before filling up again.
What inspires you on a daily basis?
To be fully present wherever I am. I am a very analog and curious person. Living attentively is what inspires me most, so I don't miss the small and unnoticed details. I find them to be the most beautiful.
I adore the shapes of lampposts (I've always found them beautiful), black and white photography, the color of coffee and worn wood, the taste of wine, spoonfuls of honey and old objects, the sound of my heels as I walk, the piles of books that adorn the corners of my room, piano music and Joan Báez, ink on my diary, a glass of water, my unmade-up face in the mirror, thinking about words I love like "attune," "harmony"...
If we're talking about writing, Carlos Ruíz Zafón's novels are one of my greatest sources of inspiration. I love the rawness of his crude and sensitive aesthetic; the richness of his descriptions captivates me and makes my skin tingle. When I read his stories, time slips through my hands like water and I barely perceive my surroundings. He manages to make me uncomfortable and embrace me at the same time. But that's the magic of art, isn't it? To make us feel.
Understanding this interview also as a space for reflection, what helps you connect with the most honest version of yourself?
Talking to myself and looking at my hands. In moments of doubt and distrust, I observe myself from afar and laugh a little at myself; I see myself as very sweet for being afraid. Because deep down, I always keep in mind that I'm nothing more than a human existing for a little while.
My hands are very special to me. They are a kind of anchor. When I look at them, I remember who I am. I remember that I don't have to fit into any mold. That I can be calm because there's no hurry and, above all, that I don't need to try to convince or please anyone.
That I don't have to follow a script to be what I already am, and that I haven't come to compete, neither me nor anyone else.
That allows me to be real and let others be real too. It's very liberating, and I love it.
At this vital moment, where do you want to go? Maybe you don't know, and that's okay too. In that case, what is it that you always want to accompany you and that you wouldn't want to lose from your essence?
Fidelity to my intuition is what I will never let go of for anything in the world. I perceive my life as my greatest work of art. It is my most intimate and important creation. That's why, to create it in a way that makes sense to me, I apply the same technique as with everything else: following my intuitive pulse.
This replaces the burden of control with the lightness of trust. For now, what it asks of me is to keep writing, creating, sharing, and learning. It asks me to keep studying languages, training in illustration, history, philosophy, enjoying my theater group, reading and traveling, gathering elements that will nourish the novels and stories I will one day write.
And, once I finish my degree in Political Science, that I direct my steps towards the world of culture, art, academic research... I don't think I will ever satisfy my curiosity or my desire to create and learn. I don't think I will ever stop being a channel for everything that wants to express itself through me, at least as long as I am alive.
There are thousands of things I want to experience. I think it's fortunate to live in such a big and varied world.
What does a piece of jewelry represent to you?
The art of jewelry seems precious to me. Especially silver, it reminds me of the subdued, calm, and silent elegance of the moon, an energy with which I strongly identify.
I love to notice every small piece and think that it carries the essence of whoever created it one day. Adorning myself with jewelry is a pleasure. And, precisely so that it remains so, so that the pieces do not lose their charm and elegance, I like to wear them in small doses. My jewels are silver treasures that I keep for special occasions.
The rest of the time, I usually decorate my ears with a pair of simple hoops and... little else. It's my way of truly enjoying them.
Do you have any that are special for what they symbolize or remind you of?
If I had to highlight one, it would be a small golden "botón charro" that belonged to my father's mother. She always wore a small golden bracelet with these small buttons linked together. When she passed away, my uncles unlinked the buttons and gave one to each grandchild.
Today it hangs from the chain I received for my First Communion and reminds me both of her and my city, as the "botón charro" is a piece of jewelry belonging to the traditional folklore of Salamanca.
If YOLIÉ were...
  • An emotion:
    For me, YOLIÉ represents the serenity and elegance of a soul that does not need the attention of another to exist.
  • A work of art:
    I think it would be the “Veiled Virgin.” It is a beautiful bust sculpted in Carrara marble by Giovanni Strazza in Rome in the mid-19th century. It depicts the Virgin Mary with a serenity and sensuality that remind me of Yolié's values. Her closed eyes are a symbol of spirituality and introspection, and the damp veil covering her face is, for me, an ode to the intimate and true sensitivity of the female soul.
  • A scent:
    Perhaps the smell of white wine. Its serene and mature freshness is enriched with the passage of time, and Yolié has made it clear that her art, like the taste of a good wine, is timeless and elegant.
    In addition, the role of wine, like that of jewelry, is one of accompaniment and elevation. I believe both are the perfect adornment for a good conversation.
  • A song:
    The French melody of "L'amour" by Carla Bruni comes to mind. I think its leisurely energy and Carla's voice very much reflect Yolié's essence.
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Your YOLIÉ favorites:

Ever since I saw the Bernia earrings, I fell in love with them. The rings from the new "Essence" collection, especially the Prasolita Solitaire, seem beautiful to me. I really like how they adapt to the anatomy of the hands. When I looked at my fingers with the rings on, it seemed beautiful how they seemed to glide between them, as if they were endowed with a life of their own.
The same thing happens to me with the Delos pendant in silver and the natural lightness with which it seems to descend through the cavity that breathes between the collarbones. It's beautiful.
Elsa Perez's Favorite Jewelry

Discover more about Elsa Pérez at @elsaprzz_ and on her page @cafeydiarios.