You know Pablo Picasso, the famous painter, right? He was born here in Malaga, on the other side of the city centre. And he spoke those famous words: Sólo hay una manera de ver las cosas, hasta que alguien nos muestra cómo verla con diferentes ojos – It means: there is only one way to see things, until someone shows us how to look at them with different eyes. He was right, you know. I realised that a year and a half ago, when I was walking home from work rather desperate, after having just quit my job.

 

My name is Pilar Ramos Gil, I live in the Barrio de los Artes, Soho. I am 55 years old, happily married with two children who already live on their own. I have a Bachelor’s in Business Administration. For many years I worked for a large marketing multinational. 

 

There, I was one of the few women, the majority were men. Despite the fact that I was more educated than most of them, I was always the one who had to do the shitty work while my male colleagues got the exciting and bigger projects. And it was always them who got a promotion and a higher salary. 

 

One day, this young new male trainee and I both pitched on a concept that has to be presented to an important client. I really rocked that pitch and would have definitely won the client for us. But they choose the boy over me. I could not believe it. This was definitely not in the company’s best interest. So, I went to my boss and asked him if he really thought this boy was their best chance. 'Dear Pilar,' he said. 'You’re a nice girl. And quite beautiful. But this is a men’s world. Would you be so kind to bring me some coffee?' That was the straw that broke the camel's back. I resigned. And he didn’t even care. He just smiled and said: 'You can walk yourself out, right? Buen día, cariña.'

 

I walked right out of the building and strolled through the streets of Soho for hours. We have these nice streets full of beautiful urban street art by famous graffiti artists from all over the world, thanks to this really great project to transform and rehabilitate the rather obscure neighbourhood that Soho once was, into a more trendy, cultural barrio. I love it. I love the creativity. It always makes me happy. But that day I didn’t even look. I was too upset. Did I really just quit my job? How could I ever explain that to my husband? We just redecorated our apartment in this beautiful traditional three-story building. Could we even stay there without me having an income? What if I could not get a new job soon?

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I finally ended up in the Calle Vendeja. There, every wall shouts out 'MALAGA LOVES ART' in this really huge, coloured letters of the famous Italian graffiti artist TVBoy. That’s when I realised, I actually did not want a new job. And I certainly did not want a new boss. I looked at myself with different eyes. And I thought: If Soho could be transformed by art, then so could I.  

 

And I did. Look at me. Instead of being kept small under a glass ceiling, I stepped in the shoes of Picasso. I am part of Malaga’s inspiring contemporary art scene of sculptors, photographers, ceramists, jewellery designers and other painters. Every Sunday I exhibit my paintings at Malaga’s best arts and crafts street market, and I am one of the driving forces of the project ‘Made in Soho’. That’s where my BBA still comes in handy. I have my own atelier, located just around the corner of the Teatro del Soho. It is small, but it makes me happy, as do the tourists who enjoy my open-air painting workshops. 

 

My husband is my biggest fan. He supported me from the moment I told him my decision. He had this incredible faith in me, that I had missed so much all these years working for the company. I am happy now. And I really hope you are too. And if you are ever near, feel free to visit me. I will show you how to look at the world you thought you knew and still be surprised.