Team

We are a team of qualified teachers who are passionate about education. We have been living and teaching in Wellington for years, working in different educational institutions. We love our language and our culture, and we feel proud to guide our students in their discovery of Spain and Latin America.

photo of Cynthia

Our co-director Cynthia came to Aotearoa in 2009 after working for several years in the primary and adult education sector in Argentina. With a degree in language teaching, she has been guiding Wellingtonians through their Spanish learning for the past 10 years.

Cynthia has also worked with migrant and refugee-background students across different schools in the Wellington region. Since the completion of her qualifications in Librarianship and Information Studies in 2016, she has been working as a secondary school librarian in Porirua.

In her free time, Cynthia enjoys taking dancing classes, snowboarding on Mt. Ruapehu and discovering the best cafes in town.

Dana

photo of Dana

Our co-director Dana is passionate about teaching and has been working in this field for more than 10 years. Having taught hundreds of students over this time, she has a clear understanding of how unique and individual each learner is.

Dana completed degrees in Spanish Linguistics and Literature and a Postgraduate Diploma in Spanish as a Second Language. In 2020, she finished a PhD in Spanish at Victoria University of Wellington.

Dana is not only passionate about languages, she loves literature and good music. She is also an enthusiastic traveller who is always willing to gain a deeper understanding of other cultures.

Caro Miranda made Aotearoa her home in 2007, after spending 6 years and a bit in the UK. She has worked as a language teacher, lecturer, translator and interpreter in New Zealand, as well as in her native Argentina and the UK, where she completed a PhD in Translation and Drama.

Passionate about culture and language diversity, Caro loves being exposed to different ‘Englishes’ and ‘Spanishes’. She is into reading, travelling and spending time with her friends. But when the Wellington wind is blowing hard, she is very happy at home knitting and watching crime dramas.

Ikerne was born and raised in Mexico, but has also lived in Canada, Japan, Australia and Belgium. She has settled in New Zealand, where she has lived for 11 years. She has a PhD in Human Geography, experience with research on cultural differences and environmental practices, and loves teaching and learning languages.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, cooking and enjoying the beautiful New Zealand outdoors.

Mariel is from Uruguay, has lived in Scotland and Spain, and moved to Aotearoa in 2022. She has a BA in Translation from Udelar in Uruguay, a Master's in Localization from ISTRAD in Spain, and is currently working on her PhD in Literary Translation at Vic. She has taught English in Uruguay and Spanish in Aotearoa.

She is passionate about languages and travel and has learned most of her English and pop culture references from listening to Lorelai in Gilmore Girls. She enjoys karaoke and hiking, and dabbles in the Wellington stand-up comedy scene.

Mauricio is originally from Chile and has been living in Aotearoa since 2004. He's also lived and worked as a translator and interpreter in the United States and Germany.

He recently finished a PhD in Literary Translation Studies at Victoria University, where he tutored different levels of Spanish classes.

Mauricio is also a trained chef, and a black belt in a Chinese martial art.

Originally from Spain, Miguel has a background in Sociology and a Master’s in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language. He has taught in Sweden, Thailand, and Australia, and recently moved to Aotearoa to keep sharing his passion for the Spanish language and culture.

He’s into photography, cooking, reading, and running (so he can eat more tortilla de patatas). On weekends, you’ll probably find him exploring yet another scenic road, convinced he’s finally found the most beautiful one in New Zealand.

Mika Homolja is a third culture kid, poised in translation between languages and customs of her native Serbia and Aotearoa. Her passion for culture, identity, and belonging has paved the way to her studies and research in linguistics, anthropology, Spanish and TESOL.

She has taught languages in Spain, Macau, and locally, working with learners from all walks of life in community organizations, primary schools, and universities.

Off the clock she can be found cackling with friends and family over dinner, plotting new craft projects, making cordial from foraged plants, or working on the set of some short film.