“I design underwear and beachwear and specialize in corsets. Women are sexy and I like to bring the good things out. It is important to have a unique style and I like to work with a combination of the materials. The classic bikini has been around for 30 years but there are little things you can change. In Cuba, the design is difficult to make because we have almost nothing and you have to use what you have and you come up with crazy things. It is not important if it is a fabric from five years ago if you combine it with something else. It would not be possible in Berlin to present a bathing suit in the same fabric that you used a year ago. There is not the same rhythm of fashion in Cuba. It is just important that it is beautiful. It is not easy to design here and you have to be very creative. I had a shop in Berlin until 2006. I got a divorce and closed everything and we moved to Havana and I opened a shop here. It is pure inspiration. I see something new every day — the colors, the people, the light, the sea. Cubans are so human and they are not rushed. It is the young and the old living together. All colors and ages are integrated in society. They live life outside because there are so many people living in one space. It is also very hot. They are connected and like brothers and sisters. It is very different. I didn’t know anyone when I moved here and didn’t speak one word of Spanish. I have learned everything living.”