At a glance
Countries
5
- Spain
- Brazil
- Greece
- Mexico
- Switzerland
Continents
3
- Europe
- South America
- North America
Languages
4
- Spanish (Native)
- English (Bilingual)
- French (Advanced)
- Portuguese (Basic)
A few constants
I play chess.
Bronze-league rapid on Chess.com · @marimari3399
- Rapid rating: 537
- Daily rating: 830
- Climbing slowly, mostly playing rapid
A nomadic childhood.
Spain → Brazil → Greece → Mexico → Switzerland → back to Spain.
- 5 countries before adulthood
- 3 continents crossed
- 4 languages spoken
When it clicks.
Motivated by hard problems — the kind that keep not making sense until they do.
- School: maths, further maths, chemistry, mechanics
- University: game theory, econometrics, statistics
- Now: machine learning and anything that takes time to understand
A puzzle I keep coming back to
I'm motivated by steep learning curves — problems that keep not making sense until, suddenly, they do. Tower of Hanoi is the classic: move the whole stack one disk at a time, never a larger disk onto a smaller one. Each level adds a disk and doubles the minimum moves. Have a go.
Tower of Hanoi
Move every disk from the left tower to the right tower.
- Move one disk at a time — only the one on top of a tower.
- A disk can be placed on an empty tower.
- A disk can sit on a larger one — never on a smaller one.
Tap a tower to lift its top disk, then tap another tower to drop it.
Want to see how it works in 8 lines of Python? Walkthrough of the recursive solutionMy design tasteSee more
What people (and machines) say about me
What her preschool teachers wrote
Maria conquered everyone with her charm. She entered the routine quickly, recognises the names of all her friends, communicates with everyone even before the language was fully there. She loves music, sings constantly, and faces new challenges with pleasure.
What ChatGPT would say
Multilingual software consultant with a strong data-science streak. Carlos III BBA → IE MSc in Big Data + AI → IBM mainframe consulting at BMC, with ML and analytics writing on the side. International childhood across five countries shows up in how she works: switches contexts quickly, brings rigour to chess and statistics alike, and pairs strategic depth with a designer's eye.
What I'd say after building this with her
Iterates fast, knows when to delete. Sends screenshots with one-word verdicts and expects me to figure out the rest. Strong opinions on taste, held loosely enough to redirect when something is off. Cares about authenticity more than polish — would rather sound like herself than sound impressive. Lives across countries, languages, and disciplines without making any of them feel like the headline.
Six countries, two Madrids, one me
Madrid, Spain
1997
I was born in Madrid on 19 May 1997. When I was one and my brother was two, we moved to Rio — and the journey began.
Me 
My brother, two years older than me Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1998–2000
When I was one we moved to Rio. According to my mum, I learned Portuguese before Spanish — I have no clue if that's true, but I don't know Portuguese.
Flamengo cap — Portuguese came before Spanish 
As Batutinhas — music, songs, kindergarten Athens, Greece
2001–2003
St. Catherine's was my first real school. My sister was born while we were living here — but Vigo is where I say I'm from if people ask.
St. Catherine's — first real school, with my brother 
My sister, born here — but Vigo still feels like home Mexico City, Mexico
2003–2006
Greengates School. A new family member arrived around then… or something like that.
Casi — newest family member, instantly the favourite Montreux, Switzerland
2007–2010
St George's, the ski team, and piano lessons at school — there was a piano there, which is why it stuck. A lot more trains. The rhythm got sharper, the mountains got bigger, and the love for piano started here even though I haven't owned one since.
Ski team — where the discipline really set in Barcelona, Spain
2010–2015
Back to Spain, but with a more international version of me. Finished school at the British School of Barcelona — and learned that good grades come from effort, not magic.
Madrid, Spain
2015 — PresentNow
Back to Madrid, the same city the story started in — but Madrid at one and Madrid at eighteen are very different cities. Carlos III for the BBA, then IE for the MSc in Big Data + AI. The summers kept me moving: Warsaw with Santander, Vigo with CEAMSA, Madrid with EY. At BMC Software since 2023.