Lost in the Olives Is Where I Found Myself

Sometimes you have to leave everything familiar behind to find yourself.

I never imagined I would end up living among centuries-old olive trees, in an old masseria in southern Italy, building a project that brings together so many parts of my life.

I am Mexican. I was born and raised in a country where family, color, food, art, and traditions are woven into everyday life. Mexico is still present in everything I do, even though my home is now in Puglia, overlooking the Adriatic Sea.

For many years, my life revolved around communications, television, marketing, fashion, and design. I worked at companies such as TV Azteca and Sony Pictures, started my own businesses, and later moved into architecture and interior design projects.

I became used to working, creating, solving problems, and starting over. I have always been restless, drawn to transforming spaces and doing things my own way.

But there came a point when I felt I wanted something different. I did not know exactly what I was looking for. I just knew I needed a different way of living.

From Mexico to Puglia: An Unplanned Story

My arrival in Puglia was not the result of some grand business plan. It was one of those unexpected encounters that end up changing your life.

Together with my brother, José Ramón Andreu, I decided to buy an old rural property near Ostuni. It was surrounded by acres of land and more than a thousand olive trees, some of them centuries old.

There was something special about the place. The architecture, the light, the stone walls, the silence, and the proximity to the sea reminded me of Mexico. Two countries that seem so different have a great deal in common once you know them: the importance of family, a connection to the land, long meals around the table, and the way we welcome people into our homes.

The property had a history long before we arrived. I did not want to erase it or turn it into somewhere that could be anywhere in the world. I wanted to respect its origins while giving it a new life.

Masseria + Hacienda = Mascienda

The name came out of a conversation with Panos, my partner in life and in this adventure.

He is Greek, from Athens, and also comes from the worlds of fashion and design. We share a similar sensibility, even though our cultures and ways of looking at things are different.

One day, while we were trying to define the project, Panos combined two words: masseria, the traditional farmhouse of Puglia, and hacienda, such a recognizable part of Mexican architecture. That is how Mascienda was born.

Guadalupe came naturally. It is part of my name, my family history, and my Mexican roots. It is also a reference to Our Lady of Guadalupe, who is so present in my country’s culture.

In a way, Mascienda Guadalupe brings our worlds together: Mexico, Greece, and Italy.

My brother and I began this story by buying the property. Panos and I then set about imagining and shaping its interiors, decoration, identity, and the way we would welcome guests.

We did not want to build a conventional hotel. We wanted to create a place where we ourselves would want to live. And that is exactly what we did.

A Mexican Home in the Italian Countryside

When we started designing the interiors, I knew Mexico had to be present, but I did not want the place to feel like a stage set.

I wanted authentic pieces made by artisans, objects with stories, and materials that could sit naturally alongside Puglian architecture.

We brought equipal chairs from Jalisco, black pottery from Oaxaca, alebrijes, papel picado, and crafts from different regions of Mexico. We also included jaguar pieces from Chiapas by artist Elena Bautista.

Every room has its own personality, and many are named after places in Mexico: Oaxaca, Michoacán, Jalisco, Veracruz, Tulum, Cancún, Coyoacán, and Frida.

I love bringing together objects that, at first glance, might not seem to belong together. A Mexican piece can sit beautifully beside a contemporary Italian lamp, an antique, or something discovered on a trip.

I do not believe too much in rigid design rules. I believe in intuition, proportion, materials, and, above all, feeling good in a space.

Panos has a saying we often repeat: “We are not perfect, but we are unique.” I think it describes what we have created rather well.

Hospitality Begins at Home

There is one thing about Mexico I have never wanted to lose: the way we welcome people.

In my country, when someone comes to your home, you offer them a drink, ask whether they have eaten, and make them feel welcome. You do not need a protocol to be a good host.

That idea was central to creating Mascienda Guadalupe. I wanted our guests to feel they were arriving at a home with personality, not a hotel where everything is calculated and every experience feels the same.

That is why we have worked with our team to share this warm, generous Mexican approach to hospitality.

We are not looking for cold perfection. We would rather offer a genuine smile, a spontaneous conversation, and the freedom for everyone to experience the place at their own pace.

There are no televisions in the rooms. Instead, there are gardens, terraces, olive trees, pools, books, art, and time to talk. Sometimes the real luxury is simply having time.

La Lupita, Don Ramón, and Memories of Mexico

Food had to be part of this story.

We created La Lupita, our Mexican restaurant, where we have welcomed Mexican chefs in residence to share our cuisine with guests.

For me, Mexican food is much more than a collection of recipes. It is tied to childhood, travel, family gatherings, and memories.

Certain flavors take me straight home. Café de olla, for example. Or listening to Los Panchos and remembering that part of Mexico that stays with me wherever I am.

There is also Don Ramón, our bar, named in honor of my father.

I like these names and small details to have personal meaning. They are not choices made purely for aesthetic or commercial reasons. They are part of my life.

Art as Part of Everyday Life

Art has always been part of my work.

Before coming to Italy, I had already spent many years working in design and transforming spaces. But at Mascienda I found the chance to bring several of my passions together in one place.

That is why we decided to include a gallery, a design and craft shop, and a program of cultural gatherings and artist residencies.

I am especially interested in introducing Mexican talent to audiences in Italy and creating conversations among artists, artisans, designers, and people from different cultures.

I did not want art to be something we simply hung on the walls to decorate the rooms. I wanted it to be part of the experience of being here.

I wanted guests to discover a piece, meet an artist, or take home something with a story behind it.

What the Olive Trees Taught Me

Building Mascienda Guadalupe has been one of the hardest projects of my life.

Restoring an old property in another country, learning to work with different rules, another language, new suppliers, and a different business culture has required a great deal of patience.

There have been wonderful moments and some genuinely difficult ones.

I came from a very active professional life, used to making quick decisions and having a certain amount of control. In Puglia I have had to learn that things do not always happen when you want them to.

The olive trees around us have stood here for hundreds of years. They have survived change, storms, and entire generations. Living among them has changed my relationship with time.

I have also learned to appreciate things I once overlooked: walking through the countryside with our dogs, Maya and Kira, watching the light change throughout the day, cooking dinner for friends, or simply sitting and looking at the landscape.

For years, I was focused on building projects. Here, while still working, I am also learning to enjoy living in them.

Love, Family, and New Chapters

Mascienda is also a love story.

Panos left his life in Athens to join me in this project. Together, we have built a home and a way of life that blends our two personalities.

Of course, we do not always agree. We both have strong personalities, our own opinions, and a very personal relationship with design. But perhaps that is why the result feels so much like us.

It is a family story, too. Without my brother José Ramón, this adventure would never have begun in quite the same way.

And it is a story of faith. Guadalupe has always been with me and, somehow, found her place here in southern Italy as well.

Over the years, I have come to understand that changing your life does not mean leaving behind who you were. Everything I did before—the years of work, the travels, the people I met, the projects that succeeded and those that did not—is part of who I am today.

A Different Way of Thinking About Success

For a long time, success meant completed projects, companies, results, and the next set of goals.

I still have plans and so many ideas. Mascienda is far from a static project.

I want it to keep growing as a meeting place for different cultures, with more art, food, design, and experiences connected to our land.

But the way I measure things has changed.

Now I also care about having time to enjoy what we have built. Sitting down to dinner with Panos, welcoming friends from Mexico, walking among the olive trees, or sharing a conversation with someone who arrived as a guest and ended up becoming a friend.

I do not know whether I will ever consider Mascienda completely finished. Probably not. I always find something to change, improve, or imagine.

What I do know is that this place has given me something I was not consciously looking for: the chance to get to know myself again, far from the life I had built over so many years.

“Lost in the olives is where I found myself.”

And perhaps that is the simplest way to tell my story.

Jennifer Andreu
Co-founder & Creative Director — Mascienda Guadalupe
Ostuni, Puglia, Italy