Mis Recuerdos with Maya Ojalvo
Maya Ojalvo shares a mini guide to Washington, D.C., her favorite souvenirs, and why Tel Aviv is her favorite place in the world!
Hey there!
By the time you get this email, I’ll be in Malaga, Spain! The excitement to be back in Europe is very real because this is the first time we are back since 2019 - right before the world shutdown. Thomas and I will be in Malaga for a little over a week, exploring and attending a family wedding. I created an easy itinerary with some gems that I’m so excited to share with you all. For now, please follow along on Instagram, where I’ll share a few sneak peeks of this trip.
Today, I have the pleasure of introducing you to Maya Ojalvo, a beautiful human I met through El Camino Travel a few months ago. Maya and I instantly connected over our shared passion for exploration and deep appreciation for hotels. She is a true multi-hyphenate; currently, Maya serves as the Brand Experience Manager at The Line Hotel in Washington, D.C. She is also a cinematographer, writer (with an amazing newsletter about intuitive living that you should subscribe to), photographer, and brand consultant. I can talk to her for hours - her insight, travel experiences, and curiosity are inspiring.
I hope you enjoy this conversation with Maya, where she shares insights from her travel experiences in Tel Aviv, the Republic of Georgia, and Havana, Cuba, and offers a unique perspective on travel, creativity, and storytelling.
What is your story?
Hi! I was born in Bridgeport, CT, and I am a first-generation American–my mum is from Trinidad and Tobago, and my dad is from Israel. At the age of 3, we moved to South Florida–Boca Raton to be exact. I spent my childhood going to Miami on the weekends with my family to buy freshly rolled cigars for my dad in Little Havana and eating lots of Cuban food. Our core friend group was from all over the world–Taiwan, Sweden, England, Venezuela, Austria, etc.- and was a very rich fabric of fun and culture. When I was 11, we moved back to Connecticut (talk about a culture shock!), and it took me a bit of time to adjust and rediscover my identity in this starkly different environment. I feel like I never really found my footing in New England in my teens. I ended up going to University in Israel. I lived in a small beach town north of Tel Aviv, and it was truly paradise. I spent a lot of quality time with my father’s extended family and often made Shabbat dinner (Friday night) with my grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. I became who I am today during my time in Israel.
Tell us about the concept and inspiration behind Mojalvo?
MOJALVO originated as a blog (I spy with my MOJALVO eye) back when I was in Uni. I was taking many photographs of my time abroad–the beach, the high holidays, and the food, and I always loved journaling and writing but never thought I was especially good at it. One day over coffee, one of my closest friends told me, "Maya, you need to start writing more. In public!" she convinced me to start sharing some of my writing with some of the photos on that blog. Fast forward, and the blog became my business, focused on photography, videography, and brand consulting. "MOJALVO" is actually my first initial and Ojalvo, which is my paternal family's name. Ojalvo originates in Spain and has been our family name since the 1400s (maybe even before!) It has journeyed with us through our diasporic Jewish migration from Spain to Turkey and finally to Israel. When my grandparents married in Israel, they changed their last name to Oren– a very palatable Israeli name and kept Ojalvo as a middle name. My whole family now has Ojalvo as our middle name. Ojalvo derives from the Spanish word "ojala, " which means "I wish." It feels very powerful to carry this name and my ancestors' wishes forward into this lifetime.
In your experience as a traveler, hospitality professional + storyteller, what have you learned about the importance of traveling and pushing yourself to explore the world.
I have always had a deep curiosity about the world and this planet that we inhabit, and it always felt a bit like a “duty” to share the way I see the world through my unique perspective. Traveling is not the easiest for me–as much as I travel, I actually have a lot of travel anxiety, so each trip is coupled with a lot of stressful build-ups. But each time I arrive at my destination, it is so worth it for the new perspective it earns me and the stories I get to gather. I think the most important part of traveling is to learn about the different ways life can be approached and lived. How are humans in this place celebrating? How do they approach rest? How do they gather? I love picking up on these nuances and bringing them back into the folds of my own life. I am also a big supporter of slowing travel down. For me, it doesn’t matter if I see everything on this planet in this lifetime. What does matter is how deeply I connect with (and inevitably fall in love with) a place and its unique customs and culture.
Travels / D.C and Beyond
For someone visiting D.C, where should they go for:
Coffee/Breakfast | I LOVE Yellow for breakfast and coffee. I’m obviously all about Middle Eastern food and lifestyle, and Yellow has it. Don’t miss their labneh za’atar croissant and if you’re visiting in the height of summer, their flavored iced lattes are insanely delicious.
Dinner/Drinks | Compass Rose is one of my favorite bars in the city–it’s such an institution and their amber and natural wines list is an OG. I actually went with the restaurant team to the Republic of Georgia in 2018 to help harvest the grapes for one of the wines on their menu–Baia’s!
Another not-to-miss spot for dinner is Bammy’s. The chefs are incredible and are cooking up some of the best Caribbean food (heavy Trinidadian influence) in DC (in my humble opinion!).
I also love Bronze, a newer spot (Afro Futurism themed) for drinks. The ambience is super cool.
There are so many more places I love but I’ll stop here!
Shopping | I have to admit that I’m hard on DC and it’s lack of robust shopping options for my specific taste, but I do have my little pockets that I like to explore. Generally, I’d say there are brands I follow that are based here that I love such as: Shopkeepers, Libby and My, Jungli Vintage, REWILD, She loves me, Salt and Sundry, Ron David, etc.
Culture + Art | ALL of the FREE Smithsonian museums! The National Museum of African American History and Culture is a showstopper. I have a soft spot for the gift shop at the Native American Museum and love buying books on Native American spirituality and sage bundles here. The Hirshhorn is a must-see (don’t miss the Dolcezza Gelato pop up inside!), the Botanical Gardens, the Arboretum, and the National Portrait Gallery are also faves.
Will you share your top three destinations you’ve traveled to and a few sentences as to why they were great.
Tel Aviv! Tel Aviv will always be my favorite place on this earth. I love how the city is right up against gorgeous beaches and there is a really robust coffee culture there. There’s this laid back yet super cool factor to the vibes and people who live in the city, and so many cool shops and cafes to explore. There is NOTHING that compares to a day spent in Tel Aviv, sitting outside with a cup of coffee and an “aruchat boker”, or traditional israeli breakfast of eggs any style, toast, tahini, chopped salad, and jams, with your feet tucked under you and a friend to chat with, and then wandering the winding streets canopied by beautiful trees and flowers, ending the day with a watermelon and Bulgarian cheese on the shores of the Mediterranean.
Republic of Georgia. This was a trip of a lifetime, and felt like a completely different universe. I would go back tomorrow to continue exploring the nooks and crannies of the country. We spent a lot of the trip in Tbilisi and then out West at a vineyard helping with an amber wine harvest. Tbilisi is super, SUPER cool–like, everyone is dressed in such a fashionable way and there are so many interesting designers and brands coming out of the city. We stayed at the Stamba Hotel, and it blew me away. The hotel felt as though you stepped into a Wes Anderson film, and the rooms have golden tubs. There’s an incredible flea market in the center of town that should not be missed, and many delicious spots for Georgian food. I would love to go back and get to Kazbegi and stay at the Rooms Hotel up there. It looks magical.
Havana, Cuba. Another place that felt surreal to me. I had an incredible time here on an El Camino Trip, where I photographed the travelers. Our guide was a Santera, and learning about her religion and rituals was fascinating. We did a lot of dancing, eating, and listening to music. I would go back and visit again; there’s so much more to experience on that island.
What’s a ritual/practice that you hold close to your heart because it reminds you of your culture/heritage?
DANCING + Turkish coffee! I dance a lot, using free movement and listening to Israeli, Turkish, and Afrobeats music. Connecting with this music on a somatic level feels like I am connecting with my ancestry and feels very centering. I also love sitting for Turkish coffee–in Israel; we have “cafe chachor” or black coffee/ Turkish coffee grounds in the morning. Here in the States, I’ll make myself a cup of Turkish coffee in the afternoon or go to The Turkish Coffee Lady or Green Almond Pantry to have a cup out. It’s really special to enjoy this version of coffee, and it is usually sipped with a friend or two, so it connects me to the laid-back coffee culture of Israel and my family, who have Turkish roots.
Name a favorite recuerdo (souvenir) that has a lot of meaning for you.
Gosh, I have so many. Every time I travel, I bring home something that signifies my trip. One of my favorite recuerdos is this shirt I bought in Colombia. I discovered this designer in Cartagena on my first day on the ground there–I was wandering and exploring alone and just taking everything in. I stumbled upon the shirt– a linen, collarless button-down with hand-made tassel beadwork on the lapels. It is stunning, and I barely wear it because I don’t want to ruin it! Haha. Apparently, there are only 8 of them in the world, 2 in each size run.
Where can people learn more about your work?
Mojalvo.substack.com for my newsletter On Holiday!
Follow on Instagram: @MOJALVO
www.mojalvo.com for creative consultation and my print shop!