We talk with Xavier Menós, Audiovisual Communication at UPF (2003). He is living in New York and currently working as a photographer and Shakira's community manager.

- From Sudanell (Segrià) to New York. How do you deal with that change?

I always say that the real change was moving from Sudanell to Lleida at the age of 13. After, Barcelona was where I discovered myself, and New York was where I was able to reinvent myself and make a lot of dreams come true, including some I could never have imagined. You might say that there are two rivers that run through my life: the Segre and the Hudson. 

- You earned your master’s degree in the US. How did you end up there?

I applied for a ”la Caixa” grant when I was working at Localia Barcelona. I got it and enrolled on a two-year master’s degree programme at the New School in New York. When I graduated, I sent my CV to Shakira, so I’ve never stopped. Everything has happened very quickly, one thing after another. 

- When you first enrolled on the Audiovisual Communication programme, what did you really want to do?

The world of communication has changed a lot in fifteen years. When I was in Barcelona, I loved documentaries, and I always say that social media have been an excuse to take pictures and travel. For a while, I was torn inside between photography and social media. In the end, I reached a point where I realized they were not incompatible.

- You are currently Shakira’s community manager. Did you ever think you would end up working in this field?

The truth is I didn’t. I always say that you have to dream in the abstract. If you dream about very specific things, you end up generating a lot of unhappiness. People sometimes ask me, ‘How did you manage to get a job with Shakira?’ And I say, ‘By thinking I would never work with her.’ If you focus on something very specific, you can miss a lot of opportunities.

- What is a typical day in the life of a community manager like?

No two days are the same; every day is different. It all depends on whether you are in the middle of a song release, on tour, if it’s Fashion Week. What is true is that I am never away from my phone.

- You also work in the world of photography.

It’s what I like most. I am most myself when I am behind a camera: time stops, I’m happy, and I feel fulfilled. Last September and February, in New York, I shot 12 shows, from Calvin Klein to Michael Kors, by way of Delpozo, Oscar de la Renta, etc. I was backstage and at the runway. It’s when I’m taking pictures that I feel closest to the self I always dreamed of.

- Future plans… Where are you headed?

I would really like to write a book about networks. I think I have a lot of stories to tell. I would like to come back to Barcelona soon, too: I’ve been in the US for ten years now, and I think maybe it’s time to come back and live here. I would also like to work for an NGO. In fact, I’d like to make a career change and reinvent myself.

- What memories do you have of UPF?

So many! I think it was the best decision I ever made. I have a lot of memories of my teachers, of Domènec Font, Núria Bou, Xavi Pérez, Jordi Balló... They were the best years, because I was doing what I had dreamed of. UPF also opened my eyes to telling stories. When I went to the US, I got to waive a lot of subjects, because I had already taken them here. It helped me a lot to have such a strong background. 

- If you had to offer a word of advice to today’s communication students, what would it be?

I would tell them to keep at it. Not to listen to the naysayers who tell them they won’t be able to find a job when they graduate. To focus on not closing doors, but rather opening new ones. And not to forget the theory, because the theory gives us a basis that sets us apart from the rest.