FROM OUR EDITOR

I find it difficult to verbalize what MENTES is to me, and above all, to describe what it has been like to build this book (MENTES Vol_1) and the impact it has had on me.

MENTES is a team, we are Luis, Javi, Isa, Erag, Raúl, and me; but most importantly, each one of you. To think that in only one year we could build this and be together in Laguna on June 26, seemed like an impossible idea. Thank you Irina for putting your trust in this project from day one, a day where opend your doors to me and gave me the opportunity to write in the Laguna newspaper. This outlet gave us a voice few months after we were born, you made us part of this space, and made this day possible, a day which will be unforgettable for the rest of our lives.

A year ago, in the midst of a pandemic, while many of us suffered from insomnia, there was a very special night. A night in which I was sleepless, a night in which  I did not close my eyes for a minute, all because I could not stop thinking about this new concern I had. Promoting the communication of the architectural environment, at that time, had neither a head nor a tail. In only a few months it became the reason why we can meet and be part of a community.

I can't think of another word but "trust". The trust that my partners Luis and Javi had in me, by following this initiative without being architects; the trust that Isa, Erag and Raúl had in a project that was in its infancy. A project which later turned into what it is today; the trust that each one of the people who appear in the book had without any precedent. So much trust, that it fills me with pure gratitude.

Thank you to each of you for being here, for showing a genuine interest in what we do and accompanying us every step of the way. Thanks to each of my friends for so many talks and ideas that nurtured this project. Above all, thanks to my parents and my sister for supporting me every day, applauding days of so much happiness, but also giving me the tools to cope with negative moments.

It has probably been the year of greatest learning in my life. I learned what the word team really means, to listen and value the opinions of others, the importance of the voice of each individual, the true meaning of patience, but above all I learned that the highs and lows always balance each other out and give rise to days full of joy and emotion.

As we always say at MENTES, we seek to highlight processes, not celebrate results. And our first volume is not just a book; It is a compilation of relationships that have solidified in this time, a record of talks that will stay with me forever, thousands of hours of work and the generation of a new community. We hope that it is the first of many, that more and more people join our initiative and truly diversify what we understand today to be an architect.

• Lorenza Sierra
Editor-in-Chief