STAFF: JORDI CORPA
These days we will know a little more the Staff of Mucha Masia. As we said, each of us has a story and a way of life. Today we are going to meet Jordi Corpa.
Who is Jordi Corpa?
The dreamer. Jordi is 36 years old and is from Prat de Llobregat. He has been mainly dedicated to the services and education sector. He is a lover of change and has shown it: every year, a new adventure. One year he works as a waiter; another does it as an English monitor or swimming instructor. He has spent two years traveling around the world. He has lived on the beach, on the mountain and in the heart of a big city.
But what is true is that Jordi has always pursued a dream: to set up a rural farmhouse as a center for accommodation and activities.
His dream, his experience and his union with Enric Selfa, transforms the dream into reality.
Now Jordi is the owner of MuchaMasia and also acts as receptionist, accountant, event creator, commercial image and general supervision of the hostel.
The dreamer, the poet, the total traveler.
Why am I here?
Since I was a child and possibly after my first school camping, I had the need to repeat those kind of experiences as many times as possible. Being in a different place, sharing many hours with friends and strangers and enjoying the outdoors (the nature). This was how I wanted to spend the rest of my days. The dream was only a matter of time.
At 24 years old I left my comfort zone for a long time. I lived that dream as a traveler. I have been living that sensation for more than ten years. I have visited Tarifa, Benasque, London, Menorca, Mexico, Guatemala … And many other places that I will tell you when you visit us. And not as a tourist for a week, or two, and neither in a flat or hotel, I have been months in Hostels and shared houses or campsites.
So many personal experiences, so many shared fantasies, and so many professional experiences …
On the return of my penultimate trip, because there will never be a last … I felt prepared. So, all the knowledge acquired during these years was fighting in my head saying that it was the time to live traveling without moving.
Building a dream
I started to tell my friends that I had a dream and I wanted to make it come true. Besides, the idea was so clear in my head that I believed in it without a second thought. I could draw my ideal hostel without pencil or paper. My dream became an idea really sweet thanks to the privileged geographical position of our town. And soon my friends showed interest.
First attempt failed, but I kept telling it every time I could, and one night Enric Selfa, my partner and friend showed interest. From that moment his perseverance and my knowledge due to my experience worked like a cyclone. Just 1 year after our first talk, Mucha Masia was inaugurated.
The dream of a child became the reality of the adult.
But this is not all, I am here in Mucha Masia for the love of the beauty of my people and I want to show it to the world.
El Prat, from which I have gone so many times and many others have returned, has a geographical beauty as few places in the world.
Do you know how it is to walk at sunset through the Parc Agrari smelling of tomatoes when you are going back home, after leaving the last beach almost virgin and nudist on our coast, watching the sunset in the Massis del Garraf with Montserrat or Tibidabo in the background and those many species of birds that visit us? Not even the best writers could describe it.
After I take a shower and I walk finding castellers del Prat rehearsing, I eat some bravas in La Castellana and I end up in a concert in La Capsa or in one of our festivals.
The world deserves to know it and El Prat deserves to be known by the world.
Me and Mucha Masia will show the Prat to the world, that is one of the reasons why I am here.
What do I do in Mucha Masia?
It is difficult to define what I do in Mucha Masia as a proprietary partner, as a person who owns the idea, I think the first thing I do is draw the hostel’s road map.
Even before opening, I was very involved. Well, I chose from the decoration or distribution of the space to the services that would be offered. From the booking program that we would use to the staff that would work with us in all the areas and departments that the company requires, from the type of client we want to reach to the interaction with our people. From the breakfast that would be offered to the beverage distribution company… I give shape to the idea. The Soul of Mucha Masia.
I participate in all areas even though I escaped as much as possible in the area of administration and maintenance, which I have never been good and also Enric is more structured than me.
My main responsibilities are: Programming social networks, events, accounting, marketing, commercial, receptionist and general supervision of the work carried out in all areas. Also, my compulsive nature makes me try to demand the maximum from each of the workers in the different areas.
And above all enjoy: the experience of knowing all our guests, of learning from each of the people who work with us, of being in our events and of spending many hours in a charming place.
Three essential places in your life
All the places I have known in my life are indispensable because they have made me what I am today.
But if I must choose 3 are these:
The street and a football field
I put them together because I think they are united, most of the best players in the world come from the streets. The streets themselves are football fields.
It is incredible all that these places have offered me, friends for life, great moments of joy and sadness, work, dedication, patience to get what you want, deal with all kinds of people, respect… Each field and each situation are different.
And something I can never forget, the sacrifice of my parents to guide me in two worlds that can be the most hostile places and the most wonderful places at the same time.
The leak, the trip… for me are places
The moment in which I break with all my comfort zone and begins the eternal journey of my life. Here I learn that every day I have to get up and go out into the street being anything or anyone, without knowing anything about the place or anyone. Where I have to use my skills to enjoy the day and get what I need to be happy, where I realize that the world is immense, where immediacy does not exist, where taking steps really makes you move forward, where people are the same in all places, where all cultures are interesting, where learning a lot daily, like when you are a child… All that I realized.
Califica, the sea.
Anciles, the mountain.
London, the city.
Menorca, the island.
Return to the Prat. The origin.
Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia. The souls.
The night and the bars
I love the nights and the bars. These places have given me an endless number of interesting and crazy talks where time seems to stop. It is total fun, where the souls open and express themselves as if no one was watching them, where the world feels free. I love spending the night sharing beer and marijuana with friends.
The night has taught me sharing, fun, drunkenness, euphoria, debauchery, madness, art, being pure and at the same time the opposite of loneliness, sadness, hangover, depression, tranquility , the routine, being cautious.
It is mandatory to spend nights without sleep.
An unforgettable trip
No trip can be forgotten. All are unforgettable, but if I have to mention one, I will mention 2. These are short trips or vacation periods.
Route through the white villages of the Cadiz coast, Vejer de la Frontera, Conil, Caños de Meca, Zahara de los Atunes… I did this trip with my mother who gave me a surprise and visited me when I was in Tarifa.
We took the car, the tent and the adventure began. They were incredible days where my mother was her and I was me, it seemed that our relationship from mother to son turn to be a two friends relationship, something very difficult to achieve in our current society.
We slept on beaches, we were awakened by the police, we took a nap on the street, we ate what we wanted when we wanted and we went where we wanted when we wanted, we dominated the time and we did and enjoyed it together.
IT WAS GREAT.
Route through Cornwall, southwest of the British Isles. I did it with Becky, my partner. Her mother Angie left us the car, his father Ian the tent and the stove, we left everything and we went to tour this county.
This trip broke many myths, I saw the best beaches I’ve ever seen and people came to ask if we wanted to play beach volleyball with them, a spectacular sunset while cooking in free campsites, where people approached nicely in the bars when we had a wine and I could also taste some dishes that were really delicious.
Yes, all this in England. VERY VERY SPECIAL.
A trip to forget
I’m sorry there is none, there’s nothing that I can contribute to this question.
Sea or Mountain
There is no doubt: I choose the sea, the sea and a warm climate. It will be because I was born in the Mediterranean. The sea offers me the distant horizon, the immensity and the possibility to dive and noticing how my body is free of any tension. It is the perfect formula to relax mentally and physically. Also, since I was a child I have been lucky to live very close and I love to see myself near the sea when the day is ending. Near the sea I feel completely free.
My favorite dish
I like to eat and I have no problems. I like everything and all types of food in the world.
I will choose two typical dishes of our population and not because they are from here, I choose them because I love them. They are the Fabas a la Catalana and the grilled artichokes with plenty of garlic and oil.
A movie
Difficult question, but I choose Martin (Hache). There may be many factors that have never been forgotten.
I saw it at a time when I felt very identified with the character, the script and many of the main characters I love and have a philosophy of life that I made mine.
I have also been a great admirer of Argentine cinema and Adolfo Aristarain, its director.
A song
I have many favorite songs, musically I am a fan of the lyrics of the songs rather than their music. The show must go on, by Queen, is the chosen one. It was also the first song I put on MuchaMasia when I sat alone at the reception for the first time.
What would you recommend to the visitors of MuchaMasia?
Be free to be themselves, here everyone is welcome.
Discover each corner of the house, enjoy the tranquility that the place offers, relate to the other guests and to the staff that works. Then, they can get lost into the streets of El Prat and learn about our way of life and our surroundings, taste the typical dishes of the cuisine of our population, visit the centers of interest and enjoy walking through the Parc Agrari and the Spaces Natural of the Delta del Llobregat.
After knowing El Prat they can try to find a performance by Diables, or Castellers del Prat or Picacrestes.
And if there is still time, go to walk the city of Barcelona, which is a magical city with thousands of places to get lost.
Oh! And do not forget to ask the Staff where we would get lost.