Sebastian is a renowned visual artist whose work has toured around the most well-known museums and art halls of Mexico and cities like New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Amsterdam, Berlin, or Porto Alegre, among others. In 2009, his interest in improving art education in Mexico led him to create an alternative educational platform to offer something more than artistic training. His philosophy rests in the idea that, to learn and develop projects, it’s essential to create a space where different artistic disciplines can coexist, to allow experimentation and action. As he said himself, in this brush with the inter- and multi-disciplinary, innovations are generated.

“Fury and poetry” is one of the mottos that defines the Atelier Romo, a model of education that combines drawing, film, carpentry, cooking, and contemporary art. Sebasián is a natural-born teacher, which draws attention to his great capacity for learning from his own students as he inspires the best in each one. Thanks to his passion and perseverance, he continues, year after year, leaving this “Atelier mark” on his students. A teacher for life, what a gift!

Currently, he’s combining his work as a visual artist with that of Atelier Romo. We spoke with him so he could give us some of this fury and poetry, and this is what he told us.

A restaurant 

I prefer simple restaurants, those of the neighborhood. Sometimes in Mexico, you can eat much better on the street than in pretentious places. In Mexico City, the noodles at Fresas 66 are just as good as in Tokyo! The diners there are the certificate of authenticity of the place — it only has six tables and closes when the food runs out.

Los Dorados de Villa in the city of Zacatecas is an extraordinary restaurant.

At the National, in Monterrey, the ribeye aguachile and their caldillo are one-of-a-kind.

The best hamburger in the world is, without a doubt, the bison burger at Café Fanellis, in New York. It’s the most simple — it only has gouda cheese and pickles, and tastes better accompanied by a pint of Guinness.

A dish 

The lamb in almond curry.

In Yucatan, the roasted octopus in annatto.

In Sinaloa, the tuna tostadas; they’d be able to destroy the highbrow with the sashimi, every tostada has a special salsa, and in particular the salsa negra is a mystery you’ll dream about.

A product

Chipotles made at home.

Duck and venison. And cheeses!

A drink

I like whiskey that hasn’t been aged long — I prefer the direct taste of Bowmore, Balveine and Talisker, beyond Macallan. Never with water, and always with only one piece of ice. For the heat, a gin and tonic with Bombay, served like at Gimlet in Barcelona.

If you invited us to dinner at your house, what would you cook?

Some simple appetizers, a spinach salad with a lot of cilantro, black olives, and mixed vegetables, with a lemon-soy dressing. Generally, a spicy yellow curry accompanied by rice with black sesame seeds and vegetables. Vanilla ice cream and red wine.

But what I really enjoy is cooking over an open fire. Not an Argentinian grill or an American barbecue, but a campfire. In particular, “love packets,” which are envelopes of tin foil with smoked meat or jerky rubbed with garlic and habaneros, or roasted peppers filled with cheese and rice with meat or seafood. Also, I like potatoes and yellow onions directly on the coals with rosemary and butter.

Interview conducted by Livia Arroyo.

Photos courtesy of Sebastián Romo.