The art now living on the walls of my Mexico City apartment isn’t just decoration. Every piece was created by my aunt, Aimée Joaristi, whose vision has been a compass for me from the very beginning. This story is a small way to give her credit, and to share how her eye, her madness, and her genius have shaped Veragua’s world.
My aunt Aimée has always been a living reminder that art and passion should come first … before logic, before fear, before anything else. I’ve admired her for as long as I can remember. To me, she was always the slightly crazy aunt: you do need a certain kind of madness to imagine the things she’s able to bring to life. Whether it’s a piece of art, a house, a store, or a restaurant, her mind doesn’t just decorate spaces, she builds universes.
Aimée Joaristi House, Costa Rica
Her home in Costa Rica is spectacular (we've shot there twice for Veragua). Every room tells a story and every object feels intentional. I’ve always gone to her for advice when it comes to design and it's always blown my mind how she can walk into an empty space and already see a world that doesn’t exist yet, where every light, texture, and piece has a place and purpose. If I can see two or three steps ahead, she can see a hundred.
Of course, we don’t always agree. I push one way, she pushes another, and somehow that tension is what makes things work. Like when I insisted on having a black Bastiano sofa in the living room —and she wanted a white linen one. She almost quit on me right there (literally said she was done). But then I sent her a photo of a chandelier I’d found… and she was back. That’s my aunt: her creativity never stops, even when she threatens to, it's almost like she can't hold it back.
Veragua CDMX
From a Basement to a Vision: How Veragua’s Spaces Were Born
The first Veragua space was a tiny basement right below the jewelry school where I learned from my mentor, Jordi Costa. Together with Aimee and her son (my cousin Fabio) we transformed that basement into a small, intimate jewel, a space where we welcomed our very first clients in 2021, and where the design DNA of Veragua was born.
The second store came next: our flagship store, a much bigger, more ambitious project in Escazú, Costa Rica. Ninety square meters that became a hybrid of speakeasy, workshop, and jewelry gallery. It’s still alive today, every single day, carrying that same energy of craft and intention.
Veragua CDMX
When I decided to move to Mexico and start my residency process, I knew my new home had to feel like an extension of what we had already built. This wasn’t just a place to live, it had to represent a new chapter of Veragua. I wanted the space to carry the same balance of elegance and rawness, of light and emotion. So, naturally, I called my aunt again.
She's retired from interior design, so she's always reluctant to start, but then, after a few pictures through Whatsapp, she jumped right in, as always. Her vision is endless. We started building, debating, imagining. Then came the art. I went to her home in Escazú, where she has her studio, and together we picked the paintings that would make the trip to Mexico. Once here, we stretched and framed them, and hung them around the house. They brought everything to life, every corner, every wall suddenly made sense. Now, everyone who walks in immediately notices how much art breathes in the space and how it ties everything together effortlessly.
Veragua Costa Rica
Her Legacy, Our Inspiration
My aunt Aimée is more than an artist. She’s a force of vision, a woman who has lived in Cuba, Spain, New York, Italy, and Costa Rica, and whose story travels through her work. Her art is bold, provocative, and deeply emotional. From Tres Cruces, a haunting reflection on violence and memory, to Manifiesto Púb(l)ico, her fearless urban intervention about femininity and the body, her work always questions, always stirs something within.
Her pieces are part of important private art collections and museum collections around the world. She has participated in the Havana Biennial, and among the institutions that collect her work is the Museo Wilfredo Lam in Havana — a clear testament to the strength, depth, and universality of her artistic voice.
What she taught me, and what I try to live through Veragua, is that design and art are not about perfection. They’re about truth. About expressing who you are, unapologetically, through form, texture, and emotion.
Veragua CDMX
Her mind never stops. She’ll forever be that spark of beautiful madness that keeps reminding me why we do what we do, because passion, when it’s real, has no limits.
Thank you auntie, for everything you’ve taught me and for always pushing me in the right direction —the direction of following my intuition and being brave.
Veragua CDMX
The Collection in CDMX
Today, several of Aimée’s original artworks hang on the walls of our apartment in Mexico City, a curated selection that perfectly merges her universe with ours. Each piece carries a story, a pulse, a trace of her vision. Together, they set the tone for everything that happens in this space, a blend of art, design, and quiet rebellion.
If you’d like to see the collection in person, send us a DM on instagram, we’ll be happy to arrange a private viewing.
Veragua Costa Rica