As the youngest of four siblings, Jorge is 14 years younger than the third eldest—what a surprise for the family! His parents married in the years after the Spanish Civil War when the rest of the world was immersed in WWII. They struggled in that tumultuous time to raise their kids; his mum became blind at the age of 32, twelve years before Jorge’s birth.

Born in Málaga in 1964, Jorge was raised with the same standards as his older siblings. Despite challenging times as a working class family with limited income, the family appreciated what they had. After Jorge's father passed away, Jorge continued to live with his mother. As he was still in school, his mother not only prepared lunch and dinner for her son but also transmitted her passion for her hobby cooking to him. She often said, “Cooking is imagination: see what you've got, mix properly, and you make magic happen.” Wise words.

He took his first plane ride was at the age of 18 after leaving home—Málaga to Madrid. Since then, he's had "itchy feet" for travel. He moved to the UK and lived there for almost five years. The earliest days of low-cost flights from London gave him plenty of travel opportunities and new perspectives on the cultures and daily lives of others. Eventually, he moved back to Spain and settled in Madrid.

A few years later, and by chance, due to his ability to speak English, Jorge was offered a job to help American travelers with transfers from the airport to hotels in Madrid and vice versa. That was the beginning of the wonderful adventure he is on right now.

After many courses and classes in tourism, he lead his first tour, then another, then another… His constant desire is to keep learning and to share the Spanish culture with those who place their trust in his guiding. Jorge is in love with his country because of its diversity and is proud to live in a nation with four official languages: Castilian, Basque (Euskera), Catalonian, and Galician.

In 2012, a man name Rick Steves changed Jorge’s life when he requested a stroll through central Madrid to review some things in “his” book. Wandering downtown, they were stopped several times by American tourists asking to take a photo with Rick. Jorge had no sense of who Rick was—two months later, Rick offered him a job as a guide for Rick Steves’ Europe.

Jorge's entire perspective on guiding and transmitting knowledge changed dramatically for good. Armed with Rick's travel philosophy and encouragement, he understood more clearly that both traveling and guiding are continuous learning processes. Jorge strives to treat his travelers the same way that he would love to be treated if he were learning from another culture.

For even more information about Jorge and his tours, you can find him online:

Traveling with Jorge
Facebook: @travelingwithjorge
Twitter: @travelingwjorge
Instagram: @travelingwithjorge
YouTube: Traveling with Jorge
Contact: travelingwithjorge.web@gmail.com