Medellin Spotlight - Valentina Muñoz, Star Futbolista and Spanish Teacher

When I started this blog, I always wanted to showcase the good and the bad of Medellin, to give a true look at the city that I have been in love with for so long. The city that has allowed me to not only survive, but to thrive within her borders. In the past I've written quite a bit about the negatives that are abound in this city, but now I want to start showcasing people that are doing great things to bridge the gap between the locals and the people like myself who call this beautiful city home. I'm very happy to make this first showcase about an exceptional young woman who is doing everything to share her passions with the world.

Valentina Muñoz - Futbolista and Linguist

I'm honored to spotlight a very bright young woman who has two very diverse passions, soccer and languages. Valentina has been a soccer player her whole life, and has not lost the passion that attracted her to the sport as a child. The 20-year old Medellin native is not only a star on the pitch, but she also excels in academics as well. She has attended college in the United States, where she honed her English, while going to business school at Seton Hall in 2023, while playing on the soccer team as a standout midfielder.

Before her college journey began, Valentina was a standout player for Selección Antioquia, which placed her at the pinnacle of young women's soccer players in Antioquia. Wanting to get some international experience, and continue her education in a way that most youth in Colombia don't get to, she took her talents to Seton Hill University where she not only played on the soccer team, but also excelled in the classroom as well. She studied International Business, which hits close to home for me, because I also studied International Business. In the summer of 2023, her passion for soccer drove her to play for the Palm City Americanas in the USLW, a semi-pro summer league in Florida, in an attempt to sharpen her skills and gain some experience against higher caliber opponents. After that ended, she attended Daytona State University where her time with the Americanas proved fruitful. She had become a true standout player and had a thirst elevating her game to the next level.

New Chapter - The Prodigal Daughter Returns

While at Daytona State, it was obvious that the professional ranks were her next step. Valentina returned to Medellin to seek professional opportunities back in her hometown and it didn't take long for that to happen. She was quickly snapped up by Atlético Nacional's own U20 women's team. She has been playing here ever since and is honing her skills against some of the best women's players in Colombia. She has done more than just learned at the professional level, she's thriving.

I asked her what she wants to do next, and she wants to go to Europe to not only gain valuable experience, but to also work on her other passion, learning languages. Her plans include visiting England, Spain, Portugal and France. She's in the process of learning French, and wants to compete against some of the top talent European soccer has to play against, and I would not bet against her in those matches.

Say What?

While learning English, Valentina took a less than conventional approach to become fluent in English. She has found that this method works well for learning Spanish as well. She is offering virtual lessons for an extremely reasonable price, and you can take lessons from her. If you want to know anything about her experiences in soccer, you can kill two birds with one stone, learn about what it's like to compete at a high level in sports AND talk about it in Spanish, making your skill level increase ten-fold.

I fancy myself as someone that speaks Spanish pretty well, and I had a class with her and I learned a few things I have to work on, like a few small pronunciation quirks, like having trouble with tongue placement between 'buenas' and 'tardes'. Her class helped and I hear her in my head every time I'm going to say it. She is a fantastic teacher, and a pure joy to talk to. I'm adding a video in below, which she made to promote her classes. It has all of her contact information in it. Be nice to her, because she is an absolute sweetheart.

One of a Kind

I will say something that shouldn't be controversial but I'm sure I'll offend someone here. If you are planning on living here, or staying an extended period of time, and don't speak Spanish well, your life will only be better here if you take a few Spanish classes in advance of coming here. With Valentina's unique manner of teaching, you will learn faster and she will help you to avoid some potentially awkward situations. Since her classes are virtual, you can take them in from anywhere and I think her classes start at $10/hr. I know the language schools here are CONSIDERABLY more than this, and they're not one-on-one. You can't beat that.

I salute you, Valentina. The world needs more people like this young lady. For the next one, if you know of anyone who is doing great work to bridge the cultures of the locals and the visitors here, send me an email medellinunfiltered@gmail.com and let me know who they are and maybe they can be the next ones featured here. Until next time, be more like Miss Valentina, find a way to use your passion to make the world a better place.