Great interview! Alejandro seems like such a great guy, his humbleness seems very genuine. You also did an amazing job giving your own input instead of just asking questions and agreeing!
Thank you! I believe in more conversational form of interview and dialog back-and-forth rather than traditional interview. It’s easier to learn and also react to each other’s comments in real-time. It’s hard to get pass the surface with question/answer style. Ofc this is only my personal preference (and I’m not gonna lie that I don’t like to talk myself 😅) but for me it was interesting to also see how he reacts on what I say even if we disagree. Alejandro is very humble and kind. I think we will discuss this a bit more in Part 2 that I do question a little bit if it’s just about being polite (like I mentioned that I thought first he was just small talking and not being serious). But I 100% believe he is honest and really as humble and nice as he seems. 😊
Haha that’s so true. That’s how it looks. Now that I have personally gotten faster I’m always happy when I can point out multiple things I could have done better or faster so even if I finished in 48mins I know that it’s very possible to be even faster. The worst is when everything flows perfectly but still not fast so no idea what could be done better. I think Alejandro has the skill to know his mistakes and avoid them the next time. 😊
This was so interesting and fun to watch, Alejandro seems very relaxed and calm. It is nice to watch the conversation because you are so much more analytical and competitive, so different, but still with a shared love for puzzles. I really love that you have Moomin puzzles, I am Dutch but my mother is from Finland so we went there every summer when I was a child, I will always love Moomins.🥰 This particular puzzle seems to difficult for me, I would not enjoy it, but I am gonne search for other Moomin puzzles now. At one point you mention losing the fun in doing the puzzles, do you know the channel 'Rics nifty puzzles' on youtube? He has such an interesting and different approach to puzzling, really focused on enjoying every part of it, looking at the details of each peace, wondering what the people on the puzzle are thinking an doing, sort of making a story in you head about everything thats happening in the puzzle. He even takes enjoyment in sorting the pieces, well thats a bridge to far for me but you get the idea. 😆 You said there are moments when you feel like you lose the enjoyment in puzzles, in those times maybe its an idea to try that approach? Looking forward to part 2 of the interview!
Oh yes. Me and Alejandro are like day and night. Not only with our puzzle backgrounds but also with our personalities. Ofc just my opinion. Are you coming to the Worlds? We have plenty of Moomin puzzles here I could bring. It seems like most of them are not sold internationally, just for the Finnish market. And yes, I follow Ric! He is awesome, and one of my favorite channels here. We actually had a short chat sometime ago where he kinda pointed out that it's also not healthy to just do puzzles and nothing else in life (I tend to do that too sometimes, in addition to work of course). I started doing this 3000 pieces puzzle, Animal Stamps, and I really enjoy it. I cannot really do it fast and I have to sort because it's so big. And it was my first puzzle in 2022 so also pretty nostalgic for me.
@@puzzlewithemilia Aah thats so nice that you do a big puzzle that takes more time, that way you háve to take it slow, and the fact that it was the first puzzle you did makes you enjoy it even more probably. 🙂 Thanks for offering to bring Moomin puzzles thats so sweet of you, but not necessary, I did want to go to Worlds at first but I am a teacher and I can not get the time off (since its in a schoolweek) and also I am not sure actually if I want to participate in competitions. I did participate in one of the Euro jigsaw jam competitions and though it was fun to do I guess I am not competitive enough for it maybe. (I was actually the last one to finnish with still 66 pieces to go. 😄 ) But for World I guess its fun already to go just for the atmosphere and to be surrounded with all people who like to puzzle, that is always nice ofcourse. So I guess I am more of a slow puzzler haha, but I enjoy watching you and some of the other puzzlers how you approach your puzzles. I actually díd participate in Rics 'Battle of the slower puzzlers' challenge, that was a fun silly challenge to do. (And I was last there as well I think because all the others are slower than me! 🤭 Enjoy the Animal Stamps puzzle! I looked it up and it looks wonderfull and fun to do!
Great job, Emilia! You definitely are a skilled interviewer. It was so much fun listening to Alejandro responses. I like that you both love puzzling, but each have your own perspective and your own approaches. I chuckled when you shared about being stoic. I am from Norwegian ancestry and totally understand. Again, a wonderful interview!
Thank you so much! I think this was somehow perfect match. I could have continued with my questions forever but I believe almost three hours was more than reasonable. 😄 I’m so unemotional… 😅 And I have a bad habit of talking over people and I feel like this was my first interview I manage not to do it (well, maybe couple of times still). I was very happy about it because it’s so hard for me. I don’t do it purposely or with ill intend, I guess I’m just too excited (somewhere deep inside me🤣).
@@puzzlewithemilia I was thinking to myself while I watching/listening how good you were about not talking over! I agree that it is very easy to do. Another thing I noticed about the interview was that it more like a conversation that we were allowed to listen in on. I think you made Alejandro feel so comfortable by sharing your perspective as well.
Great questions, and great insights and perspective from Alejandro! (I waited until I had time to actually listen well to this! Looking forward to part 2.)
Glad you enjoyed it! The second part is already published and it’s ~ the same lenght. I hope you will find good spot in your schedule to watch it too! 😊
Like when you were commentating and being interviewed at Worlds, this showed your beautiful, intelligent and witty personality. Well done Emilia on a great interview. Alejandro what an impressive man, equally intelligent, handsome and a beautiful personality. Great interview, very interesting and informative.
Talent is important part of success in every sport. Even if photographic memory dont exists there are people with great predisposition for puzzling. Hard work is not everything. I think person should make comparations only with themselves.
Thank for the input. Talent is definitely a thing, althought requires hard work to reach it’s potential. Sometimes we don’t know if we have a talent for something or not because no one is great in the very beginning. I read an interesting research lately that Beethowen did have low genetic predisposition for musical skills. I wonder if he ever would have become musician if someone would have been able to tell him that ”fact” before he started with music. 🤷🏻♀️ Comparing only with yourself is great!
Glad you enjoyed it. We surely had lot to talk about. Part 2 is coming next week, probably on the weekend but not 100% sure yet. I may give early access to members (also yet to be decided so no promises here). :D
I agree that you can improve by training, but you can also be born with a greater spatial and visual intelligence (i dont know the exact names in english), and if it is something that you are passionate about the 3 factors complement ech other: training, intelligence and passion. I know Alejandro, and he has an "engineer's brain"🤣 In spain we say: quedamos para un café? and that never happens
Yes, absolutely. As said, we all learn differently and we cannot ignore the biological proclivities and pretend they don’t exist. However, even these biological ”tendencies”, as I like to call them, require practice to actually show. Same goes with your environment and resources like where and what family are you born into et cetera. We will talk about this more in the part 2, but for example I have lack of understanding dimensions (how far things are of each other, distance) that is a major issue in my puzzling but also elsewhere in life. It’s something I have to compensate with other skills and learning. That’s why it’s important to know you strenghts and weaknesses! When I was a kid I was very clumsy. In a way that doctors think it might be something ”medical”, I had physiotherapy and all. It was very unlikely that I ended up in the Finnish National Team. And even there I was the slowest runner of the team. Somehow I still manage to be the one who scored most in the last game I ever played. I also had a friend who was really bad at school. I was afraid she won’t pass everything and not graduate. But she ended up with great matriculation exam results. Surely her journey was more rocky and probably needed to put at least triple amount of time and effort into it than others. Sorry for the long comment. I’m just so passionate about this matter. Ofc the more speed puzzling develops, the more these ”biological” and circumstancial things will affect. Like I’m not sure if I can ever compensate my lack of experience compared to those who have done puzzles 20 years more than me. But on the other hand, we people do tend to put too much weight/importance on that one little thing we are not good at and see others to be better. Most weaknesses don’t matter as much as we think. And sometimes not even the bigger weaknesses. For example, you could think that person with one paralyzes hand could not be any good but then we also know Kristin who basically used only one hand in 2022 and came second (ofc she is not paralyzed and to my knowledge she had done it her whole life that way but you got the example).
![PART 2: Interview with Alejandro Clemente León the World Jigsaw Puzzle Champion [EXCLUSIVE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hNVNd-W0ZYY/mqdefault.jpg)
![PART 2: Interview with Alejandro Clemente León the World Jigsaw Puzzle Champion [EXCLUSIVE]](/img/tr.png)
Great interview! Alejandro seems like such a great guy, his humbleness seems very genuine. You also did an amazing job giving your own input instead of just asking questions and agreeing!
Thank you! I believe in more conversational form of interview and dialog back-and-forth rather than traditional interview. It’s easier to learn and also react to each other’s comments in real-time. It’s hard to get pass the surface with question/answer style. Ofc this is only my personal preference (and I’m not gonna lie that I don’t like to talk myself 😅) but for me it was interesting to also see how he reacts on what I say even if we disagree.
Alejandro is very humble and kind. I think we will discuss this a bit more in Part 2 that I do question a little bit if it’s just about being polite (like I mentioned that I thought first he was just small talking and not being serious). But I 100% believe he is honest and really as humble and nice as he seems. 😊
Love how fast he is. It's like he just sees the piece and knows where it goes. ENjoyed.
Haha that’s so true. That’s how it looks. Now that I have personally gotten faster I’m always happy when I can point out multiple things I could have done better or faster so even if I finished in 48mins I know that it’s very possible to be even faster. The worst is when everything flows perfectly but still not fast so no idea what could be done better. I think Alejandro has the skill to know his mistakes and avoid them the next time. 😊
This was so interesting and fun to watch, Alejandro seems very relaxed and calm. It is nice to watch the conversation because you are so much more analytical and competitive, so different, but still with a shared love for puzzles.
I really love that you have Moomin puzzles, I am Dutch but my mother is from Finland so we went there every summer when I was a child, I will always love Moomins.🥰 This particular puzzle seems to difficult for me, I would not enjoy it, but I am gonne search for other Moomin puzzles now.
At one point you mention losing the fun in doing the puzzles, do you know the channel 'Rics nifty puzzles' on youtube? He has such an interesting and different approach to puzzling, really focused on enjoying every part of it, looking at the details of each peace, wondering what the people on the puzzle are thinking an doing, sort of making a story in you head about everything thats happening in the puzzle. He even takes enjoyment in sorting the pieces, well thats a bridge to far for me but you get the idea. 😆
You said there are moments when you feel like you lose the enjoyment in puzzles, in those times maybe its an idea to try that approach?
Looking forward to part 2 of the interview!
Oh yes. Me and Alejandro are like day and night. Not only with our puzzle backgrounds but also with our personalities. Ofc just my opinion. Are you coming to the Worlds? We have plenty of Moomin puzzles here I could bring. It seems like most of them are not sold internationally, just for the Finnish market.
And yes, I follow Ric! He is awesome, and one of my favorite channels here. We actually had a short chat sometime ago where he kinda pointed out that it's also not healthy to just do puzzles and nothing else in life (I tend to do that too sometimes, in addition to work of course).
I started doing this 3000 pieces puzzle, Animal Stamps, and I really enjoy it. I cannot really do it fast and I have to sort because it's so big. And it was my first puzzle in 2022 so also pretty nostalgic for me.
@@puzzlewithemilia Aah thats so nice that you do a big puzzle that takes more time, that way you háve to take it slow, and the fact that it was the first puzzle you did makes you enjoy it even more probably. 🙂
Thanks for offering to bring Moomin puzzles thats so sweet of you, but not necessary, I did want to go to Worlds at first but I am a teacher and I can not get the time off (since its in a schoolweek) and also I am not sure actually if I want to participate in competitions. I did participate in one of the Euro jigsaw jam competitions and though it was fun to do I guess I am not competitive enough for it maybe. (I was actually the last one to finnish with still 66 pieces to go. 😄 ) But for World I guess its fun already to go just for the atmosphere and to be surrounded with all people who like to puzzle, that is always nice ofcourse.
So I guess I am more of a slow puzzler haha, but I enjoy watching you and some of the other puzzlers how you approach your puzzles. I actually díd participate in Rics 'Battle of the slower puzzlers' challenge, that was a fun silly challenge to do. (And I was last there as well I think because all the others are slower than me! 🤭
Enjoy the Animal Stamps puzzle! I looked it up and it looks wonderfull and fun to do!
Looking forward to this interview!!
So happy to hear that. I’m still so excited and I hope people will love it! 🤩
Great job, Emilia! You definitely are a skilled interviewer. It was so much fun listening to Alejandro responses. I like that you both love puzzling, but each have your own perspective and your own approaches. I chuckled when you shared about being stoic. I am from Norwegian ancestry and totally understand. Again, a wonderful interview!
Thank you so much! I think this was somehow perfect match. I could have continued with my questions forever but I believe almost three hours was more than reasonable. 😄
I’m so unemotional… 😅 And I have a bad habit of talking over people and I feel like this was my first interview I manage not to do it (well, maybe couple of times still). I was very happy about it because it’s so hard for me. I don’t do it purposely or with ill intend, I guess I’m just too excited (somewhere deep inside me🤣).
@@puzzlewithemilia I was thinking to myself while I watching/listening how good you were about not talking over! I agree that it is very easy to do. Another thing I noticed about the interview was that it more like a conversation that we were allowed to listen in on. I think you made Alejandro feel so comfortable by sharing your perspective as well.
I loved this! Looking forward to part 2!
I’m so happy to hear that!!!
Great questions, and great insights and perspective from Alejandro! (I waited until I had time to actually listen well to this! Looking forward to part 2.)
Glad you enjoyed it! The second part is already published and it’s ~ the same lenght. I hope you will find good spot in your schedule to watch it too! 😊
Like when you were commentating and being interviewed at Worlds, this showed your beautiful, intelligent and witty personality. Well done Emilia on a great interview. Alejandro what an impressive man, equally intelligent, handsome and a beautiful personality. Great interview, very interesting and informative.
Oh wow, thank you for your kind words. I’ll make sure Alejandro will see this comment too. Thank you for watching and supporting!
finally had the time to watch it. This hour went by sooo fast. Thank you two for sharing your thoughts with us!
I happy to hear you enjoyed it, and it wasn’t feeling ”too long”. The part 2 will be around the same lenght. 😊
This was a very insightful interview with Alejandro, I really enjoyed your questions. 🌍🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🌍
Happy to hear you like it. Next week we will discuss more about where we are now and share speed puzzling tips!
Talent is important part of success in every sport. Even if photographic memory dont exists there are people with great predisposition for puzzling. Hard work is not everything. I think person should make comparations only with themselves.
Thank for the input. Talent is definitely a thing, althought requires hard work to reach it’s potential. Sometimes we don’t know if we have a talent for something or not because no one is great in the very beginning. I read an interesting research lately that Beethowen did have low genetic predisposition for musical skills. I wonder if he ever would have become musician if someone would have been able to tell him that ”fact” before he started with music. 🤷🏻♀️ Comparing only with yourself is great!
This was a wonderful interview, thank you Emilia and Alejandro! ❤️ Looking forward to part 2. 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it. Thank YOU!
Loved this so much! I could listen to the both of you all day! Great interview and cant wait for part 2!
Glad you enjoyed it. We surely had lot to talk about. Part 2 is coming next week, probably on the weekend but not 100% sure yet. I may give early access to members (also yet to be decided so no promises here). :D
@@puzzlewithemilia I would definately love an early access 😂😍
A very good interview. Some very thoughtful questions 😊
Glad you enjoyed it! In part 2 we will move on to more speed puzzling tips! 😊
I loved that you did this interview. 🦋thank you.
Thank YOU as a viewer! It was great to have Alejandro for an interview. 😊
great interview! looking forward to part 2
Amazing. I will let you know the date as soon as I know!
I agree that you can improve by training, but you can also be born with a greater spatial and visual intelligence (i dont know the exact names in english), and if it is something that you are passionate about the 3 factors complement ech other: training, intelligence and passion. I know Alejandro, and he has an "engineer's brain"🤣
In spain we say: quedamos para un café? and that never happens
Yes, absolutely. As said, we all learn differently and we cannot ignore the biological proclivities and pretend they don’t exist. However, even these biological ”tendencies”, as I like to call them, require practice to actually show. Same goes with your environment and resources like where and what family are you born into et cetera.
We will talk about this more in the part 2, but for example I have lack of understanding dimensions (how far things are of each other, distance) that is a major issue in my puzzling but also elsewhere in life. It’s something I have to compensate with other skills and learning. That’s why it’s important to know you strenghts and weaknesses!
When I was a kid I was very clumsy. In a way that doctors think it might be something ”medical”, I had physiotherapy and all. It was very unlikely that I ended up in the Finnish National Team. And even there I was the slowest runner of the team. Somehow I still manage to be the one who scored most in the last game I ever played.
I also had a friend who was really bad at school. I was afraid she won’t pass everything and not graduate. But she ended up with great matriculation exam results. Surely her journey was more rocky and probably needed to put at least triple amount of time and effort into it than others.
Sorry for the long comment. I’m just so passionate about this matter. Ofc the more speed puzzling develops, the more these ”biological” and circumstancial things will affect. Like I’m not sure if I can ever compensate my lack of experience compared to those who have done puzzles 20 years more than me.
But on the other hand, we people do tend to put too much weight/importance on that one little thing we are not good at and see others to be better. Most weaknesses don’t matter as much as we think. And sometimes not even the bigger weaknesses. For example, you could think that person with one paralyzes hand could not be any good but then we also know Kristin who basically used only one hand in 2022 and came second (ofc she is not paralyzed and to my knowledge she had done it her whole life that way but you got the example).
This is super cool 🧩❤️
This is probably the coolest thing I have done so far this year 🤩