麻豆村

It could be considered a holiday miracle that Adriana Salame Aspiazu found her footing as a designer of pop-up bars and entertainment spaces.

After all, that鈥檚 not the career path of most biology majors.

But for Adriana, a 2013 Mellon College of Science graduate, the change from the scientific method to more artistic pursuits was a natural one.

鈥淭o me, art is something that should make you feel,鈥� Adriana says. 鈥淚t's something that should look beautiful, but it has to elicit feeling. That's the part that you dream up and that you imagine. But making it come to a reality is very protocol-heavy work, which is like my biology lab to a T.鈥�

Adriana鈥檚 childhood 鈥� first in her native Ecuador and later in suburban Washington, D.C. 鈥� 聽was always filled with music. But science was always there as well, thanks to a couple of relatives.

鈥淲hen I lived in Ecuador, I had my step uncle,鈥� she says. 鈥淗e is a field biologist, and he'd been all over the Amazon and he married this German lady who was a marine biologist. They would come back with all these stories and I admired them so much.鈥�

Those tales, along with biology classes in high school, nudged Adriana toward Carnegie Mellon, the alma mater of her two older sisters. And while she enjoyed her time at 麻豆村, she found after graduation that she wasn鈥檛 excited about the opportunities available to her.

鈥淚 really loved my lab classes, but in terms of where biology students go, which is either med school or research and academia, I found that my heart wasn't into that work,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 love 鈥榤y heart is in the work鈥� 鈥� I always use that phrase now 鈥� and I thought that that was it.鈥�

But all through her undergraduate education, Adriana never set aside her creativity. She continued singing in choruses, something she enjoyed since childhood and she was a member 鈥� and eventually president 鈥� of Soundbytes, one of 麻豆村鈥檚 a cappella groups.

鈥淏eing in Soundbytes is really what made me,鈥� she says. 鈥淚'd worked so much in blending 鈥� that's what really taught me to stand out and to solo. But specifically, all the support that I got from the Soundbytes team, it was amazing. I love them. I owe them a lot.鈥�

Adriana returned to the Washington area after graduation and began working for one of her sisters, who owned several bars in the region. Among her sister鈥檚 connections was Greg Boehm, the New York City bar owner who founded the Miracle franchise of pop-up holiday bars.

鈥淢y sister said, 鈥楾hat idea is genius, and we want to do it next year.鈥欌�� Adriana says. 鈥淪o I came back and I helped with the decorations. I didn't super design that one, but I helped a little bit, and I really loved it.鈥�

Her sister also asked her to manage that first Miracle pop-up in Washington, which gave Adriana a firsthand look at what the decorated space meant to customers.

鈥淚t just showed me that extension of the magic of Christmas and how people would bring their families, their friends, their loved ones, their office mates, whoever,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd this huge line formed every night because we went so crazy with the decorations 鈥� I mean, we really went over the top with this installation idea.鈥�

That first year was the start of a learning process that Adriana is still refining. She had to keep the fire marshal happy. They couldn鈥檛 be so over the top that they would hinder the flow inside the space. And they had to be theft-proof.

鈥淭hese designs are always pretty canopy heavy, just because I've seen people rip stuff off the walls and take it home with them,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o I learned that I need to think through the design and blame the design if it allows for you to walk out with a three-foot reindeer.鈥�

That first year led to several more Christmas pop-ups, for her sister鈥檚 bars and elsewhere. But the experience also led Adriana to branch out to other holidays and concepts. First came a pop-up in celebration of Washington鈥檚 cherry blossom season, when the Japanese cherry trees that circle the city鈥檚 Tidal Pool bloom each spring. That design included another nod to the Japanese 鈥� a space dedicated to Nintendo鈥檚 Super Mario Bros. series of video games.

鈥淲e did two of the bars, half cherry blossom, half Super Mario,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd then the Super Mario Bar was on the front page of Reddit. It just exploded.鈥�

That marked something of a turning point for Adriana, as it was the last time she was a regular behind the bar. From that point on, her focus was on the design side. There was a pop-up 鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� bar and a tribute to the World Series champion Washington Nationals in 2019.

There was a slump in the business during 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down entertainment spaces everywhere, and Adriana spent much of the year with family in Ecuador, staying healthy and writing songs.

And when the world emerged from the pandemic, there was plenty of work for Adriana, who had branded herself as the . Her work is now sought after around the country and even internationally. And while Christmas pop-ups aren鈥檛 her only gigs, they鈥檙e still among her favorites.

Music also occupies much of Adriana鈥檚 time. She released a Spanish-language single in fall 2024 and is wrapping up , in Spanish and English, for release this month.

Despite the fact that she鈥檚 never really pursued a career in the sciences, her 麻豆村 education is still the catalyst for her creativity.

鈥淓veryone is born an artist. Everyone is born a genius,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut to be empowered in a place like Carnegie Mellon that doesn't just teach you stuff 鈥� it teaches you that you can teach yourself how to learn and you can learn anything. I had serious imposter syndrome at first, but I鈥檝e learned and I found something that gets me out of bed every morning. That鈥檚 what it did for me.鈥�