Born in Madrid, Macarena is a Doctor for the University of Sydney thanks to her thesis entiled “The Role of Culture in the Teaching of Spanish as Foreign Language in Australian Universities. A Case Study”. She is a qualified teacher specialising in the teaching Spanish as a foreign language as well as Art History. She has been teaching the Spanish language and culture from beginner to advanced levels at the University of Sydney in the Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies since 2012. Macarena has more than ten years of experiences teaching Spanish in Australia. She previously taught at the University of Technology Sydney, Australian Catholic University, the Cervantes Institute, Mt. Ku-ring-gai Community College, and Spanish Solutions.

During her time as a Spanish lecturer at the University of Sydney Macarena has received teaching awards in recognition of her outstanding contribution to teaching and student learning. In 2016 Macarena was presented with the Dean’s Citation for Excellence in Teaching with Distinction from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. In 2015 she was a coordinator of Spansih levels 1 and 7. Macarena received a Commendation for Excellence in First Year Teaching as the Coordinator of Level 1, presented by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Macarena is a curriculum developer for the Spanish Diploma at the University of Sydney. She is also an examiner for the Spanish curriculum at the Australian Catholic University, as well as an examiner for Spanish assessments at the University of Notre Dame. Additionally, Macarena is a teacher trainer in Spanish as a Foreign Language.

Macarena is a certified examiner of the Diploma in Spanish as a Foreign Language (DELE) for Basic, Waystage, Intermediate and Advanced levels. She is also an exam marker for Spanish for the New South Wales High School Certificate (HSC). Furthoremore, Macarena is a tutor for the on-line learning system Aula Virtual de Español (AVE).