It is not common for Amina Martínez de Irujo to break her discretion. One instance was last year, on the occasion of her father Cayetano Martínez de Irujo’s wedding to Barbara Mirjan, in which the young woman served as godmother. More recently, we saw her again with her family at the Alba family’s gathering with King Felipe VI at the Palacio de las Dueñas, to inaugurate the exhibition Cayetana: Grande de España.
The daughter of the Duke of Arjona and Genoveva Casanova has been living in London for several years, largely away from the media spotlight. After moving to the United Kingdom to study Language, Culture and Communications at the University of Warwick, she began in 2023 working for the luxury hotel chain Aman Resorts. She now holds the position of global sales coordinator there and is also an ambassador for the brand abroad.
In the British capital, Amina Martínez de Irujo mingles with an exclusive circle of friends that includes Olivia Monjardín, Rocco Ritchie’s ex, Madonna’s younger son, and the British director Guy Ritchie, and Ariadna Vargas Llosa. The latter, as her surname betrays, is the granddaughter of the late Nobel Prize-winning writer, Mario Vargas Llosa.
Amina and Ariadna have left traces of their friendship on their respective Instagram walls, and thanks to it, the granddaughter of the Duchess of Alba has already debuted as a model. The future Countess of Salvatierra made her debut in these realms posing for the Beau Street Shop brand, the latest project of Gonzalo Vargas Llosa’s daughter. Amina lent her style to this brand with an improvised photo shoot on the streets of London.
Illustrious Surnames and a Passion for Travel
Amina Martínez de Irujo and Ariadna Vargas Llosa have many points in common to strengthen their friendship. To begin with, both carry on their men the weight of some long-established aristocratic surnames. The first in Spanish aristocracy and the second in world literature. The two also stand out for their entrepreneurial spirit. The writer’s granddaughter studied Public Relations in Boston, but a stay in Geneva solidified her training in the fashion world, which helped her launch her own clothing line.
Ariadna and Amina, posing on a street in London.
The two young women also share prominence in society chronicles. Thus, Amina Martínez de Irujo’s most recent visit to Spain for the Feria de Abril nor the bullfight by Andrés Roca Rey at La Maestranza went unnoticed. Ariadna Vargas Llosa made headlines last October when she traveled to Madrid to collect a posthumous award in honor of her grandfather during the Influencia Hispana Awards ceremony.
The passion for traveling the world is another important detail they share. Ariadna’s Instagram feed takes us from New York to the beaches of Sicily and the snowy slopes of Switzerland. Amina Martínez de Irujo’s feed offers the same, as she has even ventured into becoming a travel influencer. A true globetrotter, the daughter of Genoveva Casanova decided to immortalize her experiences around the planet with her friends and share them for anyone who wishes to enjoy them.
An Experience as Miss
Where, for now, their paths diverge is in the world of beauty pageants. Ariadna Vargas Llosa surprised us a few months ago by announcing her participation in the Miss Peru USA 2026 pageant. The event, held in Salt Lake City, aimed to select the person who would be the candidate to represent the Andean country first in Miss Peru and then, even more importantly, in the Miss Universe pageant.
The competition featured 21 Peruvian women residing in the United States and in the end, the crown did not go to Ariadna, although the title did stay in the family. The winner was her cousin, Milena Said, while she took home a consolation prize by being chosen Miss Peru Florida. “It has forced me to step out of my comfort zone and leave behind shyness, which is key to the growth of my company,” the young woman told the magazine ¡Hola!, adding that “at home they took it well, because our independence is always celebrated.”
