ABOUT

My heritage is Mexican and Cuban, and I’ve grown roots in both territories now called Mexico and the United States.

Knowing that I owe my life to a unique collection of immigrant stories and complex historical forces, I strive to bring nuanced perspectives to each project, so I can best convey its original voice to the intended audience.

When translating, I tend to ask, From who for whom? Rather than From what language to what language?

I am interested in language and storytelling, less from the exclusive vantage point of grammarians and more from the perspective of those who study how language and story function in culture, for our connection and survival.

My academic background rests on pillar concepts in American Cultural Anthropology, which include sociolinguistics. But before committing to this field of study at the University of Washington as an undergraduate student in Seattle, I made forays into chemistry and philosophy at U.N.A.M. in Mexico City, where I had lived most of my life until then.

My lived experience and studies continue to serve me well as a writer, translator, and project manager. And they have helped me as an interpreter and bilingual interviewer in medical and research settings, as well as in Localization teams within large gaming publishing studios.

After U.W., I pursued an education in Museum studies, Localization, and Applied Literary Translation, each of which had project management components. From there, I've continued to gain skills and educate my interests in proofreading, fact-checking, medical jargon, subtitling and dubbing, comics, and more.

Working in teams and developing the habit of explaining creative and technical choices has become a welcome antidote to the pitfalls of uncritically applying dictionary terms, parroting trends, and accepting automated translations at face value.

I believe each project needs us to recognize the appropriate sources from which to draw. Sometimes it is a medical journal or specialized translation dictionary. Others it is how people talk on YouTube, Whatsapp, and TikTok. Sometimes it is a trusted style guide, subject matter experts, automated translation results, and other colleagues' work. Yet other times, the material and intended audience ask that we delve into a poetic sensibility—and practice the flexibility—needed to build an expression that does not yet exist or to use an uncommon equivalency. Often it is a mix of some or all of the above.

Regularly nurturing my inquisitive side and listening to others' stories and expertise are pleasures in my book. It's not unusual to find me enjoying fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction, investigating everyday life, reading up on scientific, political, and social studies developments, attending a lecture, taking a workshop, experimenting with an art form, or planning a trip. This preference for lifelong learning and wonder is a fertilizer for the healthy soil of my creative and technical work.