Jennifer López López is a translator, consecutive interpreter and voice actress based in Bilbao (Spain). She works with German, English and Italian and her mother tongue is Spanish. We will talk to her today to get to know her profession better.
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
First of all, thank you for having me here today. It is a real pleasure!
I was born in Bilbao, a beautiful city in the region of the Basque Country in Spain. I was raised here, but my father and 4 grandparents come from Galicia, so I have always felt very connected to my Galician origins too. I am now back in Bilbao, but I have lived in Germany and Italy and I love traveling and exploring the world, so I think I consider myself a ‘citizen of the world’.
Why did you decide to be a translator?
Well, I have always been into languages and learning them has always been both a challenge and a different way of getting to know different cultures and people. Moreover, I noticed my family and friends had difficulties communicating when we went abroad or when we met people from different countries, so I thought it could be a great idea to be that link between cultures. That’s why I decided to become a professional translator and interpreter. I adore my job and it has helped me understand that we actually have much more in common with other countries than we normally believe. I am mainly specialized into medical and literary translation.
Is that any advice you would give for future translators?
Yes, I think they should always remember that there is a never-ending training included in this profession. We translators always have to keep on reading, researching and adapting to each text and never take things for granted. Moreover, it is very important to review and be able to be critical with our own work so that we can improve the final result. This is a profession which requires so much passion and enthusiasm to be able to fulfill clients’ dreams and expectations, so I would add: believe in yourself and be humble!
And why did you decide to be a voice actress?
I am a huge art lover and I enjoy its many possible expressions, so I realized being a voice actress would allow me to be play different roles and show feelings in completely new ways. For me, having the possibility of putting myself in somebody else’s shoes is a big opportunity to explore, learn and have so much fun!
How do you manage to change the characters personality when dubbing?
This is probably the most complicated part, but I normally do a research where I try to figure out which the main features of each character are. So let’s say I read the text consciously and I practice different voice tones before I reach the final option. It’s a very interesting job!
Tell us a little about your latest work.
Recently, I have been very lucky to translate into Spanish a trilogy for kids written by the author Lucia Matuonto(@luciamatuontoauthor)that I have really enjoyed. It is called ’Zoe the Crab’ and it includes the titles: ‘Zoe The Crab- Lost on the Beach’ (Zoe La Cangreja se pierde en la playa), ’Zoe The Crab- Mystery Island (Zoe La Cangreja: La isla misteriosa) and Zoe The Crab- Rescue Mission (Zoe la Cangreja: misión de rescate). The three of them are already available in English and you will be able to discover the Spanish versions of the two last ones very soon, so stay tuned! The main character (Zoe) is a lovely crab and the books talk about friendship, inclusion, nature and values that I consider very important for kids. And, above all, the story is super funny! Besides, I have just recorded the first audiobook in Spanish, which is now under production and will also be published soon. This time I can say the dubbing process was a little bit easier because I knew the story and the characters firsthand and that helped me show their souls through my voice.
How can writers contact you?
They can contact me via e-mail: jenniferlopezlopez@outlook.com