–THE BEST BILINGUAL TOOL TO CONNECT ACROSS CULTURES
TRANSCREATION DRIVES MY WORK.
Arches National Park in Moab, Utah.
Here is why:
In Spanish we say “ya voy” when someone calls you, which literally means: “I’ll be right there.”
While in English “I’ll be right there” means I’ll be there in a second, “ya voy” lets you know that I’ve heard you the first time you called–and you can try again in about two hours because I’ll probably forget you needed me.
In many Caribbean cultures, “urgency” is often not taken too seriously (and for the record, we love it!).
So if I were to transcreate a Caribbean “ya voy” into English for a headline, I’d probably use “hold on!” instead of “I’ll be right there”.
Why? Beyond fitting the layout, “hold on”–though it still doesn’t fully fit–is much closer to “ya voy” than a literal translation.
This is exactly what gets lost in translation!
Words lose the meaning they carry within a culture.
So, if “ya voy” were stuck in a literal translation, the message loses a valuable moment to connect with that cultural perspective on urgency.
That is why, as a Venezuelan copywriter in the U.S., I help brands connect with Spanish-speaking audiences by moving beyond translation into transcreation.
This approach is grounded in my lived bicultural experience.
Glaciers National Park, Montana.
But it isn’t grounded in my lived bicultural experience alone.
It also comes from my academic background in language.
I studied Ancient Greek back in Venezuela in 2007 for over 10 years—where I didn’t just learn grammar rules, but also learned how languages evolve over time and the value of understanding them from the roots.
Later, I explored modern languages and literature. I discovered that Emily Dickinson stands apart from Goethe, not in style or tongue, but in cultural essence.
And when I tried to translate these works into Spanish, something was always missing:
• Words with no direct translation
• Sentences that sound off to the Spanish ear
• Rhythm and musicality
Then I moved to Colorado in 2019 and immersed myself in the English-speaking world.
That's when I realized that marketing and advertising isn’t that far from literature:
If your brand’s soul gets lost in translation, your Hispanic audience will scroll past you and move on.
Each language requires its own carefully crafted version: one that feels natural on its own.
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