Rosario | Mexico
English <> Spanish
Scientific, Healthcare, Pharmaceutical
Rosario has been called a “lifesaver” more than once here at the BeatBabel office. And it’s not because of her medical training but her incredibly reliable and swift translation skills. After our conversation, we learned that the latter (translation) would never have happened if it weren’t for the former (medicine), so maybe she is a literal lifesaver after all.
Rosario is a lifelong Defeña (resident of Mexico City) and proud. This city, which saw her grow, offers everything she needs and the right environment for her work and personal life. She especially appreciates being able to find any type of food you can possibly think of and the consistent and overall beautiful weather. Our theory here at BB is that when it comes to weather there are 2 types of translators: those who like it rainy and miserable outside (so they feel better inside) and those who like it sunny and beautiful outside (so they are motivated to cram down and get work done to jump outside and soak in the sunshine).
With Rosario we have yet another example of “translation finding the translator”, which seems to be a common theme in the localization industry. So many of our long-standing and absolute favorite translators are people who went through formal higher education in any given field of expertise and then somehow stumble into this profession through a secret passage. There is simply no other professional environment where you will find doctors, engineers, biologists, architects, computer scientists, chefs, working hand in hand while discussing the correct usage of semicolons. In her own words:
“I had just graduated as an ophthalmologist, and a friend who worked on a CRO asked me to fix a horrible translation they received, and they needed to submit the properly translated document to the Health authority for regulatory approval. That was my first translation. They liked it so much that they kept sending me documents which I translated as a hobbie (at that time I had my private office), and years later when I pursued my postgraduate studies (which implied not having a private practice in ophthalmology), I found in translating a way of making a living while studying. I Wouldn´t have been able to pursue my MSc and PhD if it wasn´t for translation.”
Rosario enjoys spending time at home with her family, her teenage son, and their two dogs: a Doberman and a Pug (highly inconsistent dog choices!). She appreciates the freedom this profession brings, the flexibility to work on her own time and to spend quality time with family. We do our best to not pile too much work on her, but it is hard not to, with her incredibly commitment to quality and meeting deadlines. She once famously dispatched 200 000 words in less than three weeks, over Christmas! Needless to say, this was pre-BeatBabel; we always work hard but give our translators the work-life balance they deserve!