CAREER PROFILE
More than 30 years in this field make me a seasoned, experienced and respected English-Spanish / Spanish-English translator/proofreader, comfortable with the most diverse range of assignments and situations. Translated/proofread documents for international conferences and meetings with the two major translation companies in Cuba (The Cuban Center for Translation and Interpretation ESTI, and the Havana International Conference Center). Participated in numerous conferences in different countries as a part of the Technical Secretariat, hired by different translation agencies, translated/proofread articles for the Cuban Center for European Studies and TIPS on Cuba magazine; articles for IPS Havana news agency; worked with the CBS Network Havana newsroom when Pope John Paul II visited Cuba. For more than ten years, I translated articles, leaflets, facilities catalogues, presentations and yearbooks for CUBANACAN S.A., former major tourism holding in Cuba. Had two contracts with the UN as a translator in the Spanish translation section in the UN New York Headquarters. In the last 7 years I have performed as a locally hired staff member at the US Interests Section in Havana as a Visa Assistant.

Perform well under pressure and tight deadlines, I am analytical and creative. Good writing and communication skills, strong project, team and customer management skills (US Department of State Workshops), strong work ethic reliability, speed and commitment to quality. Comfortable working with peoples of diverse cultures.

Strong MS Office skills ( Word, Power Point, Excel, Wordfast, etc)
Fluent in Spanish and English, and working knowledge of French.

EDUCATION
July 2008 Certificate, US Department of State, FSI, Immigration Law and Visa Operations Course
1982-1987 MA in Journalism, University of Havana
1962-1967 BA in Arts and Sciences, Havana Pre-Universitary School.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
2002-2008 US Interests Section in Havana, Cuba
Locally hired Visa Assistant. Responsibilities included handling all the paperwork submitted by Cuban applicants to come to the US under the US-Cuba Migration Accords and US citizens’ family petitions. This involves document intake, analysis and organization, file maintenance and record keeping, preparation of travel documents, drafting and tracking requests for mandatory Security Advisory Opinions, fingerprinting applicants, responding inquiries from American citizens and Cuban nationals (via phone, mail or in person) about their cases, provided linguistic support for English-speaking officers in special projects such as the Fraud Prevention Unit, immigrant visa printing, etc. My overall performance during this period was rated as outstanding.

1994-2002 Havana International Conference Center (Palacio de Convenciones de La Habana)
Proofreader and translator of documents for conferences and meeting to be held at that venue or abroad. I supervised the work of 8 translators, revising (proofreading) documents before they were printed to be distributed in the conference halls. Also performed as précis-writer in national and international conferences. The position involved great attention to detail and accuracy since sometimes these documents were part of a decision-making process between organizations and governments to reach agreements on different issues.

1973-1994 Cuban Center for Translation and Interpretation (ESTI) one of the two major translations companies in Cuba. Translator up to 1987, then promoted as proofreader (reviser) supervising the job of around 40 translators. Here I specialized in International Organizations (UN, FAO, UNDP, UNESCO, ICAO, IAEA, etc) proofreading documents, training manuals, etc. for these organizations. Here I had to deal with the subtleties of UN Spanish translation. During this time I fulfilled two contracts with the UN, one in Cuba in 1988 and another 3-month contract in the Spanish Translation Section at the UN New York Headquarters.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Business/Finance: Investment programs, business plans, financial statements, annual
reports, and other
Legal: Powers of attorney, articles of incorporation, deeds, by laws, contracts,
agreements, laws and regulations, birth certificates, police records, etc.
Education: Diplomas, academic courses, curricula, grade certificates
Commercial: Business proposals, brochures, leaflets, bids and tenders, ads
(especially tourism related)
Technical: Installation guides, service descriptions, user´s manuals (especially for
the Hyundai car and truck headquarters in Havana)
Immigration: Familiar with all Department of State forms for visa obtaining processes
around the globe. Different application categories and procedures.
Aviation: Translation of regular ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization)
documents. This organization has HQ in Canada. Translated ADREP reports,
dealing with aircraft accidents, ATC manuals, etc.

Member of ATA since 2010


Publications: Cubanacan´s Tourism Guides (1995-2000) Translation /Proofreading
Manual de Entrenamiento (International Atomic Energy Agency)
(IAEA) Translation, and DTP
Informes ADREP, (ICAO) Internacional Civil Aviation Organization,
Translation/Proofreading
InterPress Service News Reports (1999-2005) News Bulletin