I grew up in Quillota, a small town located 120 km northwest of Santiago, the Chilean capital. As a young child, I was precocious: I walked at 10 months, talked nonstop and asked questions, and I was unable to sit still. To this day, I can close my eyes and see how I drove my poor mother crazy with my questions and my restlessness. As well, having two older brothers, I was always trying to copy and learn from them, and beat
them(!)
At a very early age, books became my love; they were my escape to a world that I could only imagine, and dictionaries were never more than 3 metres from my bed. My dad was a history and philosophy teacher, and on weekends and holidays, we used to share our love for books, history, art, and philosophy. Through his stories, I could see the world; he was a raconteur like no one I had ever known.
During the week, there wasn’t enough food for my thirsty brain, and to keep me quiet, my TATA (grandpa) challenged me to find mistakes in El Mercurio (Chile’s largest newspaper, and one of the oldest in the Americas), which he had read cover to cover his whole life. Little did he know or understand, but with that challenge, he helped create a “monster” and the editor in me was born. I became passionate about writing better, seeking clarity, and I was always looking for spelling mistakes and typos, which I highlight and then discuss with him.
I can still see myself as an 8 or 9-year-old, reading the newspaper with a red pencil in hand, marking up the paper for my grandfather, and seeing the pride and joy in his eyes.
As time went by, that simple childhood challenge became a cornerstone of my job as a translator and editor. These days, my goal is to oversee and, as much as possible, be the final review of as much of the editing and proofreading here at AZ World.
Sometimes the games of our youth become the tools of our future; in this case, they really did for me, and they changed and modelled my professional life.
If you need to bridge the language divide and connect with a wider audience, contact us at info@a-zworld.ca or visit www.a-zworld.ca the AZ World team will be happy to assist you.