John Leguizamo has been an incredible advocate for sharing Latin stories. The Latin History for Morons creator is now using his platform to support the TribecaX award-winning short film, Translators, which tells the story of three child translators in the U.S. that are helping their immigrant, Spanish-speaking parents survive.
© TranslatorsThe U.S. has over 11 million child translators in the U, S, and shows how young bilingual Hispanic children play a pivotal role as translators, raising awareness about the importance of language access.
Leguizamo, who immigrated to the United States from Colombia when he was 4 years old, attended the Speaking up, por Nosotros event in Los Angeles where we had the honor to talk to an actor. He told us the short film resonated with his story.
© GettyImages“It brought me to tears several times,” he said. “It’s such a powerful film because it’s all our lives. I’m a child of immigrants, I’m an immigrant myself, and I was always translating for my parents. You become a doctor lawyer, advocate,” the actor continued.
The Leguizamo Does America Host, took to Instagram to encourage fans to share their stories with the hashtag #TranslatorsFilm. You can watch the film here.
HOLA! USA also had the opportunity to talk to the film’s director, Rudy Valdez. While he wasn’t a child translator, the film brought him back to his childhood. He said his parents had a little Mexican grocery store in Lansing, Michigan, that was a hub of the Mexican community.
“I remember so many times people would come in and say, ‘I need help. I need someone to come with me to my child’s school. I need someone to come with me to the courthouse. I need someone to come with me to the hospital.’ And every single time, either my mother or my father would pick me up, and they’d lock the store, and we’d be in a car going” he said.
© GettyImagesThe director said making the film made him realize the responsibility these children have. “I didn’t fully realize coming into this. You know, you hear about translating at the hospital, you hear about translating at school, but it’s truly not just those moments,” he said. “It’s all day every day. It’s translating at Starbucks, it’s translating in the drive-through. It’s translating all over the place.”
Despite the burden, he said he thinks it gives them confidence. “It’s allowing them to navigate and see things in the world that maybe other kids don’t see. And I think that’s wonderful. It’s beautiful,” he continued.
