English Narration

Two Sides to “Bilingual”

September 14, 2023 by Brian Amador

Updated from a previously published post.

The growth of the Hispanic population in the U.S. (around 18% of the population in 2023) has led to increased demand for audio content targeted to that demographic. All genres of voiceover work, from commercials and explainer videos to e-learning, corporate narration, promos and more, are incorporating Spanish and bilingual content. And the increased demand has brought an expansion of VO talent offering their services in Spanish, from fluent native speakers to those who learned a little Spanish in high school.

I think anyone seriously involved in Spanish or English-Spanish bilingual voiceover work would agree that it’s not a good idea to sell yourself as a Spanish-speaking talent if you are not able to speak the language fluently, expressively and with an impeccable accent. In this regard, there are obvious advantages to hiring talent born and educated in a Spanish-speaking country.

But it’s not an absolute necessity. There are U.S.-born Spanish speakers who are completely bilingual – native speakers who can speak both English and Spanish and switch effortlessly between the two languages.

Full Bilingualism = Value Added

In my career as an English/Spanish bilingual voice actor, my standards are exactly the same for both languages: perfect, native pronunciation and expression. Surprisingly, I’ve found that sometimes being a native English speaker is just as important as being a native Spanish speaker. Being fully bilingual has advantages:

It’s important to recognize errors in translation and be able to make suggestions to correct them. Sometimes English expressions are translated directly into Spanish; if you are familiar with the colloquial expressions in English, it may be easier to find the best Spanish equivalent.
Some translation problems are due to grammatical errors or ambiguities in the source text. If you have a complete command of written English, you can more easily identify and correct these errors.
In overdubs, errors in translation may be due to the translator misunderstanding spoken English words because of the speaker’s accent or dialect. As a native English speaker, I am able to understand many different accents (although I admit I still watch “Masterpiece Theatre” with the subtitles on!)
For recordings of a specified duration, mastery of both languages makes it easier to adapt translations to fit in in a given time without sacrificing the meaning of the source copy.
It’s an extra perk for the client to be able to use the same voice talent in English and Spanish and have both languages sound natural and conversational.

Quality is What Matters

Given the growing importance of the Spanish language in the United States, and just as a matter of principle, the standards for Spanish and bilingual voiceover should always be as high as they are for English. It is as important for creators of content in Spanish, as it is for English-language creators, to find speakers who have a perfect command of the language, whether they are “native” or ”imported” speakers. There are two sides to “bilingual”. In some cases, mastery of English may be just as important as mastery of Spanish.

Amador Bilingual Voiceovers Brian Demos

Producer’s Guide to PSAs for the Hispanic Market

April 12, 2018 by Brian Amador

Watch this charming animated PSA for the El Paso Streetcar, voiced by our daughter Alisa Amador. Produced by Pilgrim Animation

PSAs Image Producers of public service announcements (PSAs) for the Hispanic market know that skilled bilingual voiceover talent is a powerful weapon in their arsenal when it comes to creating PSAs that resonate with their intended audienc

ABCs of PSAs

PSAs are used to inform the general public and promote government programs, services, or activities or those of non-profit organizations. To be effective, they need to engage the audience with a relatable message and delivery.

Over the years, Rosi and I have had the honor of voicing bilingual PSAs for causes that we wholeheartedly support. We recorded English and Spanish versions of the “Ask MOVA” spots, produced for the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance. These PSAs were created to inform survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing of the services available to them.

Working with ChavoBart Digital Media, our whole family recorded the environmentally themed PSA “La Familia Verde/The Verde Family”. And in the wake of Hurricane María, Amador Bilingual Voiceovers partnered with MORE Advertising to create PSAs for the Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico Fund. We produced and voiced the spots, in addition to providing original music.

What Makes a Great PSA Voiceover?

Whether targeting the Hispanic population or a general market, producers who create powerful calls to action are looking for a specific skill set from voiceover talent. Being able to meet this need has allowed us to put our voices to work where they are most useful.

Here are some important qualities to look for in bilingual voice talent for PSAs:

1. Perfect command of both English and neutral Latin American Spanish.

Often the same campaign will be produced for both English- and Spanish-speaking media. Having voice actors who can speak both languages can streamline the process and save the producer money. Neutral Latin American Spanish, which avoids regional dialects and accents, is useful in reaching Spanish-speaking audiences of all backgrounds.

You can learn more about neutral Latin American Spanish in this post from our archive.

2. Ability to offer varying degrees of Hispanic-accented English.

Like advertising, PSAs are often most effective when the listener feels an affinity with the person talking. In Hispanic markets, this means there’s a demand for Hispanic-accented English. Finding the right degree of accent can be a challenge, and for that purpose we created The Revolutionary Accent-O-Meter.

3. Experience and an ability to take direction quickly and accurately.

The goal of many PSAs is to make an emotional appeal to the listener. To do that successfully, the voice actor has to be able to take direction, and to offer different interpretations of the same copy.

4. An understanding of the PSA’s purpose and the ability to convey it powerfully and emotionally.

Voice acting is acting. And acting depends on the ability to analyze the script and interepret it through the lens of one’s own experiences. This is a skill developed over time, and it’s painfully obvious when it’s lacking.

5. A topnotch recording studio that can deliver consistently good audio.

While many PSA producers choose to work in commercial studios, a professional quality home studio can save money and streamline the creative process. Internet-based audio platforms offer producers the ability to hear and direct the voice talent, or even to record remotely. Some of the most popular are ip-DTL, Session Link Pro, and Source-Connect.

6. BONUS! Music

The capacity to add an audience-appropriate original music bed and to fully produce the spots. This can save the producer time and money and enhance the consistency of the spot.

7. EXTRA BONUS! Translation and Script Supervision

The best way to create a PSA targeted to a Spanish-speaking audience is to create it from scratch in Spanish. But that’s not always possible. If a producer wants to create a Spanish spot based on preexisting English copy, it’s vital that the translation be accurate, idiomatic, and culturally relevant. It’s no exaggeration to say that a bad translation can ruin a PSA. We’re often called upon to translate spots or to tweak them so the Spanish sounds more natural.

The Amadors On Boston Voyager Magazine

March 7, 2018 by Rosi Amador

Meet Rosi and Brian Amador of Amador Bilingual Voiceovers and Sol y Canto in Cambridge

Rosi and Brian Amador recording voiceovers in the studio.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rosi Amador.

Rosi, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
We began our music career together in 1984 as co-founders of the popular Latin Band Flor de Caña, a group that met during a cultural exchange tour to Central America and returned with a commitment to singing for social change. When that group dissolved in 1994, we formed our own band, Sol y Canto, which we describe as “Latin roots music to change the world; passionate, poetic, playful and honest.” Over the years, we were honored to win several awards including three Boston Music Award for “Outstanding Latin Act,” have toured internationally and have established a reputation for quirky original compositions that address matters of the heart, social and global aspiration, combined with our unique and driving interpretations of contemporary Latin music. When our twin daughters were four years old, we brought them into the family business. They recorded on our CD of music for kids and their families, and performed with us when school permitted. Our daughter Alisa Amador is now a singer-songwriter in her own right.

In the 1980’s, while touring and recording, we began to be called upon for educational voiceover recordings for kids. Recording at studios in the Boston area into the 90’s, we learned on the job, and we loved it! Developing this passion for recording voiceovers led to the official establishment of our company, Amador Bilingual VoiceOvers 2010. Eventually voiceovers replaced music as our full-time career, in an organic way. ABVO is a family business. Rosi, Brian and our 21-year old daughter Alisa record bilingual voiceover regularly for a global list of clients. We use our voices to build cross-cultural bridges, and to bring compelling messages to life. We serve both North American and Hispanic/Latin American markets, recording from our private studio in Cambridge. Our success is built upon our ability to provide evocative voice acting in flawless native English and neutral Latin American Spanish or English with a Hispanic accent. We are bilingual and bicultural, and we navigate both worlds seamlessly. We are now one of the foremost providers of bilingual English and Spanish voiceovers in the United States.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As for any entrepreneurs, it took time to establish ourselves both as musicians and as voiceover actors, locally, regionally, nationally and then internationally. The journeys have been similar for both careers in that succeeding as a business that fills any need has everything to do with understanding what the needs are in the market and meeting that need with the utmost care and dedication, so that your clients feel they’ve found a great resource they can rely on again and again.

As musicians, there were continuous struggles as levels of funding for our cultural presenters ebbed and flowed. The ups and downs during the 80’s and 90’s were frequent, yet we persevered by continually believing in our music and its message and by marketing ourselves, communicating with our fan base, which at one time numbered 11,000, by snail mail (!). Fortunately we can do this online now. We still do around 30 concerts a year, primarily in the Boston area with occasional tours to places we love such as California, New Mexico, and parts of New England. Making a living as a musician was and still is a sacrifice unless you do commercial music, and you really have to love it since musicians aren’t compensated as well as they should be.

As bilingual voiceover actors we worked hard to establish ourselves locally and be seen as a resource for local production companies, very quickly getting connected with regional and national companies, recording studios and then agents, by training with voiceover coaches and acting coaches and by researching which important industry events to attend that could best help us improve our skills and grow our network. All of this took time and due diligence. The challenge at first was to figure out where the resources were to help us become as professional and skilled as possible. Finding local mentors was a critical step that led to launching our business officially once we felt confident about presenting ourselves in the marketplace.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Amador Bilingual Voiceovers, Sol y Canto – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Amador Bilingual Voiceovers’ global clients frequently remark on our excellent customer service and our ability to provide male, female or adolescent female voiceovers in flawless native English, Spanish, or Hispanic-accented English. We’re seasoned talents. Together we voice for a wide variety of applications, specializing in commercials, museum audio tours, corporate videos, overdubbing from English to Spanish, on-hold and IVR telephone messages, industrial training videos, eLearning modules, children’s bilingual audiobooks, documentaries, audio tours, and explainer videos. We specialize in the areas of health/medical, children’s educational, and social change-related issues. We truly value being part of our clients’ team. We care as much as they do about the final product and delight in leaving our vocal imprint on each and every project and in developing personal relationships with them. We also pride ourselves on providing top quality translations and original music for our clients’ projects. Learn more about us: www.amadorbilingualvoiceovers.com

Sol y Canto is led by my wife, Puerto Rican/Argentine singer and bongo player Rosi Amador, and me. I’m originally from New Mexico. I’m a guitarist, composer and Sol y Canto’s musical director. Featuring Rosi’s crystalline voice, and my Spanish guitar, we occasionally expand to a trio, quartet, quintet or sextet, including virtuoso musicians from all over Latin America and the U.S. on piano, winds, bass, and percussion. We have recorded seven commercial CD’s featuring Latin music for adults and bilingual music for children. We’re particularly proud of the fact that our music is often used as a bridge to help bring North and Latin Americans together. We often perform for mostly non-Spanish speaking audiences, for whom our music is a way of learning more about Latin America. The Boston Globe called us “Boston’s pan-Latin ambassadors”. We are particularly dedicated to raising awareness of social issues through our music, which we use as an expression of our values and hope for a better world. Learn more about us at: www.solycanto.com

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Sol y Canto has a very exciting new project that’s about to be revealed. This fall we will release “Sabor y Memoria: A Musical Feast in Seven Courses,” a CD and DVD of original Latin music all about food! It’s a suite in seven movements for the Sol y Canto sextet and a string quartet, accompanied by stunning food-themed photos, recipes and a mini-documentary about the creation of what we feel is our best work yet! From the appetizer to dessert, it’s a Latino musico-culinary, multi-sensory mix of music, images and flavors in Latin rhythms from Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Panama and Puerto Rico, where each movement is a “dish” in an imaginary meal. Recorded live with the Boston Public Quartet in a performance presented by the Celebrity Series of Boston, this DVD is guaranteed to make you hungry! The DVD was crowdfunded by our fans, and all sales revenue will go to a wonderful non-profit in Boston called the Haley House, which “uses food and the power of community to break down barriers between people, transfer new skills, and revitalize neighborhoods. We believe in radical solutions: solving problems at their root by challenging attitudes that perpetuate suffering and by building alternative models.” Learn more about it here: http://solycanto.com/saborymemoria/

Amador Bilingual Voiceovers plans to continue building its local and international clientele, providing top quality bilingual voiceovers for clients including the Smithsonian’s African American Museum of History and Culture, MIT, Biogen, Discovery Education, Expedia Travel, Mattress Firm, PBS, Bilingual children’s audiobook publishers Live Oak Media and Barefoot Books, Royal Caribbean Cruises and the National Fire Protection Association, to name a few. Rosi and Brian also teach an introductory voiceover skill class at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education a couple of times a year.

Rosi Amador was cast in a major role in Boston of the Broadway hit musical IN THE HEIGHTS by Lin Manuel Miranda (HAMILTON). She will play the role of Camila, the strong Puerto Rican mom that keeps the family together in this fantastic musical about the Latino neighborhood of Washington Heights in NYC, which will make you cry, laugh and want to dance in your seats! The storyline, choreography and music are simply extraordinary. The play runs from October 27- November 19th at the Wheelock Family Theater. For tickets and group sales contact: wheelockfamilytheatre.org/current-season/feature-performance/ Feel free to use Rosi’s discount code for tickets: HEIGHTS17

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE HERE →

Our NEW Voiceover Website for Producers of Hispanic Content!

July 31, 2017 by Rosi Amador

Meaningful Content For the Hispanic Market

¡Bienvenidos a Locuciones Bilingües Amador! Our brand new Spanish voiceover website, www.locucionesbilinguesamador.com, created for producers of Hispanic content, is now online! ¡Estamos encantados de anunciar que finalmente hemos lanzado nuestra nueva página web completamente en español, www.locucionesbilinguesamador.com!

Honoring our Mission

Amador Bilingual Voiceovers‘ mission is to be the foremost provider of Spanish and English voiceover services for clients who create content related to Hispanics and the Spanish language, and who serve Spanish-speaking markets. Being a one-stop voiceover shop for commercials and narrations in perfect neutral Latin American Spanish or North American English, our goal has always been to make our clients’ lives easier through every aspect of our business.

Getting the Word Out – Twice!

One of the most important pieces in building a voiceover business is making yourself known to the people who are looking for your particular skill set. Our new Spanish site enables us to connect with Spanish-speaking content producers in the language in which they’re most comfortable.

Paired with our new whimsical animated, 90-second explainer video, “Somos los Amador – La Familia Latina de Locutores Bilingües” (gracias to the talented team at the Boston University AdLab!), the new site lets us introduce our family of voices to anyone in the U.S. or Latin America looking for voiceover services in North American English, Hispanic-accented English, or neutral Latin American Spanish.

We’re also excited to announce that we’ll be posting the same informative articles you find here on our bilingual voiceover blog in Spanish on the new site moving forward.

It’s All About the Client

Having a wide range of services, languages, and voices to meet our clients’ needs is our raison d’être. Our fully bilingual staff (our studio manager, engineer and social media director are all bilingual, too) are always happy to help make your customer experience a pleasant one.

Let us know what you think of the new Locuciones Bilingües Amador website! Whether in English or Spanish, we invite you to read the latest blog post by Brian, Making Lemons into Limonada.

Haz clic aquí para leer este artículo en español.

Hispanic-Accented English Voiceover: Turning Lemons Into Limonada

May 10, 2017 by Brian Amador

“What? I have an accent?”

My name is Brian Amador. I was born in the great state of New Mexico, and until I moved away, I never thought I had an accent in English. I spoke like most of the people around me.

It wasn’t until I moved to the East Coast that I discovered that yes, I do in fact speak with a slight Hispanic accent when I’m not thinking about it.

After having this pointed out to me by too many people to ignore, I concluded that my accented English might be affecting my ability to land voiceover jobs. I decided to try some accent-reduction coaching.

My coach gave me specific feedback about which letter sounds gave me away, and I worked on being able to neutralize my accent. But one of the things she told me, which I’m glad I heeded, was “DON’T lose your accent! It will come in handy sometimes.”

How right she was! As we broke down last year’s voiceover work by genre and language, it became clear that Hispanic-Accented English voiceover represented a small but significant share of my work.

Work with what you’ve got.

It turns out that there is a market for Hispanic-accented voiceover, and it’s quite broad. We’ve been hired for accented English VO for Commercials, eLearning, medical and corporate projects. There’s never been a greater demand for voiceover that reflects the diversity that is the U.S.A.

About the time that I decided to learn to neutralize my Hispanic Accent, I also decided it would also be a good idea to learn to emphasize it, or to vary it. There are many types of Hispanic accents, and someone born in the U.S. won’t speak like someone who immigrated.

How much accent, and which?

While being able to faithfully reproduce all the Hispanic accents in this country would be impossible, it made sense to study certain characteristics of a few of the more common ones. I listen to the differences in speech patterns between East Coast Hispanics of Caribbean descent and Chicanos from California, and how those are both quite different from the accent that I heard growing up in New Mexico.

It’s an ongoing study that’s become kind of a game. When I get an audition or job request in Hispanic-accented English, I consider whether to use my Rubén Blades, my Cheech Marín, my Grandma, or something else.

Meanwhile, my wife Rosi and my daughter Alisa have also been able to parlay accented English into profitable work. Rosi’s big discovery was how just a touch of British accent can make a Hispanic accent sound more Chilean, and for Argentine, she just channels her Papi.

The Payoff

While Hispanic-accented English voiceover doesn’t represent a huge percentage of my work, I have to say that it has brought some of my most fun jobs, and even some recognition in the Industry.

I recently got to do a commercial for a major sandwich chain in the style of a soap opera, playing a Latin lover type. Then a colleague notified me that I had won a prestigious Earphones Award from AudioFile Magazine for an accented read of the beloved children’s book THE STORY OF FERDINAND. These are two really fun, rewarding projects that never would have come my way if I had lost my accent!

Guest Blogger – Allison Schneider of StudySync

November 4, 2016 by Brian Amador

allison schneider guest blogger It’s our great pleasure this month to feature a guest blog by one of our favorite clients, Allison Schneider of StudySync, developers of digital Language Arts curriculum. The entire ABVO family (Rosi, Brian, Sonia and Alisa Amador, plus our honorary Amador, engineer Camilo) have had the pleasure of recording a LOT of wonderful literature for Allison and her team in English and Spanish.

About StudySync

Allison here with StudySync. It’s a joy to share a bit about the work that StudySync and the Amadors do together. As a digital English Language Arts/English Language Development curriculum, StudySync engages students with media and technology. One of the foundations of our product is a growing library of over 1,200 text selections, many of which include voiceover readings to help students better access and understand the text. That’s where the Amadors fit into the StudySync picture, and it’s where they’ve made a lasting impact on students across the country. I’d like to share a couple of particulars about what makes our collaboration with them so rewarding.

Engaging Students Through Literature

In their work with StudySync, the Amadors engage and inspire students through great works of literature in English and in Spanish, exposing them to the works of prominent multicultural authors including Sandra Cisneros and others. The voiceovers provided by the Amadors help bring Spanish-speaking students along on Tom Sawyer’s adventures by voicing a Spanish translation of Mark Twain’s beloved work. They’ve contributed several dozen voiceovers to StudySync, and with each one, they strengthen our ability to inspire students of diverse backgrounds.

A Shared Passion

StudySync’s work with the Amadors is especially strong because they share our passion for education. That shared commitment shows in every voiceover that they create for StudySync. It makes every project that we work on together meaningful.

A Family Affair

When you work with the Amadors, you’re working with family. Working with the Amadors and their team is a true family experience. First, you don’t get just one talented voiceover artist—you get five! Second—and most importantly—they make you feel like you’re a part of the family. The Amadors don’t just bring talent to the table. They bring friendship and a collaborative spirit.

As StudySync’s curriculum continues to grow, we look forward to having the Amadors along for the journey. Gracias, Amadors, for sharing your talents with us!