Rosi Amador

“Hidden Figures” and NASA Spanish Overdubs

January 23, 2017 by Rosi Amador

In late December “Hidden Figures” premiered, a movie about three African-American women mathematicians who helped NASA launch the first American into space. My family and I were so excited to see this film that we watched the movie as soon as it came out! It was inspiring to see strong black female protagonists in a portrayal of a pivotal moment in the history of space travel. We loved the movie and strongly recommend it for more reasons than I can list here.

Shortly before “Hidden Figures” hit the movie theaters, my daughter Alisa and I had the pleasure of recording Spanish overdubs for NASA. We lent our voices to two knowledgeable female engineers who serve as instructors (Alisa’s character was also an astronaut).

One of the things we love about being voiceover artists is the joy and honor of partnering with inspiring educational producers who create bilingual content that will impact Hispanics in the United States. The NASA videos we overdubbed in Spanish are aimed at encouraging Hispanics, especially women, to pursue careers in engineering.

Much as “Hidden Figures” motivates the next generation of genius women of color to pursue STEM, the voiceovers we did with NASA allow us to join in this incredibly important mission. Representation matters! “Hidden Figures” and our overdubs are proof of this.

We are grateful to Robert F. Azzardi and Tracy A. Sprouse of the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, for entrusting their series of educational videos to our family and for their appreciation of our passion for just this type of project.

Agradecemos de todo corazón la oportunidad de usar nuestras voces para el NASA Glenn Research Center en Cleveland y en particular queremos darle las gracias a Robert F. Azzardi y Tracy A. Sprouse, quienes confiaron en nuestras voces y pasión justamente por este tipo de proyecto de locución.

Shiny New Voice Over & Music in 2017

December 16, 2016 by Brian Amador

NEW Music & Production Services and NEW Commercial Demos!

New Musical Production Services Just Launched! — **New Music & Production Services for our Clients**

Bringing Our Musical Roots Into Voiceover – After 27 years of singing, composing and performing our Latin music, Brian and I stumbled into our current career as happy bilingual voiceover actors who get to build cross-cultural bridges using our voices day in and out. We launched ABVO in 2010 and haven’t looked back. We’ve gone and done it. We’ve married our two loves – music and voiceover!

Announcing the birth of our favorite new “shiny thing,” our Music and Production Service! Just launched by composer/guitarist Brian Amador and ABVO senior engineer/ music producer/composer Camilo Gómez. Listen to samples of their awesome original music, now available for spots, documentaries, web videos, corporate use and more, from Latin music genres to electronic, pop and solo Spanish guitar. And we can handle production, too. Read all about it here.

But that’s not all….. BRAND NEW SHINY COMMERCIAL DEMOS FOR 2017!!

Check out Rosi’s English & Spanish Commercial demos, and Brian’s English commercial demo. Fun, right? From real person, conversational to authoritative, sensual and upbeat/high energy, we love to mix it up for the brands who put their trust in us, whether in English or Español! Let us know what you think. Incidentally, HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you and your loved ones. Gracias – thank you for joining us here. We wish you a peaceful and prosperous 2017.

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!

Honoring Cheech Marin

October 5, 2016 by Rosi Amador

CHCI Gala Awards Video Voiceover: Cheech Marin, Latino Role Model

Every now and again a project comes in that dovetails so perfectly with our mission of building cross-cultural bridges using our voices that I jump up and down for joy. This is definitely one of them. I had the honor and privilege of recording the voiceover for this video honoring actor, comedian, visual artist and activist Cheech Marin (of Cheech and Chong) for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s recent Awards Gala ceremony!

Click on the video to learn some secrets about Cheech’s interesting family roots, plus all he has done to break down cultural stereotypes, promote arts as a tool for social change and mentor Latino youth. He is truly an extraordinary role model, as CHCI asserts so eloquently in this video. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed voicing it.

CHCI’S Mission

For nearly 40 years, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) has forged a critical pathway to Educate, Empower, and Connect our nation’s future Latino leaders, creating a transformative and lasting Impact on Latino youth and our nation. Learn more at CHCI.org. It was my pleasure to collaborate with seasoned producers O’Keefe Communications, who really captured the essence of the honorees’ contributions and histories. I also voiced videos honoring Ana María Chávez and Arnaldo Avalos. The timing was perfect, as this awards gala took place during Hispanic Heritage Month.

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

As you may know, each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. The observation started in 1968 under President Lyndon Johnson and was extended to a month by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. It was enshrined in law on August 17, 1988.

Voiceover for Educational Justice

March 30, 2016 by Rosi Amador

**Rosi & Brian Selected for Spanish version of eye-opening documentary, Raising of America, on PBS**

Spanish Version of Raising of America

Brian and I recently had the immense honor of once again being chosen as part of a select cast of narrators to overdub a documentary in Spanish and raise our voices for educational justice. “Raising of America,” is an extraordinary and revealing 5-part documentary featured on PBS stations nationwide and online.

“We needed to fit the Spanish into the English perfectly. Rosi and Brian always paced their delivery so it matched as closely as possible and nailed it. They were also adept at matching the emotions of the original characters. Plus, these two are always on happy drugs!” –Sabrina Avilés, Spanish Version & Associate Producer, Raising of America’s “Wounded Places” segment.

Educational Inequity
Both Brian and I feel passionately that this is an issue that needs to be an urgent priority in the United States. This series addresses the questions of why so many children in America are faring so poorly and how might we, as a nation, do better.

One of Our Passions
While we frequently overdub web videos in Spanish, working on documentaries is a passion for us. We voiced many different characters throughout the five segments in neutral Latin American Spanish, from social workers and researchers to parents and doctors, which is always a welcome challenge as actors. Brian even got to be the voice of Vice President Walter Mondale!

Let Us Know What You Think and Share This
By blogging about this, we hope to inspire people to use The Raising of America as a tool to improve children’s well-being. Information is available at www.raisingofamerica.org. Please spread the word by sharing this with your friends. We’re thrilled to tell you that the full Spanish version is still available online at this link.

This series was produced by California Newsreel and Vital Pictures. Special thanks to longtime friend and awesome producer Sabrina Avilés.

Raising My Voice for International Day of Peace

September 21, 2015 by Rosi Amador

Happy International Day of Peace!
¡Feliz Día Internacional de la Paz!

Established in 1981 by the United Nations, www.internationaldayofpeace.org states that “International Day of Peace (‘Peace Day’) is observed around the world each year on the 21st of September as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.”

I’ve decided to celebrate the International Day of Peace today through this blog post highlighting some extraordinary peacemakers. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to join me, no matter where you are, by taking a moment to honor the day in your own way, whether it’s sitting in silent meditation, lighting a candle or doing a good deed for a stranger.

MY BIG DREAM: GIVING VOICE TO MY VALUES

As a solopreneur, independent voice actor and singer, one of the things I most value about my life’s work is the freedom to use my voice to communicate my beliefs and intentions. Whether singing with my husband and our Latin band, Sol y Canto, or recording voiceover projects in our studio, I cherish and seek out alignment between my work and my deepest beliefs whenever I can. Today I want to take the opportunity to recognize a few people and organizations that I believe are making a valuable contribution to world peace.

PEACEMAKERS BRIAN AND I DEEPLY ADMIRE

Pope Francis

This is a Pope who has made the centerpiece of his papacy to speak for the poor and victims of oppression. Brian and I are really happy to see the Catholic church get involved in trying to make the world a more just and peaceful place. ¡Qué viva el Papa Francis!

The Upstander Project & Coexist

Ever since I met her, I have deeply admired my longtime friend Mishy Lesser, who has dedicated her life to building peace. Her latest endeavor is the Upstander Project (UP). The story of the first truth and reconciliation commission to investigate Native American issues, it prepares teachers and their students to make “othering” socially unacceptable and to interrupt aggressive behavior in schools before it leads to violence. She played an instrumental role in Coexist, an extraordinary award-winning documentary about post-genocide Rwanda that fosters important conversations about how to promote forgiveness, compassion, and understanding. www.upstanderproject.org. I highly recommend it!

Mina’s List

Screenshot 2015-09-20 18.30.29 — Aloisea Inyumba, Former Member Parliament, Rwanda

EMPOWERING WOMEN’S POLITICAL LEADERS GLOBALLY

Our remarkable friend Tanya Henderson recently founded Mina’s List, which seeks to realize women’s equal and substantive representation in national governments around the world. Check out this amazing article from the Huffington Post, and you’ll be blown away. Or visit www.minaslist.org

World Fellowship

Where Social Justice Meets Nature

A gorgeous retreat center near Conway, New Hampshire, World Fellowship is a place to rest, play and learn from inspiring activists who are committed to opening up dialog about things that really matter. A magical spot on beautiful Whitton Pond, World Fellowship is near and dear to our hearts – Brian and I have been singing there one weekend nearly every summer since the late 80’s! Our daughter Alisa took her first steps on the lawn outside the main lodge, and this past August she took the step of doing her own concert there. www.worldfellowship.org

OUR GIFT FOR YOU! ~ UN REGALITO

¡Feliz Día Internacional de la Paz! Brian and I wish for peace globally and peace for you and yours! Here’s a gift of a song we recorded with our band, Sol y Canto in 2007 on our bilingual children’s CD, “El Doble de Amigos/Twice as Many Friends,” with a children’s chorus from our adopted city of Cambridge’s English-Spanish bilingual school, AMIGOS, by beloved folk singer Tom Paxton. We hope you enjoy it! Feel free to share it if so.

“Hidden Figures” and NASA Spanish Overdubs

Shiny New Voice Over & Music in 2017