Artist and interpreter Marisela Rumberg finds common threads in her two careers
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In Marisela Rumberg’s “Tangled Garden,” black and white images of flowering vines and geometric symbols curve and twist hypnotically around a square quilt the size of a floor tile. Just off-center, a red flower blooms.
The piece exemplifies Rumberg’s work in an art form full of beautiful patterns of soothing lines and curves called Zentangle.
“Zentangle is basically abstract art that takes you to your sense zone,” says Rumberg. “It helps control stress, it’s completely abstract and I find it very friendly because everybody that can write their name can do it.”
Today she is a certified Zentangle teacher, but just like her artwork, her life has taken on a distinct pattern with an undulating path that has led her to passions and talents she could not have anticipated. Rumberg recalls how she only learned about Zentangle after joining the Workhouse Art Center and showing her quilted designs to a visitor at the Lorton, Virginia artist hub.
Rumberg first realized the talent she had for translation and interpretation in the same way she happened upon her love for Zentangle. It developed naturally as a result of her experiences helping Spanish-speaking immigrant families at her children’s school in Fairfax, Virginia. Two years after she received an interpreter certificate from the international training agency Cross-Cultural Communications, Rumberg founded her own translation company, CARU Language Services, in Annandale, Virginia in 2020. Since then, she and her team of interpreters have worked with clients like the Sierra Club, the Town of Herndon and the National Parks Conservation Association.
While interpretation and fiber arts may seem like an unlikely combination, Rumberg sees the threads that bind together the two parts of her professional life.
In the interview below, Rumberg talks about her journey to become an interpreter and artist and about the satisfaction she gets from being able to support her community, express her culture and help the environment.
You grew up in Mexico and have a degree in international economics alongside your certification in translation and interpretation. Please tell us how you began translating and interpreting.
I was in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) at my kids’ school, and there were immigrant families that didn’t know English, the school system or any of that [stuff]. When I joined the PTA, I began helping all of them, and somebody said something about being an interpreter. That’s how it all began. I got my interpreter certification, I joined Fairfax County schools in 2018 as an interpreter, and then I began getting other clients outside of Fairfax County. I actually met Marcelo [Jauregui-Volpe, Hola Cultura’s Assistant Editor] at Nature Forward [the Naturally Latinos Conference in 2022]. I interpreted his presentation.
I trained myself in simultaneous interpretation. I didn’t go to get formally trained, but when I realized I was able to do it, I just loved it. In my case, I find it much easier and faster than trying to take notes. I can just say everything simultaneously. I love it. From Naturally Latinos, I began to work with [environmental] groups like the Sierra Club. That’s when I decided, “I want to [do] more with this.” I started to look for more clients. I [now] have the (community organizations) Mayan League, Cornerstones, and I have the art places.
At the same time that this was all happening, my art was growing. I had my studio at the Workhouse Art Center where I began interpreting for tourists, tours and people who came by. A few years later, I joined the Torpedo Factory. Then, I opened CARU Language Services. Now when I can’t cover everything, I call some of the interpreters that I trained or that are my friends. I know their work. They go interpret with me. I’m doing all that at the same time. I wish for days with 32 hours because 24 is not enough: I have two kids, two dogs and a husband at home. Everything’s crazy.
Could you talk about how interpretation differs from translation?
An interpreter talks and interprets in her own words. Interpretation can be simultaneous, consecutive or sight interpretation. Those are the three main ways of interpreting. It’s talking only. Translation is writing a document that you give to me in English. I like interpretation much more. I like to see people rather than look at the computer all day.
What are some of your most rewarding experiences with interpretation and translation?
I’ve been translating documents for the town of Herndon, Virginia. I did all the translations for the fiscal year report for Herndon. It has been really wonderful because the town didn’t have translation [services] before, despite thirty percent of the community living in Herndon being Hispanic. With a lot of work from Cornerstones, they finally accepted into their hearings and everything that Spanish is necessary. I am now under contract for all the translations. I’m very proud of us and happy that they are offering Spanish translations to the community.
Could you talk about your environmental work with interpretation and translation?
My favorite thing is working with Nature Forward. Right now they are teaching the community how to take care of the river and how to plant trees. The interpreting work that I do with Nature Forward — whether in person or virtual — I am liking a lot. I feel very involved with the community. While I don’t live in Maryland, I love my involvement with environmental topics with all these organizations.
Rumberg’s Alebrijes
Do you think that interpretation might be undervalued or go unseen in the community?
I don’t know if it’s undervalued. I think people are not educated enough about translations because it’s not the same thing as being a bilingual person, and that’s what has to be super clear. Some people think that just because you speak Spanish, you can interpret. That’s not correct. An interpreter or a translator needs preparation and training. I stick very closely to my code of ethics, my standards of practice, my protocols. A person that just speaks two languages doesn’t know you have to be culturally aware of what’s going on if something’s not easy to translate or interpret because it’s culturally related. You have to know when to intervene to explain something and when it’s not necessary. Also the professionalism, el profesionalismo de la carrera, didn’t begin until recently. I would say [it was] 20 years ago. All these protocols and standards, and all these things we follow to do our job in a very professional way, were not set before.
On the other hand, the people who need an interpreter don’t know they have the right to ask for one because nobody told them. When they go to the IRS to request a document or do paperwork, or when they go to a doctor, they can request an interpreter. They have the right to request an interpreter, and it has to be a professional one.
As interpreters we should not be seen; we are the ones that break the barrier of communication and let two people communicate as themselves. If I am there, I always tell them to look at each other, not at me. You have to talk directly to each other. It feels kind of rude sometimes, but I will look down instead of looking at them because that forces the people to create their own connection and talk to each other.
Could you share more about your artistic journey as a certified Zentangle teacher and fiber artist?
Just staying home as a housewife and mom was driving me crazy. That’s why I began quilting. I am very good at one part of the quilting process called free-motion quilting. I started drawing things when I moved the quilt under the needle and just loved it. But I didn’t know it was supposed to be hard, so I began teaching free-motion quilting. Some years later, I applied to the Workhouse Art Center in Lorton, and I began doing only quilts as my fiber art. It kept evolving from there. One time this visitor came to the art center and was looking at my quilts. She said, “Did you know what you’re doing is actually Zentangle?”
So I went to Rhode Island for training and certification, and I am a certified Zentangle teacher now. I teach every Sunday. I began combining all the stitching with the Zentangle. I now incorporate both into my art quilts. I do mostly abstract designs, but I do like flowers and birds. They appear a lot in my art.
Can you talk about how your art connects to nature and the environment?
A little bit before the pandemic, I began a technique that is called eco-printing. I go on my nature walks and pick up different sizes and shapes of leaves. I lay down a layer of silk and then put the leaves on top of the silk. I then wrap everything, tie it and boil it for a couple hours. When I open my bundle, I get the chlorophyll, the tannins, the pigments, whatever was in the leaf transferred to the material. It works on silk, paper or cotton. I do a lot of art inspired by Mexican culture like alebrijes (Mexican folk art sculptures depicting animals and other creatures). I put a lot of Mayan legends into my quilts as well. I’m from Mexico City, so I love everything about the Aztecs, too. Before the pandemic I was traveling all over. I have a one-hour lecture about the Mayans, Aztecs, Day of the Dead and finish with Diego [Rivera] and Frida [Kahlo].
For someone who is bilingual and interested in becoming an interpreter or translator, how do you take that step from being fluent in two languages to interpreting while simultaneously and translating texts?
If you know you’re good in both languages, first check yourself. If you want to translate, check your grammar and spelling in Spanish. What stops many people from translating to Spanish are los acentos, the accents. That’s the main thing [organizations that certify interpreters] are going to check besides orthography. Once you become good in Spanish with los acentos, you’re going to get it.
For interpretation training, what is it that you want to interpret? There are medical interpreters, community interpreters and court interpreters. I am a community interpreter who tends more to the court on illegal immigration.
Get training. It’s a little expensive but totally worth it. Get the certifications and think about what kind of interpreter you want to be. Know your protocols and standards, your code of ethics and your way of working. That is what makes a difference between being a bilingual person and being trained as an interpreter.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
– Story by Crista Fiala
– Copy edited by Jacqueline Zhang and Michelle Benitez
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