Meet Fabiana Elisa Martínez | Writer, Linguist, Language Teacher. Cat in her previous and in her future life.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Fabiana Elisa Martínez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Fabiana Elisa, what do you attribute your success to?
I think that any kind of success, big or small, public or private, is based on consistency and hard work. Life is a woven labyrinth, an intricate pattern formed by very specific coincidences and long periods of work. Points and lines intertwined. Luck is just a point, what we do with it, how we use our luck to get to success, implies work, discipline, and confidence. When I hesitate, I remember young and rebellious Maria in the Sound of Music. She was so scared on that bus, going for the first time to meet the children and the Captain who will change her destiny. Nevertheless, she keeps singing “I have confidence in me.” Most of the time that confidence is our reflection in the eyes of the people who love us. Thus, the importance of noble friends who really care about our happiness.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

I am the founder of a language service company Talk-Active LLC. We presently offer language classes but also quality translation work for companies and many core institutions in Dallas and the country. We are very proud of having helped many museums and art venues to offer bilingual materials to their visitors, from the DMA to the Holocaust Museum. At this moment, the epitome of my professional life as an interpreter has been assisting President George W. Bush and Laura Bush during the first years of the Bush Center. I became the interpreter of the man who was the President when I arrived in Dallas with my three suitcases, no money, and a dream. This is why I love this country and every person who helped me get to where I am.

But there is another aspect of my life, the creative side. I am the author of a bilingual short story collection, 12 Random Words, that has three bilingual versions: English/Spanish, English/French, and English/Portuguese. Many other new short stories have been published in magazines and anthologies and were featured in literary podcasts. I can say that I have been published in five continents so far. I also wrote the short story Stupidity which was published as an independent book by Pierre Turcotte Editor. I continue writing and working on my first novel.

I am also the creator of the podcast Spanish 360 with Fabiana with my great friends Chris Hendrix and Byron Cryer. We started recording our classes for fun and ended up helping thousands of listeners all over the world who needed a higher level of grammar explanations and a new perspective on the process of learning Spanish. The podcast became so popular that we decided to publish two books to complement its content: Spanish 360 with Fabiana Volume I and II.

So far, this adventure has implied a lot of hard work. But looking back, I cannot be prouder and, most important, more grateful to all the people who made all those achievements possible.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

I would certainly take a new visitor to the Arts District. It was not there twenty years ago when I arrived, except for the Meyerson. We may not notice that our art district is world-class. Since I love theater, I will also take a friend to the Kalita Humphreys Theater in Turtle Creek. We are the only city in the world with a beautiful theater designed by Frank Lloyd Wright!

Regarding museums and art institutions, I would visit the DMA, the Meadows Museum, the Contemporary, the Holocaust Museum, and many of the amazing galleries in the city, like Erin Cluley Gallery, my favorite!

And, of course, nothing can beat a walk around White Rock Lake or the Arboretum when nature calls.

My favorite restaurant? India Palace. I could eat Indian food every day of my life. They are one of the best!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Every person, every student, every friend who trusted me when I arrived in Dallas twenty years ago. I got here, like many immigrants, with very little money and only one connection. But I had an immense dream. One month after my arrival, my company started to grow and my connections multiplied. All thanks to the generosity of my new students and clients. I love this city, In Dallas people received me with open arms. Nobody cared about my accent or how expensive my clothes or my car were. People cared about how hard I was ready to work, how much I could contribute to the system, how much I could help all of us to become a better society. Among my clients, there are many amazing individuals and companies. I translate for many big art institutions, I am part of the deep soul of this city because I was welcomed and included always with a smile. Every time I go to a museum and I see a panel in Spanish that I translated, I remember the young woman who arrived in Dallas with her big dream. I never felt more honored than when two stories of my book, 12 Random Words, were read by actress Constance Parry at the DMA. My literature was included in the Arts and Letters Live event, and I was considered a Texan writer. That was for sure one of the happiest days of my life. Since the list of the people I should be grateful to is so extensive, I just want to mention the friend who made possible the Dallas adventure for me: Joshua Hochschuler. If you ever try Talenti Gelato, thank him, because he created that morsel of heaven!

Website: www.12randomwords.com www.talk-activellc.com and www.spanish360withfabiana.com

Instagram: @fabielisam – @12randomwords – @spanish360withfabiana

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabiana-elisa-mart%C3%ADnez-1461a8a2/

Twitter: @FabielisaAuthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fabielisa/

Image Credits
All pictures (except for the last one) by April Barnes, Photography