Alejandra Ramírez Olvera - Translator of the Month
Alex Olvera is… perpetually busy, obsessed with all things sheep (yes, the animal) and, hopefully, someone who is leaving the world slightly better than she found it.
She graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in a not-at-all-related-to-languages-or-translation field (wait… perhaps it was, except she used to translate concepts into images, feelings into colors and shapes and cohesive visual messages) and has a shiny silver medal to prove it! Unfortunately, that was not enough to keep her rolling down the original lane so, after much flirting with translation—and a great deal of studying which continues to this day; she has taken part of BCLT’s Summer School, ESLT and a number of standalone courses in Mexico and abroad—she settled for this beautiful profession. She combines her work as AV and literary translator with her roles as expert translator aide for the Mexican Judiciary as well as chair of the Mexican Literary Translators Association, A. C. (Ametli).
Alex translates from Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, and Portuguese into Spanish and English and is really proud her Spanish version of H. C. Andersen’s Rejsekammeraten was part of El ángel de lo extraño. Cuentos Fantásticos del Siglo XX, which won Banco del Libro de Venezuela’s prize in the Translation/Youth category in 2025. She has been a fellow at the Gothenburg Book Fair thanks to Kulturrådet’s SLE and the Helsinki Book Fair thanks to FILI, and a resident at NORLA’s Oversetterhotel —an experienced that marked a turning point in her praxis.
Being such a nerd who has a hard time saying “no”, Alex enjoys delving into intellectual property and authors’ rights studies to better serve her guild and traveling with Dolly, her woolly friend—and mastermind behind it all. Yes… all.
How did you start translating Norwegian literature?
Almost by chance. Being a perfectionist, I was not sure I had perfected my Norwegian skills enough when an editor offered me Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson’s Insektenes planet and I simply could not reject it: her funny prose (whose humor I believe is similar to mine) and engaging writing style gave me the courage I needed to finally jump at the chance. It certainly helped to already have the Danish and Swedish language (yeps, I’ve lived in both Sweden and Denmark), a couple of book titles in the works, and lots and lots of AV scripts under my belt.
Do you do any other work apart from translation, and if so, what?
There’s a phrase we use in MX, “Vendo mole los domingos” or “On Sundays I sell mole—this rich, spicy, chocolatey sauce—”, to mean we work a lot/do a lot of different things (perhaps too many) for a living. Welp… while I don’t sell mole, I do teach conversational English, proofread, interpret and cat/dog-sit on ocassion. Fun fact: I once worked at an archaeological dig in the Mexican state of Puebla and, while there, two very important discoveries were made. It was a blast!
Your English colleague, Lucy Moffatt, passed the baton to you (with the following questions):
I’d like to pass the baton to Alejandra Ramírez Olvera, whom I first ‘met’ on social media a few years back after we both translated Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson’s fantastic non-fiction book, Insektenes planet.
I’m always impressed by translators who make the time to advocate for our profession.
Alex, I’d like to hear about your activities as President of The Mexican Literary Translators Association —a really vital job at a time when translators are under pressure worldwide.
How do you manage to balance this work and your translation projects?
Being 100 % honest… probably the only thing I balance these days is my bank account!
Since I started volunteering my time at Ametli I stopped keeping count of both paid and non-paid working hours. I really wanted to give it my all for the guild for the duration of my appointment and thus accepted that there would be an almost non-existent volunteer·work- real·work-life balance for a while (I believe that, when you run for/accept an ad honorem position you need to come to terms with that and, expecting nothing in return, be pleasantly surprised when good things come your way in connection to the appointment. Oh! And, also, set limits for yourself as to how long you are willing to serve). Regarding my translation projects, like many fellow translators and writers, I usually set time aside in the wee hours of the morning for uninterrupted translation. (It for once helps to be a night owl from birth! Sorry, mom and dad.) That said, I have had to pass on certain work opportunities while being on Ametli’s board; another trade-off I had to choose to be willing to accept.
I see you started out professionally in AV translation. Could you tell me something about your transition to literary work, and especially if you feel there are particular skills you gained as an AV translator that enriched your practice as a literary translator?
My transition from AV (mostly English and Portuguese) to Literary translation had a lot to do with my working languages. I had been eyeing the field for a while but thought I needed to hone my skills a bit more, instead of jumping headfirst (like I did when I started in AV; actually, my mentor pushing me off the ledge is a more accurate description!) However, because of a smaller pool of Danish, Swedish and Norwegian translators available in Mexico and Latin America at the time I started out—and because I already worked with texts that required producing creative, polished translations solutions (under time pressure, no less)—some doors opened that would have perhaps not opened had my source languages been the “bigger ones”. I was thus given a chace to prove my worth from the get-go.
I have often thought about the link between AV and literary translation and how the first has enriched the second, coming to lots of conclusions which some days make perfect sense and others… not so much (remember that picture of the crazy-looking guy pointing to a bunch of sheets of paper on a wall, connected by red string? You get the idea). One thing I am sure of is AV translation has really helped me better deal with constraints in the literary text. In AV translation there are no translator’s notes, no glossaries, no nothing. Well, yes, something: lots of constraints! And, if you are to be deemed a professional worth your salt, you must learn to creatively work your way around them to keep the intended meanings, the laugh, the coherence between image and sound; the registers, the lip-sync, the 42 characters per line, the changes of scene… So, yep, AV translation has helped me to, among other things, think on my feet, exercise my “pun-muscle” and, in general, trust there is a solution to a translation problem, even when my resources seem limited. It has also helped me not only hear the text and its characters, but also see them move and, base on that, judge whether a certain phrase or narrative description in fact matches said moves, thus adding credibility to my translation. I assume all of us literary translators read aloud, act out movements or otherwise try to envision and inhabit our texts. Still, I believe working with AV products for so many years has offered me a repertoire of visual, auditory and textual images to reach out to when struggling to convey a certain meaning in a certain literary text—reading action lines from scripts and then seeing them acted out on video has come really handy!
What is a normal workday like for you? Where do you translate, and for how many hours a day and at what times?
I am not sure I have had a “normal” day in a really looong time [insert nervous laughter] but, given the chance, it would start no earlier than 10:00—see the above night owl statement— with reading something for pleasure (usually The New York Times… OK “pleasure” was a big word), then coffee, then admin work. I translate at my desk when at home; when at my pet-sitting stints, any comfy, flat surface—preferably close to a window—will do. Bonus if there’s a cat keeping my back toasty! I may translate anywhere from a couple to 5-6 hours a day, almost always in the evenings. It really depends on the project’s nature, how familiar I am with the topic/area of expertise, whether it’s an urgent assignment and where my health is on any given day. I struggle with migraines and other health issues, so I do need to keep an eye on that.
What is, in your opinion, the best thing about being a translator?
And the most challenging?
This will probably be a cheesy answer but, to me, the best thing about being a translator is how much richer our inner lives become as we ges to inhabit so many worlds and so many different ways of thinking by way of analyzing the texts we translate. Oh… and the beautiful connections that bloom every now and then between author-writer and author-translator!
The most challenging? Yikes! Probably learning to navigate the business/public-relations side of the Publishing industry—especially as an introvert— to keep the projects coming and be able to carve out a living (plus, of course, the surge of AI, but I don’t want to give it too much space here).
Do you have a favourite word in Norwegian and/or a “nightmare word” – something that is impossible to translate?
Among my favorite ones are utepils or lønningspils basically, anything that describes foodstuffs in a certain context (even if not easy to translate); on the other hand, as much as I love long walks in the great outdoors, I loathe having to translate friluftsliv. It encapsulates so much of what Norway/being Norwegian means that I hate having to always leave one or another aspect out when translating it.
Which of the (Norwegian) books you’ve translated have been the most fun?
Insektenes planet, hands down! It was super challenging because of all the critters of whose existence—let alone what they looked like or what their common names might be in Spanish—I was not aware. Still, I had the time of my life replacing (with the author’s permission) some examples given by Anne with others that would better resonate with Spanish-speaking readers across Latin America and Spain, as well as coming up with puns and rhymes (AV translation to the rescue again! Once you have had to lip-sync it all, your head becomes a fountain of synonyms, idioms and puns). Oh… and to have readers come to me and tell me the bits they most enjoyed or that made them laugh, yeah… that was priceless too!
Do you have anything else you would like to share—such as advice, wishes, words of encouragement, greetings, warnings, reflections, reading recommendations, dreams, calls to action, or anything else?
If at all possible, create, join or volunteer with your local translators association or any other group of translators where you can offer and receive encouragement, share resources, or simply be there for each other. I know the times we live in are trying. And I know thinking of giving of your time/attention/money/head-space/heart to yet-another initiative may seem daunting. But we really do need each other if our beautiful profession is to make it without losing too many of us along the way (plus “the usual suspects”, you know, the ones who rotate between roles and always raise their hand… they are tired. Relays are needed). And to those having to leave the profession, permanently or for a while: It’s OK if your bread and butter needs to come from another source; consider it all research for future translation projects. ;]
Which question should we have asked you?
What I (or any literary translator) wish editors would remember about us (The answer: that we are authors, albeit of derivative works, and that the intangible connections that happen when two human beings come together over a written message, despite time, space and language, cannot be replicated by a machince—yes, I do believe there’s a collective-soul connection, If you will, in human communication.
We hope you’re ready to pass the baton to a colleague who also translates from Norwegian. Who would you like to hand off to, and what would you like to ask them?
Ahoy! Miluše Juříčková (Czechia), I’d like to pass the baton to you.
I had the fortune of meeting doctor Juříčková on my very first trip to Norway, to the amazing Literature Festival in Lillehammer in 2023. She struck me as not only an incredibly smart colleague but also a very, very generous and gracious one. (I will never forget the cab ride we shared!) I would like to ask her a million questions but will govern myself.1. As a translator and professor with so many years of experience behind you, how do you keep a “fresh look” when approaching translation problems that, perhaps, you are used to almost always solving a certain way? Any practical advice that may help us less experienced colleagues avoid stagnation as we move along our professional lives?
2. I have heard it said more than once that “those who teach do so because they were not good enough to actually practice [insert profession] and be good at it”. I beg to differ and think we should all consciously try teaching someone something at some point (nothing beats witnessing someone use a skill, a concept you taught them and, in doing so, propelling their own life/carreer).
Which strategy/methodology/exercise/concept would you never retire from your translation-teaching toolkit and which one do you wish you had never employed (or dismissed sooner).
3. (Fun one)
Which book do you wish you could forget, just so you could read it again with the same excitement/pleasure as if you were reading it for the first time?
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More about Alex on Books from Norway
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See also
Those of you who understand Norwegian can read her interview here
More interviews in NORLA’s series
Translators are our most important stakeholders when it comes to the spread of Norwegian literature in the world. Their work is of crucial significance, and in order to shed light on this, we embarked on this series of interviews, known as ‘Translator of the Month’.
You can find all of the interviews here
