Virginia Vasquez, 16, only started learning English five years ago when she and her family left Venezuela for a better life in the U.S.
Like generations of immigrant teens before her, Virginia has become a crucial lifeline for her family as she translates invoices and bills and other information for her Spanish-speaking parents, who left behind careers as an elementary school teacher and a horse trainer and now clean offices in the Tampa, Florida, area.
“In Venezuela, my parents had the jobs they wanted,” Virginia says in the film. “They studied, they went to a university, they got their degrees. But here, you start over. … They don’t get English classes like I do. They are at work, doing everything they can for me and my brother.”
She’s one of three young immigrant teens — the others are Densel, 11, and Harye, 13 — featured in the short film “Translators,” which has drawn wide praise for its moving depiction of their families’ daily lives as they translate medical visits, parent-teacher conferences, emails and work instructions for their Spanish-speaking parents and younger siblings.
The 20-minute documentary has been shown at the Tribeca Film Festival after making its debut at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival in June; it’s also available online.
Virginia said she’s been changed by people’s response to the film.
“At school, people have come up to me telling me their stories, saying they do the same exact thing. I see this with all languages, and people feel heard,” Virginia told NBC News in an interview. “Many adults, not just kids, have spoken with me about the film, how they didn’t realize until they watched the film, how hard and important this is.”
The film was directed by Rudy Valdez, an Emmy-winner who grew up in Lansing, Michigan, where his Mexican American parents owned a small grocery store.
Though Valdez himself did not have to translate since his parents spoke English, he witnessed it all around him,…
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