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WHERE INTERPRETERMIGUELVELASQUEZ
grew up, in Santiago de Chuco, Peru,
learning more than one language was
inevitable. He spoke Spanish at home,
watched Brazilian television stations that
broadcast in Portuguese and acquired
German to converse with some friends
fromEurope. Oncehehad three languages
in his repertoire, hewas hooked. He added
English and French for fun.
Learning new languages comes easily
to Velasquez, but he also loves the extra
cultural awareness that accompanies
it. For example, he explains, “you can
understand Portuguese if you speak
Spanish, but there’s a cultural difference.”
Choosing a career in the travel industry
gave him a way to explore the cultures
that lent their richness to the languages
he knew.
Velasquez first worked for an Italian
cruise line, which hired him because
he knew English. He learned Italian to
move into desktop publishing for the
company, but he didn’t intend to settle
there. “I always wanted to move on and
improve what I know,” he says. “I wanted
to be more proficient, so I bought books
and tapes and I worked at it.” He also
gained fluency in other languages along
the way: Russian, Hebrew, Japanese and
Mandarin Chinese.
Velasquez moved to the United States
to study at the University of Houston,
where he earned degrees in business
management, marketing, Chinese, French
and Russian. He then began working at
United’s hub at George Bush Interconti-
nental Airport, because an international
airline seemed a natural fit for amanwho
knew 10 languages.
“Look at the last names of the passen-
gers. HowmanyEnglish last names do you
see?” he asks. “It’s about customer service
and using peoplewho understand the cul-
ture. Brazil, togetherwithChina and India,
is becoming a powerful country. A lot of
Brazilians do speak English, but many do
not. But I am here; I speak the language.”
While Velasquez acts as an official inter-
preter of French and Spanish for United,
his co-workers know they can depend on
him for assistance with any of the other
languageshe speaks. He’s beencalledwhile
off-duty to interpret for Japanese- and
Chinese-speaking passengers who flew in
late fromLos Angeles, andhe’s beenpulled
away from a dinner break to interpret
for paramedics called to help Russian-
speaking passengers.
But Velasquez says he likes to remind
people that “if you want to use me to
translate, I want to translate something
positive. I don’t want to just translate
problems—I’m looking for the solution.”
He goes on to clarify, “It’s not just about
languages; it’s about other skills, such
as ticketing and gate management and
international travel requirements. It’s
about understanding the people you
deal with—their cultures andwhatmakes
themwho they are. That is a large part of
learning what you need to know.”
That knowledge, he says, leads to the
most satisfying result of all hiswork spent
acquiring languages. “When [passengers]
look at you and they know you are the
only one who can speak their language
and this is their first time in another coun-
try, my heart melts. That’s the rewarding
part of my job. There’s a reason why I
learned these languages.”
When not at work, Velasquez enjoys
exploring the world, where his skills help
him feel at home in any city. But he also
likes to search out a li le of his roots dur-
ing his travels. “I always go to Latin clubs
wherever I am, because there’s noway you
can be in a bad mood when you are at a
Latin club,” he says. “You just can’t feel bad
trying to dance salsa.”
Talk toMe
For this airline employee, fluency across languages
translates to great customer service
BY A. AVERYL RE
12
JANUARY 2012
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HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
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