The rapid growth in the Spanish-speaking population in North Carolina and the entire US finds a number of organizations in the private and public sectors in need of qualified translation and interpretation providers. However, most staff of those organizations do not speak or read Spanish (which can vary significantly by country of origin) and have a somewhat limited understanding of cultural issues that affect communications to Latinos, and so find it difficult to anticipate the complexities of translating English into Spanish.

It is important to point out that the same material can be, and almost always is, translated differently by different persons. As one might expect, a translator's perspective will vary based on a number of factors, including country of origin, educational attainment, occupation, training and professional experience as a translator, and life experience.

Translators only convert the client's message to what is, in their judgment, the most culturally and linguistically appropriate form for the client's target audience. Unless a client specifically asks for concept development or content revision for a particular reason, translators will seek only to communicate the same message contained in the source material in the most effective and appropriate manner. Otherwise, qualified and credible translators do not presume to say what should be included in the client's message.

It is rarely the case that one translator will be "right" and another "wrong", just that information will be processed and communicated differently, based on all these variables.

Most clients are in the unenviable position of having to basically take someone else's word that translated text says what it should say in the way it should be said, which can cause them to go back and forth between translator and other advisers. However, should" is a subjective assessment, and so clients can find themselves having to choose between
the judgments of an adviser who is familiar with the issue being described but not necessarily in written translation for the target audience, and a translator who is trained in providing written communications to various publics but who must base the work solely on the source material rather than personal knowledge of the specific issue.

It's important to understand that being Latino does not automatically equate to qualification as a translator. Iris Ramírez-Reese, President of Fusión, is a native Latina who has had extensive training and years of experience in both translation and interpretation. Iris also has a wide network of professional contacts among the Latino community. All translations are cross-referenced with other Latinos to ensure that the literacy level and dialect are appropriate for the target audience.