GSR en español (Logo por Toni-Ann Ortiz)
Today, Global Sisters Report is thrilled to launch GSR en español, a Spanish-language edition of our website with an emphasis on Catholic sisters in Latin America and Spain in selected articles and columns either written originally in Spanish or professionally translated.
As we translate, edit, copy edit and publish Spanish-language articles for the first time, I think back to about a year ago, when I was still the Latin American correspondent.
I'd spend the whole day following and interviewing sisters in Spanish. They'd help me organize transportation, pose for photos in the blazing sun, patiently answer all my questions while introducing me and inviting me into the homes of those they ministered to. Weeks later, the sisters would dutifully answer my impromptu calls and texts related to fact checks, eagerly asking me when it would be published.
Ordinarily, I'd be excited to send the sisters a link, proud of what I had to show for all that thought and time put into the story.
But every time I sent sisters in Latin America an article — one for which they spent hours helping me prepare — I'd have to add a caveat. "Unfortunately, it's all in English," I'd sheepishly note. "But you can plug it into Google Translate, right?"
That will no longer be the case.
Now equipped with a bilingual team of translators, editors, correspondents and freelancers, GSR en español will cater to the interests of our Spanish-speaking audience in Latin America and Spain while also manually translating articles featuring sisters all over the world. (This is all in addition to our new "Translate" button at the top of our website that uses Google Translate to show anything on the site in one of 13 languages.)
While we have long written about sisters in Latin America, we'll now be able to weave them into the fabric of our ever-growing readership. That means more stories about and columns by sisters in Latin America for you in other parts of the world to read and enjoy.
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With a growing bilingual audience, however, you may notice some changes at Global Sisters Report.
If you follow us on social media, you will notice that, on occasion, we will post in Spanish. We considered forming separate Spanish-language social media accounts, but keeping our audience together and connected in one forum proved to be the most logical approach for both groups of readers. Please consider this an addition to Global Sisters Report rather than a distraction or complication.
As we're in the early stages, GSR en español remains a work in progress. If you notice any errors or malfunctions, please send a note to [email protected].
Expanding GSR into other languages has been a goal of editor Gail DeGeorge's since she joined the team in January 2016. With support of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and other donors, it is exciting to see this dream become a reality.
Since I moved into the role of international editor in August 2022, the staff has grown with a clear vision for GSR en español:
- Rhina Guidos will spearhead our journalistic coverage from Washington, D.C., as the Latin America regional correspondent, reporting all over the region while expanding upon our freelancer network.
- Benedictine Sr. Helga Leija in Atchison, Kansas, a professional Spanish-English translator, has already translated dozens of articles and columns for GSR en español and overseen the work of other translators. Going forward, she will serve as the international columns editor for the Spanish-language edition.
- Alirio Rodriguez is new to the staff but already essential to the project. He has been working on the website behind the scenes from his home in Maracaibo, Venezuela, as our Spanish-language digital editor.
- We have a network of freelance writers and Spanish-language sister columnists (which also includes associates and oblates) and seek to grow that roster of contributors. Please email Helga, our Spanish-language columns editor, if you're interested in submitting columns in Spanish.
Global Sisters Report launched in April 2014 and has since grown into an award-winning publication for its coverage of Catholic sisters, their ministries and religious life around the world with an estimated average of 100,000 readers monthly. Our ongoing series this year, Hope Amid Turmoil, provides a look at the lives and ministries of women religious serving in dangerous places worldwide.
In addition to its journalism, GSR has introduced a classroom edition, an enhanced resources section and a special page that shows how sisters' ministries help fulfill the United Nations' sustainable development goals.
We are excited to add GSR en español to the list of accomplishments that expand our mission to be a "dynamic online community that reports on and gives voice to women religious around the world" — in this case, to our Spanish-language readers.
