Where languages meet: expanding translation across Switzerland and Latin America

For a decade now, Translation House Looren, a space east of Zurich dedicated to the work of literary translators, has initiated Looren América Latina, with the aim of contributing to professionalisation and networking between the two regions. Through residencies, workshops, forums, and exchange activities, the programme has been deepening the connections amid translators from both contexts, expanding the possibilities within a practice often seen as solitary. Also, it has made room for professionals to explore common links between distinct cultures, to promote minority and minoritised languages, and disseminate Swiss literature in another part of the globe. 

One of these activities is the collective residency ‘What Do We Translate?’ for Latin American translators, supported by Pro Helvetia, which takes place every February at Translation House Looren. During this period, a group of Latin American translators, selected through an open call, gather to work on their translation projects, share experiences, and connect with Swiss professionals and institutions in the cultural and creative fields. The programme engages participants from diverse backgrounds and fosters synergies across Switzerland’s four language regions while also opening up the debate around the practice. 

Incubation hub 

The one-month residency serves as an incubation hub, sparking new projects and connections. ‘Looren América Latina grew organically to become a platform we call “expanded translation”: a physical space (at Looren) but also a virtual one for continuing education in literary translation, professional dialogue, co-creation, and cooperative learning,’ explains Argentinian Carla Imbrogno, coordinator and founder of the programme, alongside Gabriela Stöckli, executive director at Translation House Looren. 

One example is the experience of Argentinian Ariel Dilon, who created a strong bond with the Swiss scene after his residency in 2019. During this stay, in which he worked on texts by Henri Roorda, he had the chance to visit poet and translator Marina Skalova in Geneva. This encounter led to the publication of her book ‘L’exploration du flux’ in Argentina, translated into Spanish by Dilon, with the support of Pro Helvetia. Additionally, this initial contact brought about new projects, like the release of Cléa Chopard’s ‘Ancolie commune’ in a bilingual edition, and another translation of Skalova’s work (‘Atemnot/Souffle Court’), which he is currently working on together with Martina Fernández Polcuch (a 2025 resident). 

‘The knowledge I acquired – during and thanks to the residency – about the works of Swiss authors, while not yet leading to any specific projects, is still part of my permanent dossier of “translation wishes”. I believe that the residency was a kind of cultural Big Bang for me, establishing an embodied, experiential connection. It had a rhizomatic expansion effect, multiplying personal, emotional, cultural, linguistic and literary ties with the country and the written of its diverse languages,’ says Dilon, who is returning to Switzerland in November to take part in literary events and work on another project at Translation House Looren. 

Besides him, other professionals established long-term ties, Carla Imbrogno points out. To name a few: Isabel Teresa García, a Venezuelan living in Bern, translated and published a poetry anthology by Italian-Swiss writer Donata Berra. Equadorian Yana Lema went to Looren to translate ‘The Little Prince’, then participated in the Romansh workshop Traversadas litteraras and, with the collaboration of colleagues, translated the poet Gianna Olinda Cadonau into Kichwa. Swiss poet and translator Prisca Agustoni is a key figure in collaborations with Brazil, and Vitor Alevato do Amaral opened the doors to exchange with the Federal Fluminense University in Rio de Janeiro. 

The Latin American programme ‘has become an international community fuelled by its participants,’ comments Imbrogno. ‘It aims to facilitate the incubation of projects that reflect the diversity of ideas and current dynamics in literary translation in general, but also in the areas of minority and minoritised languages, linguistic hybridisation, and transdisciplinary and cooperative practices.’ 

Common grounds 

Among the efforts to expand research and discussions in the field, Looren started working a few years back on ‘Fervur Rumantscha’, part of an online project that was selected in the framework Pro Helvetia’s To-gather call, launched during the pandemic. It explored the possibilities of mutual understanding between Romansh and other Romance or Latin languages and was comprised of activities like an introductory seminar and a translation workshop.  

During the latter, Portuguese and Spanish speakers translated Romansh poems. As it was their first contact with the language, they resorted to indirect translation, dictionaries, constant dialogue with the authors, as well as a collective effort from the group – the result was published online. It was, as Ariel Dilon recalled, ‘as if it were translation in its purest state, that miracle of going word by word, of revealing as if in a darkroom.’ 

A Romansh-language poet and translator, Jessica Zuan was involved in various stages of ‘Fervur Rumantscha’. ‘This was the first time I participated in a project of this kind, and now, I can say I learned a great deal in many ways,’ she explains. ‘When you write and work in a language whose literature consists of relatively few writers, it is easy to get carried away into fields that are not always your own. But I believe that the diversity of voices is what makes literature strong.’  

For Zuan, the experience (that also led to her being invited to the International Poetry Festival of Rosario, Argentina) was a ‘breath of fresh air’ for the Romansh language. Also, it opened up the doors for minoritised languages in the Americas, such as Guaraní, Kichwa, and Tzotzil, which were represented by ‘What Do We Translate?’ residents. 

This is the case of Paraguayan Emilia Espínola Duarte, who went to Looren last February and found common grounds for discussions around representation. ‘Sharing with writers and translators of minority and minoritised languages allowed me to see that the problems we face in Paraguay are not isolated, but part of a global debate on linguistic diversity,’ says Espíndola, who is also an activist and worked on two translations into Guaraní: ‘Quarto de Despejo,’ by Brazilian Carolina Maria de Jesus, and ‘Heidi,’ by Swiss Johanna Spyri. 

‘I encountered Romansh, a minority language that, although spoken by few, receives support, has a media presence and symbolic representation. This led me to think about the contrasts with Guaraní: in Paraguay, it is an official language, but there is still tension between legal recognition and actual use. My residency confirmed something I have always maintained: speaking Guaraní is not an obstacle, it is a political act, an act of dignity and memory.’ 

Based on all these encounters and outcomes, Carla Imbrogno highlights the ramifications of such projects: ‘The benefits also extend to people outside the programme, like lines of flight: they connect through this community and then invite each other to conferences and festivals, translate each other’s work, recommend each other, and collaborate. People and translated books travel and transform, and we even lose track of them… That’s wonderful in such an interconnected world. Literary translation is, historically and by definition, an interhuman act, and this programme seeks to honour that quality.’