Saramago's better half

José Saramago's wife and Spanish translator, Pilar del Río, had a lively interview last weekend with El Espectador. Aside from translating Saramago's books into Spanish, she also translates each blog post he writes for O Caderno de Saramago (El Cuaderno de Saramago), which has recently been published in book form. She is also president of A Fundação José Saramago (La Fundación José Saramago). They met and married over twenty years ago, and after having suffered a life-threatening condition not long ago, he says she is the reason he is still alive.

When asked about her translation work, she said:

Traducir es casi una imposibilidad, porque ¿cómo pasar a otro idioma la respiración del autor, la duda previa, la intención con que se teclea? Eso es imposible, pero se hace lo que se puede. En cualquier caso, el trabajo de traducir es importante, tanto que, como Saramago dice, los autores hacen las literaturas nacionales, pero los traductores son los que hacen la literatura universal... De no ser por los traductores, García Márquez no sería García Márquez en Japón, en Finlandia o en Rusia. Es decir, él sería quien es, pero los japoneses, finlandeses o rusos que lo aman no habrían tenido la posibilidad del encuentro.

("Translation is almost an impossibility because how can you carry into another language the breath of the author, his previous doubts, his intention when he types? It's impossible, but you do what you can. In any case, the work of translation is important, so much so, Saramago says authors make national literatures, but it is the translators who make literature universal... If not for translators, García Márquez would not be García Márquez in Japan, in Finland, or in Russia. That is, he would be who he is, but the Japanese, the Finns, or the Russians who love him would not have had the opportunity of discovery.")

When asked about any unforgettable anecdotes from the process, she replied:

Tengo memoria de cada libro y de cada artículo traducido. No he perdido ni un detalle, no he olvidado nada, haber traducido, y al lado del autor, en convivencia con él, es mi tesoro, un tesoro que a nadie más importa y que guardo porque en él me recreo. ¿Una anécdota? Una frase. La pronunció Carlos Fuentes, un día, viendo donde José trabaja y dónde lo hago yo. Dijo: "Qué suerte, la traductora en casa", y lo dijo con tanta vida que me conmovió oírlo. Me sentí muy orgullosa.

("I remember every book and every article I've translated. I haven't lost even one detail, I haven't forgotten anything--having translated, and by the author's side, living with him, is my treasure, a treasure that doesn't matter to anyone else and which I protect because I enjoy myself with him. An anecdote? A phrase. Carlos Fuentes said it one day, seeing where José works and where I do too. He said: "What luck, the translator in the house" and he said it with such enthusiasm, I was moved when I heard him. I felt very proud.")