Sunday, May 23, 2004

'Candidaldea' growing

Candidaldea, the Spanish-language version of Candorville, adds another newspaper to its growing list of clients. It will soon be seen in The Hispano Weekly, in Lubbock, Texas.

Candidaldea is produced by Darrin Bell and his fiancé, Laura Bustamante. Laura, a professional translator, is also an accomplished Spanish-language voiceover artist who's worked in the Spanish versions of several feature films including Jurassic Park, Casper, An American Tail (where she starred as Fievel), and many others. Currently she works as a television reporter for the Latin American culture show Latin Eyes. Latin Eyes is currently appearing in the San Francisco Bay Area, Fresno, CA, Louisville, KY and other cities, and will be seen nationwide through syndication later this year.

Creating Candidaldea isn't as easy as it seems. Some things just don't translate directly from English to Spanish. So when the humor isn't universal, Laura basically rewrites the cartoon, with a different joke, and sometimes an entirely different storyline. It's a challenge, but it's important to do it right.