SAN DIEGO, November 13, 2012 – Boxing fans are nothing if not opinionated. The opinions are flying today over the outcome of Pacquiao-Marquez III, including here on Communities at Washington Times.
But among fans of the sweet science, there is one clear winner in the ring: HBO Spanish language interpreter Jerry Olaya. Chances are if you don’t speak Spanish and don’t watch boxing regularly, you don’t know anything about Olaya including his name.
This is probably the way Olaya likes it. When an interpreter does a great job, he or she fades into the background. Olaya’s work reflects incredible skill and quality that greatly improves HBO’s boxing coverage for English speaking fans. It’s worthy of singling out.
Olaya, a native of New York, is an experienced sportscaster with a few significant firsts under his belt including the first live Spanish-language broadcasts of New York Knicks basketball in 1993 and the New York City Marathon. He’s been the regular GardenVision Spanish language announcer at Madison Square Garden for the Knicks since 1999. ESPN hired Olaya in 1994 where he’s worked for both ESPN Deportes and ESPN International. At ESPN Deportes, Olaya covers sports that aren’t exactly headline grabbers for the Latino audience: horse racing, basketball, and the National Hockey League.
HBO interpreter Jerry Olaya (center) is the undisputed champion in his field.
A significant number of boxers are from Spanish speaking countries, including Juan Manuel Marquez. Many learn to speak English, which is a smart marketing move to draw in more fans, especially in the United States. But even fighters like Marquez who are quite adept speaking English prefer using a translator for important interviews. In addition, the discussions in the fighter’s corner almost always take place in their native language, and this is frequently in Spanish.
Olaya no doubt jumped at the chance to pull duty as a Spanish-language interpreter when HBO called him into service in 2000. At the time he wasn’t the primary interpreter. That post was held by Ray Torres, the first interpreter hired by HBO for its “Boxing After Dark” series. Torres is a former boxer undefeated in his 33-fight career and was recommended by HBO announcer Harold Lederman. The native Puerto Rican who grew up in New York brought enthusiasm to the post. But his translating could be erratic and he frustrated fans. He veered from being far too literal and offering comments that were unintentionally hilarious (and rather crude) to abbreviated versions of lengthy statements.
Olaya, a professional announcer equally adept in English and Spanish, is a master interpreter, among the best in or outside sports. As HBO’s boxing coverage has improved in style and substance, Olaya quickly took over the top spot and now offers Spanish language interpretation for all of HBO’s marquee bouts, including Pacquiao-Marquez III Saturday night.
Olaya adds a significant contribution to HBO’s boxing coverage. The ability to overhear what is going on in the corners between rounds adds priceless insight. When Juan Manuel Marquez’s trainer Nacho Beristain began telling his fighter between later rounds that he was winning, did it prompt Marquez to take his foot off the gas a little bit? Did it cause him to lose a few critical rounds? Thanks to Olaya we were privy to this discussion and can judge for ourselves.
After the bout, although Marquez conducted pre-fight interviews in English, Olaya was at his side when HBO announcer Max Kellerman talked to him in the dressing room after the fight. I’ve got no doubt the reassuring presence of Jerry Olaya helped convince Marquez to conduct the interview after leaving the ring.
There are two types of interpreting: consecutive and simultaneous. Olaya is a simultaneous interpreter, by far the more difficult of the two. Calling it simultaneous is a bit misleading. The interpreter can't start interpreting until her or she hears the entire sentence. In Spanish, nouns, verbs and adjectives are reversed. A literal translation of “It was a very difficult fight” would come out “It was a fight very difficult.” The interpreter may not be able to translate the sentence until he or she has heard and absorbed the meaning of the entire sentence in the original language.
At the same time Olaya is speaking in English, he also must be listening to, comprehending and translating the next sentence. To get a feeling for just how hard this is, try watching TV and paraphrasing an interview in English in your own words with a delay, making sure you’re still listening to the ongoing conversation while paraphrasing the part you just heard.
A good interpreter like Olaya has to know both languages extremely well, including regional differences and accents. Imagine someone from Brooklyn deciphering the speech of someone from the rural South. Translation is rarely literal. Thoughts expressed in one language often use slang or technical terms that don’t have a direct equivalent. You can't explain a thought if you don’t completely understand it.
Olaya clearly possesses a love of the sport of boxing. Interpretation demands an intrinsic, down to the bones mastery of the subject matter and a world you must instantaneously grasp and share. Olaya must be decisive. Any delay means he could get behind and lose a few words representing a key thought while the speaker is still talking as he translates. It seems as natural as breathing when Olaya translates and just as automatic and invisible.
Jerry Olaya is a tremendous asset to boxing fans who get the entire picture of a fight, and to the boxers who are able to reach a worldwide audience and connect with fans who don’t speak Spanish. Jerry Olaya is the undisputed champion in all weight classes when it comes to opening up a thorough understanding of the dramatic, exciting, often emotional world of boxing to its American fans.
Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, APR, is President/Owner of the Falcon Valley Group in San Diego, California. Read more Media Migraine in the Communities at The Washington Times. Follow Gayle on Facebook and on Twitter @PRProSanDiego.
Copyright © 2011 by Falcon Valley Group
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