I first met Cuban-born translator Emily Carrero Mustelier through poet and translator Alexis Romay. I was working on my middle-grade novel Sofía Acosta Makes a Scene, a book about a girl whose family danced with the Ballet Nacional de Cuba. Alexis read a draft of the book and immediately put me in touch with Emily, who had studied at the Escuela Nacional de ­Ballet in Cuba as a child. Emily was kind enough to read the entire manuscript and offer additional insight into, and authenticity to, the characters’ experiences. A fruitful collaboration was born. Since then, we’ve also worked together on my middle-grade novel Cousins in the Time of Magic.

You might think of children’s books as a conversation between kids and creators that spans the generations, with roots like a ­family tree. Alexis Romay came to translating children’s books through the late Teresa Mlawer, who during her long career was president of ­Lectorum ­Publications and translated many beloved children’s books into Spanish. Those books were in my childhood home and made me a reader. You could say all of us — Teresa, Alexis, Emily, and I — were connected as book lovers before we ever met in the publishing industry.

When Alexis recommended Emily as a translator for the Spanish edition of my picture book Martina Has Too Many Tías, illustrated by Sara ­Palacios, it was obvious that she would be the perfect fit. There’s an impish tone to Emily’s translation that captures the outrageousness of the tías and the book’s folkloric origins — this is a reimagining of the Caribbean folktale “La cucaracha Martina” — all at once.

Otheguy, left, and Mustelier, right. Photos courtesy of Emma Otheguy.

Emily is working on her PhD at Harvard. We recently sat down to discuss her translation process. Martina Has Too Many Tías was her debut in translation. The conversation was as interesting as Emily is, and inspiring to me as a book creator. I’ve transcribed some of the highlights of our exchange below:

EMMA OTHEGUY: What are your models for translations? What inspires you?

EMILY CARRERO MUSTELIER: I read a lot of translations, and I pay attention to what resonates with me. I’m inspired by Alexis Romay. His translation of Margarita Engle’s book Tu corazón, mi cielo made me curious about learning to tackle poetry and poetic prose in children’s books.

EO: How loyal are you to the original text when you are translating? Do you take any creative liberties?

ECM: I want to maintain all the ideas, of course, but I also want to give the translation a touch of the author’s own voice. For example, in Martina Has Too Many Tías, there are some Cubanisms scattered throughout.

EO: Yes! I could really hear my own tías’ voices in your translation. It’s interesting because when I write in English, I’m often mentally changing things I know my family would say in ­Spanish into English for my reader. Your translation was such a joy because you exactly captured the turns of phrase I think my family would have used if this story were taking place in our real lives.

ECM: I drew on my own family as I was imagining these scenes as well. Since we know each other, I saw your personality in the Martina character. To give the tías authentic voices, I thought of how I would speak to my own nieces who are growing up here.

EO: What’s your favorite part of translation?

ECM: The opportunity to connect with more people. It’s always a challenge as an immigrant to move between two different cultures, but translation opens up worlds.

EO: Yes, that’s very much how I feel about portal fantasies too. The movement of the character between worlds reflects what it is to be bilingual and bicultural. It’s why I chose the format for Martina Has Too Many Tías. What do you like to read?

ECM: Lots of Cuban literature. I’m a huge fan of Leonardo Padura, for example.

EO: My parents love Padura and are always encouraging me to read him!

ECM: You really should. You would devour it.

EO: What draws you to Cuban ­literature, other than your roots?

ECM: In Cuba, the books that are available are selectively curated by the government. Since I left, I’ve been able to read a much broader array of Cuban voices. That never gets boring.

EO: What’s the hardest thing you’ve done as a translator?

ECM: The hardest part of the job is finding words that suggest a dialect without being so niche that they can’t be understood more broadly. For Martina Has Too Many Tías, I worked hard to find words that a Cuban tía could have said but that Latino children of all national groups could understand. It usually takes me several drafts to get this right.

EO: Do you have any big translation ambitions?

ECM: I’d love to translate a book by Cristina García sometime.

EO: Do you have a specific reader in mind when you translate?

ECM: My nieces! I have a photo of them reading Martina Has Too Many Tías, and my brother explained to them that I was the translator. My older niece’s personality is totally Martina too.

EO: Thank you, Emily, for this interview and for your beautiful translations. I can’t wait to see what comes next for you.

From the March/April 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.

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