Language work shaped by fiction, translation, and a life between cultures
I’m Carlos Adán Cabrera, a U.S. English translator, editor, copywriter, and localization specialist based in Barcelona. I’m also an avid reader, language enthusiast and an award-winning writer.
I work mainly from Spanish, Catalan, and French into English, helping brands, agencies, publishers, organizations, and creative professionals turn multilingual content into clear, natural, culturally fluent English. I also take on selected English into Spanish projects when the subject matter, audience, and tone are a good fit.
My work sits somewhere between precision and voice. A translation has to be accurate, of course. An edited text has to be clean. Copy has to be clear. But language also has to move well. It has to sound like someone meant it that way.
That is the part I care about most.
Language work with a writer’s ear
I’ve worked in translation, proofreading, localization, editing, transcreation, and multilingual content for more than 10 years, across fields including marketing, tourism, hospitality, legal, financial, life sciences, medical, technical, literary, arts, culture, fashion, and web content.
Before freelancing, I worked as an in-house translator and proofreader in Barcelona, translating and reviewing Spanish, Catalan, and French into U.S. English for corporate, hospitality, fashion, life sciences, and marketing clients. Since then, I’ve continued working with agencies, companies, and creative clients who need language that is accurate, readable, and ready to use.
I’m comfortable working with style guides, glossaries, translation memories, CAT tools, SEO-informed copy, brand voice guidelines, and editorial requirements. I use tools such as Trados, Wordfast, Memsource/Phrase, and Smartling, but the real work still happens at sentence level: tone, rhythm, meaning, structure, and the reader’s experience.
Writing, editing, and literary background
Alongside my translation work, I’m also a fiction writer and creative writing instructor. My stories and essays have appeared in The Rumpus, The Adroit Journal, Carve Magazine, Kweli, Barrelhouse, The Acentos Review, and other publications.
I hold an MFA in Writing from the University of San Francisco and a BA in English from UCLA. That background shapes the way I read and work: carefully, closely, and with attention to what a text is trying to do.
For some projects, that means staying almost invisible. For others, it means helping the language become sharper, warmer, more persuasive, or more alive.
How I can help
I offer:
Translation & Localization
Proofreading & Editing
Bilingual Revision
Transcreation & Copywriting
SEO-informed web copy
Creative and editorial language support
If you need a text translated, edited, adapted, or rewritten in English, send me the language pair, word count, deadline, audience, and a short note about what the text needs to do.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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My path into translation began with a lifelong interest in language, literature, and writing. Over time, that interest developed into a career combining translation, editing, proofreading, localization, and copywriting for clients across a wide range of industries.
My background in creative writing and publishing has shaped the way I approach every project. I enjoy helping ideas move naturally between languages while preserving the author's voice, the purpose of the text, and the needs of its audience.
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Writing and translation have always been closely connected for me.
A good translation should read naturally in the target language, and editing often requires the same attention to rhythm, tone, structure, and clarity that good writing demands. My experience as a writer helps me make stylistic decisions that go beyond grammar and accuracy, producing English that feels polished and engaging without losing sight of the original text.
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Barcelona has been home for many years and has shaped both my personal and professional life.
Living and working in a multilingual environment has given me a close connection to Spanish and Catalan language and culture while allowing me to collaborate with clients throughout Europe and beyond. Although I'm based in Spain, I work remotely with clients around the world and adapt my schedule to international projects and time zones.
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My work has taken me across a wide range of sectors, including healthcare and life sciences, tourism and hospitality, technology, education, marketing, legal and corporate communications, cultural institutions, and professional services.
That variety has taught me to adapt quickly to different audiences, subject matter, and writing styles while maintaining the same commitment to clarity, accuracy, and consistency.
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Long-term collaborations are built on more than language skills.
Clients value clear communication, reliable delivery, careful attention to detail, and consistency across projects. Whether I'm translating a website, reviewing multilingual content, or editing a report, I aim to make the process straightforward and dependable from the first conversation to the final delivery.
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I enjoy the challenge of finding the right words for a particular audience and purpose.
Every project presents a different set of questions. Sometimes the solution lies in precise terminology, sometimes in improving the flow of a sentence, and sometimes in capturing a tone that feels completely natural in English. That combination of analytical thinking and creative problem-solving is one of the things I enjoy most about this work.
