Checo was invited to 'Desde el Paddock' Podcast, with Memo Rojas, and here some of his iconic comments:
Checo: I met Christian Honer for the first time, and he told me, "We're a team that competes with two cars because we have to run two cars. We can happily race with just Max." And I said, "Okay, now we can race with two cars. Sign me up." And then I understood how the team worked... I focused on it. In the second race, I qualified ahead of Max, and in the fifth, I won, and I stayed there for six years."
Memo: It was four years, wasn't it?
Checo: Well, but I charged them as if they were six.
+++
Memo: Does Checo want to return to Formula 1?
Checo: Yes, I want to. The answer is yes, if the project that comes along feels right. I don't want to return at all costs; I don't want to be traveling around the world as a third driver or waiting there for an opportunity. I think I've been very fortunate with the career I've had, and I want to return because I don't want to end my career like this. But I'm also aware that I'll return if it's worth the price to be in F1.
+++
And my favorite:
Checo: I won't tell you where I buy my elotes anymore!
My King, finally speaking without a filter, and this is important, Memo Rojas is one of Telmex ex-drivers, he is deeply into MotorSports, so Checo being there, telling the dish (he said so many more things about RBR)... it gives me hope (also he looks so yummy).
Im the process of dubbing do you take hints from the actors acting or from the lines?
The dubbing is one in which we have to do a parallel move from the original voice, then those client guidelines we try to do our best, we follow the guidelines as long you don’t fall out of line,
Now that you mention that what were the directions on that last line of supernatural, there was no information of what was coming, we didn’t know something like this could happen, memo takes a cake break, they were very skeptical of when we did it, were referring to cas’ love confession after 12 years, but the great question everyone heard that y yo a ti, everything was from the direction, he adapt it he gave me the lines, so I did it, we didn’t see it coming, in all the story of supernatural we never saw dean in love with a women unlike his brother, never got involved with a woman, we can compare him with Sam, in the last 2 seasons, Eileen, Dean didn’t suffer that, he suffered more with moms loss, not a rogue translator it’s a rogue director lol
LatAm Dub Voice Actor Panel: Translation/Transcript
Hello all, I have taken it upon myself to translate the panel with Guillermo (Memo) Rojas: Dean's LatAm Voice Actor. There is a lot of confusion and I think it's best if you read for yourself to come to your own conclusions. The translator in the panel failed to translate important things and also added in her own opinions/interpretations. I also think there were times when they were talking about different things. I don't blame her, because I'm sure she was nervous/excited and live translating is hard! I would like to thank her for doing the panel and trying to get us answers! I have added my own opinions/notes in red. I have included some time stamps so you can follow along in the video. I tried to focus on all the important parts regarding the dubbing and also useful background info. Please note that everything is translated by me except for the Translator's own translations, I left those in English as she said it. I apologize if there are any mistakes, I did my best.
[9:54]
Memo: I got covid in the last two... I don’t remember if I got it during.. uh, during.. the last episode of the season or during the special or during both. I have doubts, cuz I still haven’t recorded them. I have to record them from what I understand.
[Translator translates]
[10:37]
Translator: [Spanish] We’re going to start with the easy questions. Because there’s one... I’m not sure if you know but you guys in the Mexican dub broke the internet.
Memo: Yes
Translator: [Spanish] Oh, you already know?
Memo: Yeah, sorry to interrupt you. A lot of people reached out to me and I feel bad not being able to, broadly speaking, answer all of their questions. But I was in the middle of my covid situation and a tracheal situation where I couldn’t talk without choking. Now I’m working in therapy with this situation. And if that wasn’t complicated enough it seems like I have 2 sequels: one is confirmed the 2nd not yet. So I couldn’t respond to EVERYone that was reaching out to me on the internet. From various means, from Insta, Facebook, Youtube. Actually a very old channel that I’ve never used. With respect to the situation with Dean and the other guy.
[11:49]
Translator: [Spanish] How different is the process between directing for live action and directing for animation? And which do you prefer?
Memo: Okay, so what’s the difference between one and the other: basically, you can say that it’s a little similar. Because we’re talking about a certain quality that we have to respect or give, in this case. There are guidelines [interrupted by Translator] that we have to follow.
[12:10]
Translator: [translates] It’s very similar because we have to give the same quality in both senses. There is a process that we have to follow.
Memo: Yes, correct. Now the guidelines are usually given to us by the production company, in this case, what we call the client.
Translator: [translates] The lines are given by the producer house or what we call the client.
[12:31]
Memo: In this case, so we have to stick to the guidelines that they ask for. The ones which go hand in hand in regards to the production that is being worked.
Translator: [translates] We have to follow the rules. Which go hand in hand with the kind of production we are doing, either animation or live action.
Memo: Yes, actually, saying that both are the same would be lying to you. Because we could have 2 live actions and they’re not the same. Guidelines: there are basic technical points to follow but when it comes to acting and theatrical production, they change.
[13:03]
Translator: [translates] I would be lying to say they are the same because if you have two different live actions they are going to have different procedures. So when you are acting them that is when the change come in.
Memo: The greatest difference I could tell you would be the technical points to follow in each of them. And for the acting part, in this case, it would be to give 100% from each and every one of us.
Translator: [translates] and uh, in the technical those are the differences but in the acting sense I can tell you that the important thing is to give 100% every single time.
[...talk about other acting jobs...]
[17:42]
Memo: [Talking about the show 911] I don’t think there’s a piece that I enjoyed more watching being dubbed by a translator and directed by Fogatry. Who has an amazing gift to not only direct but also adapt dialogues. And there has been great synergy working on this series and others that he has done me the favor of supporting me as an actor to give me roles. And that I enjoy doing a lot. Not only his directing but also... I don’t know we have a certain synergy so he can direct me and I can act how he indicates and he makes me feel it, you know? It’s... it’s something interesting.
Translator: [translates] It is one of the series I most enjoy as... I also enjoy to be directed by Fogarty because of special synergy. He makes me feel the characters better so we work very well when he directs me.
Memo: Yes, I sincerely love working with him.
[...talks about voice acting...]
[19:51]
Translator: [Spanish] Well now that you already mentioned the guidelines, and I mentioned in the beginning: comes the big questions. What were the guidelines in that final line in Supernatural that broke the internet?
Memo: Its a curious thing because... because I don’t even think the director nor the translators had any idea of the tendency (inclination) that existed. Because there wasn’t information that said previously that something like that could happen.
Translator: [translates] It is very funny because neither the director nor I had any idea of what was coming. We didn’t know that something like that could happen.
[...talks about his birthday and eating cake...]
[20:52]
Memo: Yes, so uh, being honest, when we recorded it, it was very like, “blink blink (squints)” [takes off glasses and looks confused] “What’s going on? What’s happening?” But, we did it, you know? But none of us in the production team saw anything in him during filming that would say something like that.
Translator: [translates] When we saw it, it was like a blinking moment and we did it. But at the time we never thought that it would happen./ [Spanish] And here I have to ask for clarification. Because obviously we are referring to the fact that Castiel confessed to Dean after ...12 years... of intense stares. [Memo laughs] But the main question is Dean’s response. Because everyone heard, in your voice, very clearly “y yo a ti” (and I, you).
Memo: [same time] “Y yo a ti” (and I, you).
Translator: [Spanish] where did that “Y yo a ti” (and I, you) come from? Was it in the script? Was it you? What happened there?
[21:50]
Memo: The adaptation was completely from my director. And the guidelines for acting came from him and I did what he asked me to do.
Translator: [translates] Everything was...okay everybody I asked about “and I you” I know that Tumblr was waiting for this moment. And he says, everything came from the director. He adapted it, he gave me the guidelines. It was his fault.
(Note: Memo only knows what his director told him. Adaptation = edited translated script for lip synch etc.)
[others laugh]
[22:16]
Memo: But we all love him. We all loved it. We never saw it coming so directly.
Translator: [translates] But everybody loved it everybody wanted it at the end. We didn’t see it coming so directly but it was great.
[22:28]
Memo: If we remember correctly, from the length of all of Supernatural we rarely see a situation where Dean is seen being involved with a woman. It didn’t happen. Unlike his brother.
Translator: [translates] If we remember all the seasons of Supernatural, we never saw Dean romantically involved with a woman unlike his brother./ [Spanish] Here I will just correct you as a fan, it did happen a few times but it was before your times. (He started voicing Dean after season 12.)
[22:52]
Memo: Yes, it was before my time but it was never more than a general empathy.
Translator: [translates] Yeah it was before me but it was never farther than a general empathy.
Memo: He was never involved. Neither directly nor [cut off]
Translator: [translates] He was never involved, not completely.
Memo: It wasn’t his thing, right?
Translator: [translates] It wasn’t his.
[23:10]
Memo: Especially, because we can compare him with his brother.
Translator: [translates] Especially because we can compare him with his brother.
Memo: We remember the last relationship he had in the last 2 season.
Translator: [translates] We remember his relationship that he had in the last 2 seasons./ Uh, Eileen, the deaf woman.
Memo: Exactly, with Eileen, that was really intense. And [gets cut off] at the end.
Translator: [translates] Was very tense and painful at the end.
[23:33]
Memo: Dean basically didn’t suffer that. Like for me, to a certain point they tied him more emotionally with the fact that he lost his mother...more than once.
Translator: [translates] With Dean, he didn’t suffer what Sam did, because he was emotionally more tied with the fact that he lost his mom more than once.
Memo: Yeah, so uh [gets cut off]
Translator: [Spanish] We have a question. So it’s not a “rogue translator”, it’s a “rogue director”? Says [asker’s name].
Memo: uh... yeah yeah, I’m seeing it [the comment] yeah [laughs] Look, Fogarty has a tendency... Fogarty has really intense abilities. [gets cut off]
Translator: [translates] Fogarty has an intense ability.
Memo: Yeah and one of them is adapting the dialogues.
Translator: [translates] And one of them is to adapt dialogue.
[24:16]
Memo: When you see a piece that Fogarty translates and he manages to adapt when he has time to do it, even if he won’t direct it, and he’ll leave it for you in Spanish.
Translator: [translates] You see a work by Fogarty when he is going to translate even if he is not going to direct and he leaves it in Spanish.
Memo: So, the dialogue goes like this, if I remember correctly, it said “tambien yo (me too)” or it said something like that.
Translator: [translates] The dialogue said, if I remember correctly, “tambien yo” “and so do I”. If I remember correctly.
Memo: Exactly. And then we changed it to “Y yo a ti” (And I, you).
Translator: [translates] And then we changed it into “Y yo a ti” “and I, you”.
Memo: For the effect of lip syncing, rhythm, and more things.
Translator: [translates] Because of the formation of lip vowels and other things./ Before you came in I explained it as a translator. My absolute hate for the lip... [Spanish] my hate for the lip syncing.
[25:12]
Memo: [laughs] Yeah, it’s an impressive topic to discuss. Now a days with the speed of production that we have it’s difficult to give attention to that part. Which we should, that much is very clear to me of course. But not all of us have the ability that Fogarty has in that sense specifically. We don’t have the speed that Fogarty has to adapt like that [snaps fingers](to adapt fast).
Translator: [translates] Uh, we don’t have the time now a days to do it, we should but we can’t. But we don’t have all the...brain cells and the speed that Fogarty has to make those changes.
Memo: We all have different abilities. And when we work together, but well not everyone pitches in all of the different abilities that they have, and Fogarty does his part.
Translator: [translates] we all have different skills and when we work together we all put all job there, and Fogarty does his part.
Memo: We all need a Fogarty in every company.
Translator: [translates] [laughs] We need a Fogarty in every, in every enterprise... in every company./ [Spanish] I have to make a pause cuz you saw my cat pass by...
[...talks about her cat hating Sam...]
[...redirected to comments...]
[27:35]
Translator: [reads comment in English] They are asking a lot about if you know what Dean said in the original English Script before Fogarty got his hands on it. [translates to Spanish] If you know what was on the original script before Fogarty changed it?
Memo: Again. What? [Did not hear/or did not understand the question]
Translator: [Spanish] If you know what the original script said. What it said originally.
[28:00]
Memo: Yes, If I remember correctly... yeah, yeah, it was... it was something allusive, WOW, it was totally correct of course. [get’s cut off]
Translator: [translates] it was uh...
Memo: “y tambien yo” (and me too) or “tambien yo a ti” (And I, you as well) it said something like that. [gets cut off] (so its difficult to understand what he says next but sounds like “unmistakable, unmistakable”)
Translator: [Spanish] Ladies, the original script said “yo tambien” (me too) okay so [name] asks if you listened to the original while dubbing?
Memo: Yes, of course.
(NOTE: I think for Memo, the “original script” was the first Spanish draft before they adjusted/adapted for lip synch and what not.)
Translator: [Spanish] No. Say that (unclear) [laughs] yeah
[28:30]
Memo: No, immediately I would’ve been like [takes off glasses and leans in] “What?”
Translator: [Spanish] Yeah, yeah. What happens is that. Supernatural has a very intense, very loyal fandom. As you can see now [points to the comments] so it’s been uh...which the change brings the big question [gets cut off]
Memo: [reading comment in English] Someone translate it! [laughs]
Translator: [Spanish] What was your favorite episode to dub for Supernatural?
Memo: With my short term memory, this last episode.
Translator: [translates] So I asked him which one was his favorite Supernatural uh Episode to dub and he said that with his short term memory, the last one
Memo: It’s cuz, it says a lot, it says a lot.
Translator: [translates] It says a lot.
[29:19]
Memo: It says a lot. In one scene it says everything.
Translator: [translates] In a scene it says it all.
Memo: So it’s very impressive, it’s really nice. I never... I never saw it coming. Never saw it coming.
Translator: [translates] I never saw it coming. But it was beautiful.
Memo: Yeah, yeah
[...talks about breaking Tumblr, Dean finally getting a dog, Memo watching Supernatural...]
[31:40]
Translator: [Spanish] Once more, you broke the internet. And they’re asking: if the original script said something in regards to Dean’s feelings for Cas, [Memo says “no”] or was it all added in by the director Fogarty?
[31:54]
Memo: no, no, no. Actually the original booklet that we had never had any indication that told you that he was in love or that he reciprocates the love and that they knew. No. Nothing. Really, that phrase was what topped off the entire series.
(NOTE: I think Memo is talking about the first Spanish script he saw and all the previous scripts, saying he saw no indication UNTIL that one line.)
Translator: [translates] Okay guys. I’m going to go slow with this so it’s put to rest. No. The original did not say it. It was not... stated clear. With the last phrase was what concealed the whole series. The whole thing.
Memo: None of us saw it coming.
Translator: [translates] No one saw it coming.
Memo: No.
Translator: [translates] No one saw it coming but... it was the director adding it because that was what made sense. (NOTE: Memo never said this part about the director!!!)
[32:46]
Memo: Actually, when they started to bombard me with a bunch of questions on the internet, I started to investigate what happened, right? And yeah, I saw clearly, how the director and the writer decided to take a very hidden tendency with respect to them both. In various scenes, in very, very simple dialogues. In which they made that like allusion that they both had feelings for one another. But it was so, so faint that almost no one noticed it.
(NOTE: I think Memo is referring to the English writers/directors and the questions people asked him were in regards to being surprised that Dean reciprocates.)
Translator: [translates] He is saying that uh what the director... the dubbing director saw that... the director in English were creating this love story but it was so subtle and so “tenue (faint/dim)”... so discrete that no one saw it coming./ Which brings us to the fact that yes, this man is a heller.
[33:41]
Memo: I think that it’s clear to all of us that the fact that it broke the internet with this information, it was a surprise for absolutely everyone. Because well, we would all say, right, that if you want to be a real man, you gotta be like Dean.
(NOTE: I think Memo thinks that people were shocked Dean reciprocated because everyone views him as a manly man. I don’t think Memo is referring to the English/Spanish dubbing differences.)
Translator: [translates] I think that with the great effect.../ hold on [Spanish] You are going to break the internet again with this.[laughs] [translates] Okay I think that we... have to see this is... that how we can because after all everybody says that if you want to be a real man you have to be like Dean Winchester./ And Dean Winchester is in love with Castiel. [laughs]
[34:35]
Memo: And to me... it’s... actually it’s something really beautiful for me. Because it doesn’t have to do with gender it has to do with the feelings. And it... it was a marvelous play made by the writers. Marvelous. Marvelous. You didn’t see it coming. And look at that, you liked it.
Translators: [translates] I believe... that it’s very beautiful it was a play by the original writers, by the American workers, that you didn’t see coming but when you see it, you like it. And you end up loving it.
Memo: Yeah
Translator: [reads comments in Spanish] Um, we have 2 questions. One is from [name] that asks if something got left out of the translation?...
Memo: No.
Translator: [Spanish] No, nothing. [translates] Nothing was out of the translation. [Spanish] And the other is that they ask if they ever called you back to rerecord that “Y yo a ti” (and I, you)?
Memo: No.
Translator: [translates] No./ The “Y yo a ti” isn’t going to be redubbed people, calm down.
Memo: [laughs] No
Translator: [English] He was not called to remake the dubbing.
Memo: No... no, no, no. It’s clear to me that my director understood perfectly the context of that text.
Translator: [translates] It is very clear that the director understood perfectly the texture of this text./ [Spanish] I have a question. From experience, because at one point I got to dub, I got to translate, dub some lines, not that controversial... but very complicated that the client returned it. The client, when he heard it he said, “No, we can’t do this” Okay the line was, you’re gunna see why they returned it: “I’ve listened to jazz since I was a sperm in my father’s testicle.”
Memo: Okay [laughs]
Translator: [Spanish] So... so the client told us, “No, change it.”
Memo: What did the original say?
Translator: [Spanish] That’s what the original said!
Memo: [English] So, what?
Translator: [Spanish] It was in Japanese, but that’s what the original said. Uh but since it was for “kids” because it was anime, they returned it.
Memo: Ohh, okay, okay, okay. Maybe they asked you to smooth it over like “I’ve listened to jazz since before I was born” and that’s it.
Translator: [Spanish] Exactly. So my question is do you know if Supernatural has a quality control from Warner?
[36:52]
Memo: I would be lying if I said yes. But I have worked with Warner for a long time as an actor and director. And some very specific works like superhero type and things like that might have a filter like that. But series like Supernatural... I honestly doubt it. I think that the delegations and decisions on these situations would be totally up to the director.
Translator: [translates] Okay, so I asked him if there was quality control for Supernatural in specific and Memo tells me that he doesn’t believe so./ [Spanish] Okay, now comes the big questions cuz you broke the internet. [looks at comments] um, these are going really fast, ladies. Two people ask if you acted Dean as someone who was always in love with Castiel this whole time or did it surprise you too?
[37:46]
Memo: No. Never. Same (also surprised).
Translator: [translates] No, it was a surprise.
Memo: Actually, I’m going to be very sincere with you guys. For me, Saying to a friend I care a lot about... to someone I care a lot about... to someone of the same gender, I tell them “Te amo (I love you).” I don’t have a problem with that.
Translator: [translates] I’m going to be very truthful with you. If I have a friend, a very close friend of my same gender I will tell him “Te amo” (I love you) and I don’t have any problems.
Memo: So, I felt it in that way. Honestly.
Translator: [translates] I felt it for that side./ [Spanish] And then you found out that no. (In regards to it not happening in English).
Memo: uh huh, exactly [laughs] “Hey, what happened?” [jokes]
[...talks about Jensen on The Boys, using Facebook...]
[40:42]
Translator: [reads comment in Spanish] Guillermo, what’s your opinion, now with all that you know, about the relationship that Dean has with Cas?
Memo: Okay, it was a revelation for everyone. Including me.
Translator: [translates] It was a revelation, first.
Memo: I love how they did it. Because nobody saw it coming. Not even us, who record it.
Translator: [translates] I love him.. I love how it.. how it come cuz no one saw it coming, not even we that we are recording it.
Memo: And I think that with all the personality and the psychology that we have of the character, we can reason that if someone knows how to hold back their feelings, it’s Dean Winchester.
Translator: [translates] And we can tell by the psychology of the character that if there was someone that knew how to keep his feelings at bay, was Dean Winchester.
[... talk about co-star, deep voice, and Memo not seeing the finale yet until he records it...]
[...he’s asked to say “Hello, Cas” in Dean’s voice if Cas were to return from the Empty...]
[44:40]
Memo: Oh, It’s assumed that I told him I loved him too, as long as he didn’t come back! [jokes]
[...talk about his ideal finale of a peaceful happy ending for TFW...]
(In conclusion I don’t think Memo saw the original English script. And to him the “original script” is the first Spanish draft before they adjust for lip synchs. He thinks his director is great and did his job correctly. Memo’s shock was in Dean being in love with Cas (not necessarily the dubbing discrepancies) but he understood why it happened once he researched and saw all the hidden allusions left by the writers. I don’t think adding “rogue director” to the discourse is helpful because I don’t think Memo knows either. Here is a link to the director’s dubbing fandom page (it’s in Spanish): Adrian Fogarty.)
This part is not translated properly and it’s where all the confusion about what Memo said stems.
Memo had already said that the, ‘me, too’, was in the original English script.
This section begins at approximately 31:30. It’s in response to Harlequin saying fans need to hear Memo, say, again, that the original script had a, ‘me, too’.
Ada asks again if the original script had Dean reciprocating feelings and Memo misunderstands and answers that he did not see the confession and reciprocation coming, so that’s what made the, ‘y yo a ti cas’, line so impactful. He says it made the show.
She translates that the dubbing director is a Heller and added it because it made sense in the story. This is not what Memo says, at all. On the contrary, he emphases that they were all surprised by the lines. A person trying to add those lines would have seen the romance all along, not have been surprised by it.
So his translator is saying something that a) he didn’t say, and b) doesn’t make sense with any of what he said.
Ada: one more time you broke the internet, and they are asking, if the original script said something about Dean’s feelings for Cas.
Memo: *nods his head no*
A: Or was it all the director, Fogati?
MR: No, no, in fact the original script that we had there was never some indication that would say to you that he was in love or that he reciprocated his love or that they knew, no, not all all. Really, the phrase was what finished off the whole series.
AZ: Okay, guys, I’m going to go slow with this so it’s put to rest. No, the original did not say it, it was not stated clear, but that last phrase was what concealed the whole series, the whole thing.
MR: None of us saw it coming.
AZ: No one saw it coming.
MR: No.
AZ: But, it was the director adding it because it was what made sense.
MR: In fact, on the internet when they started to bombard me with so many questions, I started to investigate what happened. And yes, I saw clearly how both the director and the writer decided to make it in such a way that was very hidden with respect to both of them, in various takes, in very simple dialogues, in which we see an allusion of them having feelings for each other but it was so tenuous that practically nobody noticed.
AZ: He’s saying that what the director, the dubbing director, the sound effect, the director in English were creating this love story but it was so subtle and so tenuous, so discreet that no one saw it coming which bring us to the fact that yes, this man is a Heller.
MR: What is clear to all of us is the fact that it broke the internet with this information was a surprise to all of us. Absolutely all of us. Because, we all say that if somebody wanted to be a real man then he would have to be like Dean.
AZ: I think that the right effect, wait, you’re so going to break the internet again with this, I think that what we have to see is that how we tend it, because after all everybody says if you want to be a real man you have to be like Dean Winchester and Dean Winchester is in love with Castiel.
MR: to me it seems... in fact it’s something very beautiful to me, because it has nothing to do with gender, it has to do with feelings. So, it was a play (like a gamble) that the writers made that was wonderful, wonderful. I mean, you didn’t see it coming and see how much you liked it!
AZ: I believe that it’s very beautiful. It was a play by the original writers, by the American writers, that you didn’t see it coming but when you see it you like it and you end up loving it.
We have two questions: was anything left out of the translation?
MR: No.
AZ: Nothing was left out of the translation.
The other is, several are asking, if at any moment, did they call you to re-record that, ‘Y Yo a ti’?
MR: No.
MR: It is very clear to me that my director understood the texture of that text.
