By María Paula Plazas
On August 21 and 22, 2026, the Argentine Association of Translators and Interpreters (AATI) held its first Federal Conference in Buenos Aires. Two days, two parallel rooms, thirty speakers, and a great program. The conference was also streamed live on Zoom for those colleagues who could not attend in person.
If you work in medical translation in the United States, this may not have crossed your radar, but many English-to-Spanish language professionals working with U.S. clients are based in Argentina. And, of course, there were several particularly interesting sessions on medical translation.
One of them was “From Gray’s Anatomy to Large Language Models: Medical Translation in the Era of Artificial Intelligence.” The speaker showed real English-to-Spanish medical texts translated by AI, and highlighted where the output breaks down. Her central point will be familiar to anyone who reviews machine-translated texts: a translation may look correct at first glance yet hide inaccuracies with serious consequences, and spotting them takes deep subject knowledge.
One session focused on the “Naturalness in the Translation of Scientific Texts.” Drawing on Newmark’s idea that a good translation should read as though the original never existed, the speaker asked why some texts that are linguistically flawless still ring false to a specialist reader, and worked through examples with the room.
Another interesting session was “Beauty Translation: When Words Beautify Too.” The speaker talked about balancing creative, brand-driven copy and strict regulatory compliance.
Finally, in “The Interpreter’s Social Role in Emergencies and Climate Migration,” the speaker talked about focusing less on technique and more on the ethical dimension of the work, the definition of trauma, what it does to your body, and the stress in these situations.
The conference also featured a keynote address from Walter Kerr, Argentina’s presidential translator and interpreter. My own contribution was a session regarding fees: how to calculate, quote, and communicate with clients with confidence. It remains one of the most uncomfortable conversations in our profession, and having it openly with a full room was a privilege.
María Paula Plazas, CT, is an ATA-certified English-to-Spanish translator, a subtitle creator with a master’s degree in audiovisual translation, and a certified translator by the U.K.-based Institute of Translation and Interpreting. She is the founder of MediVerba, a medical translation company specializing in clinical trials, health insurance, and employee benefits. She served as administrator and assistant administrator of the American Translators Association (ATA) Medical Division from 2021 to 2025, and was the recipient of ATA’s Rising Star award in 2023. Contact: info@mediverba.com.