A leader of the Illinois Deaf Latino Association is working to shed light on the necessity of trilingual American Sign Language interpreters to help ease communication within families.

“Without trilingual interpreters, communication wouldn’t happen,” IDLA president Karen Macias told NBC Chicago.

There are differences between different sign languages, ranging in subtlety depending on the country or region of the speaker. Macias first observed the differences herself when she moved from Mexico City to Chicago five years ago.

“So you encounter an interpreter who’s not trilingual, their main mode is American Sign Language in English. So there are some words and concepts in ASL that you get the gist of, but not in my native language,” Macias said.

The need can be filled by people like Esteban Amaro Jr., who is the city’s first Mexican male trilingual interpreter with a national certification. Fluent in Spanish, English and ASL, he provides a necessary resource for Chicago’s deaf Spanish speakers.

“So interpreters, we convey the tone, we convey the message, we convey the points,” Amaro Jr. said.

Amaro Jr. is already a fixture at Chicago community events, often interpreting for Mayor Brandon Johnson at press conferences.

Click here to watch the video and continue reading.