What if the feeling of not fully belonging—to one language, one culture, or one place—wasn’t a limitation but the very source of creative power?
That’s the question at the heart of a recent podcast episode from “The Well Woman Podcast” hosted by Giovanna Rossi. Her conversation with Amanda Pascali—a singer-songwriter, translator, and Fulbright Fellow—discusses how Amanda melds her Italian heritage, language abilities, and musical talent.
As a Harrington Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, Amanda researches Italian studies and ethnomusicology while translating and breathing new life into traditional Sicilian folk songs. She sings in both Italian and English, and translating some of the lyrics into English can be seen as an act of preservation while speaking to modern audiences at the same time. Watch her sing “Uccellino (Little Bird)” here – what a great song.
Amanda is currently translating and reinterpreting of the songs of Rosa Balistreri, one of Italy’s first women to publicly denounce social inequality through music. Translating Balistreri’s work requires more than linguistic accuracy—it demands cultural sensitivity and awareness of what feminism meant then and what it means now. Amanda’s latest album, Roses and Basil, brings a modern feel to ancient lullabies and protest songs, transforming them into something timeless.
What makes Amanda’s perspective especially resonant for me as a translator is her refusal to flatten difference. She knows that meaning often lives in what cannot be neatly resolved, but that there is still a way to reach her audience. Translating poetry, song lyrics, and proverbs takes skill and nuance, and her work affirms that translation can make the old new again.
Alison Trujillo Translations 