A Latina Woman Uses Her Bilingual Skills to Win Awards for Her Voice
Jessica Trinidad is the owner of Jessicat Productions in Des Moines, Iowa. Photo by Tatiana Peña / JEFAS Magazine
Before the pandemic forced businesses to go digital, Jessica Trinidad had already built a thriving career online as a bilingual voice actress. She was already using social media to connect with others, so when the rest of the world went digital, it only improved her industry. “2020 brought many opportunities for people like me who were working digitally because more companies became open to hiring those of us who weren’t in studios in New York or Los Angeles.”
Trinidad had a home studio in Des Moines, where she had been recording professional voiceovers in English and Spanish since 2009—seven years before launching her company, Jessicat Productions.
Jessica Trinidad: a Dream Inspired by Selena
Before becoming a voice actress, Trinidad dreamed of being a singer and cites Selena as a major inspiration. “She is the reason why my company’s color is purple—in her honor.”
Growing up listening to radio novelas with her grandfather, Trinidad never imagined that one day her voice would be heard on radios and televisions across North America. “It only took me fifteen years,” she jokes, recalling her attempts to break into the industry while working full-time.
Unfortunately, many auditions required her to be available during work hours. “I worked in HR at a cleaning company. I went from hiring people to clean toilets to cleaning them myself just to be available for auditions.”
She was afraid to leave the security of her job to chase her dream. Fortunately, her husband encouraged her and took on extra jobs to keep the family afloat while Trinidad spent hours training, working with an instructor, and finding an agent to help her land her big break.
From Big Break to Award-Winning Voices
Trinidad used her tax refund to create her first demo reel and flew to New York to meet with a vocal coach. Finally, her months of research and risk paid off when she landed a commercial for MegaBus. It was the national ad she needed to secure her place in the industry.
Today, Trinidad’s voice can be heard in commercials for McDonald’s, Wells Fargo, Johnson & Johnson, Pepsi, and on MSNBC, Univision, and Telemundo. In 2021, she won multiple awards, including the One Voice Awards USA and the Voice Arts Award from the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences.
In 2023, Trinidad was nominated by the same organization as the producer of an outstanding public service announcement, and her son was nominated as a voice actor for his Spanish-language TV ad about Covid vaccines.
Trinidad’s youngest son took an interest in her career and started early, thanks to his mother. “He is one of only five bilingual children under contract with Pandora Radio,” she says proudly.
Although she’s happy he enjoys it, she doesn’t pressure him. “Sometimes he doesn’t want to do projects, and that’s okay—I want him to be a kid.” Even though her six-year-old is an award-winning voice actor like his mother, Trinidad focuses her coaching on others in the industry looking for their big break.
Inspiring and Training the Next Generation
“Most of the Latinos you hear in voiceover are from Latin America and made it big in their home countries first. That’s great, but there aren’t many second-generation U.S. Latinas in the industry. There are so many talented Latinas out there, and if I can inspire them, I want to train and mentor them.”
Trinidad offers a free coaching session once a month to her social media followers and takes on clients who find her online. “The industry is becoming more open to different accents. Before, only neutral accents were accepted, but now you hear more regional accents, like Chicano or other U.S. variations.”
Trinidad hopes to expand her business by training new artists and branching into other genres like animation and video games. While she is excited about the growing opportunities in the bilingual market, she warns that AI is becoming more competitive, as companies see it as a cheaper alternative to hiring an artist.
She hopes this won’t discourage anyone. “If you can’t sit still in a classroom, that’s okay—you can still build a career. I want young people to start exploring their artistic side.”
