Jacob J. Pierce is a Cuban national who has resided in Brazil for more than 30 years. He is a translator and interpreter of professional conferences in Portuguese, Spanish and English and is fully bilingual in Spanish and Portuguese and Hebrew. Jacob is a professor of Hebrew, Portuguese and Spanish. He is also a proficient technical, literary and medical translator of Portuguese, Spanish and English. Currently Jacob is offering specialised Spanish courses for Brazilian advertising and business executives, as well as classes in Portuguese in Madrid for Spanish business executives wishing to do business in Brazil.

Jacob has a master’s degree in protocol, event organization and institutional relations from the School of International Protocol at the University of Miguel Hernández, in Madrid. He also holds a doctorate in Spanish philology from the University of Zaragoza Spain, has a degree in translation and interpretation from the University of Gama Filho in Rio de Janeiro, and holds a degree in writing from the University of Rio de Janeiro.

Mr. Pierce belongs to a select group of professional interpreters in Brazil, who specialize in presidential and ministerial affairs. Over the years he has gained extensive experience working with various presidents, ministers and national and international authorities in many different countries, often accompanying them in their private meetings and presentations.

Main works: (More than 500 events, 10,000 booth hours and 20 years of experience in Brazil and Europe)

• Official interpreter for the G-20 in 2024 - Rio de Janeiro (Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil).

• Official interpreter for the President of Brazil, Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, during his second term in Brazil and Europe, in private meetings, award ceremonies and business rounds. (see website)

• Interpreter for former US President Barack Obama - Cuba-USA Business Forum, Havana, Cuba (2016)

• Interpreter for former Cuban President Fidel Castro Ruz at the CBTU Congress, Havana, Cuba (1990)

• Interpreter for former Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel His Excellency Israel Meir Lau {לאו מאיר ישראל}, current President of Yad Vashem, on his State visit to Havana, Cuba, in 1994. Consecutive translations Hebrew<>Spanish.

• Official interpreter for more than 20 Heads of State and more than 50 Ministers, Governors and Mayors from Latin America and the European Union, on State Visits, Press Conferences and Business Rounds. • Official interpreter for the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in Madrid, Spain, translating the work of the EU and Ibero-American Ministerial Commissions. 

• Official interpreter for academic events at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. (HB > ES<>PT).

• Official interpreter for academic events at the Moriah International Center, Israel. (HB > ES<>PT).

• Official interpreter for EXPOAGUA ZARAGOZA 2008. Zaragoza, Spain, 2008 (Ministry of the Environment).

• Official interpreter for medical events for more than six Brazilian and foreign Medical Societies.

Official interpreter for the work teams that serve these entities:

Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil / SECOM / FIESP / ISA CTEEP / Ibero-American General Secretariat / Brazilian Embassy in Madrid / Instituto Cervantes Rio de Janeiro / Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain. / Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Jerusalem.

• Sporting Events: Official interpreter: 2016 Olympics / CBF / Copa América (2015), World Cup* (2014); Confederations Cup* (2013). *(Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency of the Republic).

OFFICIAL INTERPRETER FOR THE FOLLOWING HEADS OF STATE:

Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva / Brazil, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin / Brazil, Dilma Rousseff / Brazil, Michel Temer / Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso / Portugal, Jorge Sampaio / United States, Barack Obama / Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernandez / Cuba, Fidel Castro / Costa Rica, Óscar Arias / Colombia, Alvaro Uribe / Peru, Alan Garcia / Mexico, Felipe Calderón / Ecuador, Rafael Correa / Korea, Choi Sang-Mon, Prime Minister / Chile, Michelle Bachelet / El Salvador, Mauricio Funes / Argentina, Cristina Kirchner / Cape Verde, Antonio Mascarenhas / Panama, Ricardo Martinelli / Uruguay, José Mujica.

Jacob has also been the interpreter of renowned international figures in the literary field such as the Colombian poet and writer William Ospina, the famous Cuban writer Pedro Juan Gutierrez, the Spanish writer Enrique Vila-Matas, Brazilian writers Ventura Zuenir and Rubem Fonseca and Brazilian intellectuals Frei Betto and Leonardo Boff among others. He has also translated the great American linguist Noam Chomsky. Jacob has worked directly with presidents and ministers from more than 15 countries in Cuba, Brazil and Spain. He has gathered a vast range of experience in the field with over 3000 hours of simultaneous interpretation, high-level meetings of major international companies, as well as experience working in several diverse events.