Four new versions of the guided tour, Exterior Walk: Old Mission Santa Barbara have been published by Tours4Mobile with the help of some talented locals. The company offers virtual guided tours of destinations around the world, and now the history and exterior grounds of the most visited landmark in Santa Barbara can be enjoyed in French, German, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, as well as English. Old Mission Santa Barbara Docent and specialist in tours for 4th Grade Students, Lisa Knox Burns, recruited an array of volunteers to translate and narrate the tour she had authored. Under the direction of Erik H. Davis, community access TVSB provided media production services by JP Montalvo. Tours4Mobile is grateful to the production team and all the translators and narrators for their expertise and time. (See Bios below.) 50% of the proceeds from these tour sales benefit Old Mission Santa Barbara.
French Language: Mary Blackwood Collier provides the excellent French narration for Santa Barbara Mission Walk. She completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees in French at UC Santa Barbara and earned a doctorate with highest honors in French literature from the Université de Paris, Sorbonne in 1990. Since 1976 she has served on the faculty of the Music Academy of the West as a French diction coach. She taught French language and literature at Westmont College for 39 years. In 2012, the French government knighted her as a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques, the highest distinction the French Republic can give, for promoting French language and culture.
Annick Labeeuw a Santa Barbara Mission Docent who specializes in 4th grade tours translated the Santa Barbara Mission Walk from English to French. Annick grew up in French speaking Belgium, and is fluent in three languages, French, Spanish & English. Her translation was edited by Jacqueline Simons, Senior-Lecturer, Department of French, UC Santa Barbara.
German Language: Annette Guionnet is a native German speaker and long-time German language instructor. With a passion for expressive arts, she created the Healing Arts Program at Santa Barbara’s Cottage Hospital. Annette received her teaching degree at Philips University in Marburg, Germany and taught grades 5-13. Her thorough review of the German translation of Santa Barbara Mission Walk added cultural sensitivity. Until recently, Annette served as a private docent at Santa Barbara’s Hermitage, a whimsical sculptural art museum. Annette knows that tourists appreciate an entertaining tour, which she graciously provides in the German narration of Santa Barbara Mission Walk.
Ursula Ginder prepared the German translation of the Santa Barbara Mission Walk. She was born and raised as a Catholic in Munich, Germany. With a PhD in Art History (University of California, Santa Barbara) and work as a docent at the Santa Barbara Art Museum, Ursula is uniquely qualified as a translator for this project. She was in the docent training program at the Old Mission. She took a personal interest in translating the Santa Barbara Mission Walk tour. Her care is evident in translating scientific names of native California plants commonly used by Chumash into German, as well as dimensions of structures which are expressed in commonly used German units of measure.
Spanish Language: Silvia Uribe is both translator and narrator of the Spanish version of the Santa Barbara Mission Walk. Ms. Uribe is an acknowledged professional as a translator and interpreter. For her work with the County of Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office, school districts and other public agencies as well as for her volunteer work in the County, she was awarded as “Congressional Woman of the Year (2021)” by Hon. Salud Carbajal, US House of Representatives. As stated in the US Congressional Record, July 16, 2021, “Silvia is a language access advocate, who has devoted her business and community service providing language services and helping people connect.” Born and raised in Mexico City, Silvia and her family moved to Santa Barbara in 1993 where she immediately began serving the community. Her business, TransilPro provides translation and interpretation services to businesses, government, community organizations, individuals, and beyond.
Mandarin Chinese: Luming Cao provided the translation and narration for the Mandarin version – coming soon.
Tours4Mobile Founder Marie Profant explains, “Our virtual tours include photos throughout the eBook and video slideshows, differentiating the products from traditional guide books and audio tours because the user can easily see what the author is referring to. We offer visitors and arm-chair travelers a virtual ‘friend to show them around’ — at their convenience, on mobile and other devices. Thousands of these tours, written by professional authors around the world, have been sold through various channels. This Exterior Walk is intended to raise funds so development costs have been sponsored and half of our proceeds from the sales of all five versions, will benefit the Old Mission. While the in-person Mission tour tickets offer interior itineraries, now virtual travelers and students throughout the world can learn about the area history. It’s a shame that so many people stop for a photo, and have no idea what stories lie behind every stone. We drive by every day, and it is now quite a blessing that these local experts are bringing the legends to life.”
The 3-minute video at www.tours4mobile.com describes how the tours work. For information on using Tours4Mobile through a loyalty program, for educational material, tourism or affiliate marketing, contact admin@tours4mobile.com.
