Meet Beatriz (Bea) Aguirre-Strong | Owner of Tramites Transactions, LLC, an entity that helps Spanish-speakers conduct personal and employment transactions in the English-speaking world.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Beatriz (Bea) Aguirre-Strong and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Beatriz (Bea), how has your background shaped the person you are today?

I grew up in Taos, New Mexico (yay! Taos Ski Valley–although my family did not ski!). Before that I was a young immigrant from Mexico, brought to the US by my parents when I was under a year old. I eventually became a permanent resident (green card holder) then a naturalized citizen of this great country. Although I did not speak English when I started elementary school in Taos, I was determined to learn and excel (I didn’t want anyone to think I was dumb because I did not speak English well).  

Spanish is my first language and I have spoken it all my life with my parents and extended family. I have seen how they have struggled to learn the language and to do business in the US. I had the opportunity to attend college (by working, getting some scholarships, etc.) and then went on to attend law school (both degrees in the state of NM). And because I have regularly helped individuals with their English-language documents and transactions, that is how the idea to open my current business, Trámites Transactions, came about. After witnessing the needs of Spanish speakers as they struggle to conduct personal and work-related processes without English proficiency, I am now in a position to help. That is why I chose to open Trámites Transactions, LLC, a business that will provide basic document services including notarizations, translations, and completing of forms and applications presented to individuals in English.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Trámites Transactions, LLC, will officially open on October 2, 2023. This business will provide translation and document completion services to Spanish-speakers who need help with their English documents. For many years, I have written and edited documents for different types of people including attorneys at a number of law firms. In addition, I have served as a Spanish/English interpreter here in Colorado Springs. Combining my background in documents and English language processes, along with my fluency in Spanish–and my desire to help people with limited English proficiency—has led me to forming Tramites. In addition to wanting to help Spanish-speakers navigate the English-speaking world, combining my desire to be an entrepreneur with that mission feels like the logical next step in my professional path.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

If a friend were to visit me for a week here in Colorado Springs, I would love to show them so many wonderful things about our area. Below is what I would plan for my friend. 

Itinerary for my friend’s visit to Colorado Springs: 

Sunday: A ride up to America’s Mountain–going up to Pikes Peak whether we drive or ride the train up is a must! We’ll have dinner at Arceo’s Mexican Restaurant (off Garden of the Gods) afterwards–the outside is deceivingly plain, but the food is authentic, and a giant margarita doesn’t hurt! If we ride the train up to the Peak, we’ll see the Incline. The Incline is a long set of steps along a mountainside that exercise enthusiasts climb for pleasure or serious exercise. Completing the Incline is a great feat–some locals even do it daily or weekly as exercise. (I don’t understand putting a body through that type of punishment though!) 

Monday: Be prepared for an uphill hike as we visit the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo! It is a wonderful zoo with animal exhibits built into the side of the mountain; wear comfortable shoes because walking there is an alternative to exercising for the day. After the zoo trip, we’ll have dinner in Old Colorado City. OCC has a wonderful old Western town flavor. There is a tapas restaurant that serves a great variety of food s and the unusual adult drinks there are very tasty. 

Tuesday: We need to make our reservations in advance to have you see the Air Force Academy. It is a wonderful campus for both military activity and for the educational opportunities it has provided many cadets over the years. Depending on what time of the year you visit, we will either go to a basketball game or a football game (go Air Force!). The Academy has die-hard sports fans, and the pride in this institution is palpable throughout the community. You need to see the grounds! After our visit there during the day, we’ll plan to have dinner at the Urban Tandoor east Indian restaurant off N. Academy Blvd. It is a nice place with delicious Indian dishes (saag paneer is my favorite!) and the large screen with Bollywood music and dancing videos gives the restaurant even more cultural flavor (sometimes the music is too loud, but you can ask the staff to turn it down slightly). 

Wednesday: We may want to take it easy on this day. Let’s drive to Canon City so we can walk over the suspension bridge that draws many visitors every year to the Royal Gorge area. We don’t have to walk a lot; we can either visit some of the businesses in the area or ride a gondola that goes between the Gorge for a magnificent view of the river below. Later, we’ll find a small restaurant to eat in Canon City. We will also drive close to the Super Max prison which is located nearby–well-known criminals like the Unabomber and Timothy McVeigh have been housed there. 

Thursday: We’ll drive north from our home in Colorado Springs and visit some of the nearby towns such as the growing town of Monument. Then, we’ll drive up to Castle Rock and enjoy that town with its wonderful, small downtown streets lined with eclectic local businesses. There is great antique shopping available at a couple of stores there and it’s easy to see why Castle Rock is growing by leaps and bounds. It is a charming place. While there, we’ll eat at either the Castle Cafe or the B&B Cafe which has bullet holes in the walls and ceiling from a Western era gunfight that took place some time ago! 

Friday: as you wind down your week in the area, I want to make sure we visit some small attractions that add flavor to our city. It is always fun to go the Velvet Freeze stand and get their yummy ice cream (choosing from the many dipped cone flavors is always a challenge!). We’ll do that after we eat lunch at Leon Gessi pizza restaurant off Union Blvd. The pizza there is always a tasty New York City-style treat. 

Saturday: Your week with us has gone by so fast and is drawing to a close. Today, we’ll plan to visit the US Olympic Center off Boulder St. So many Olympic athletes have walked the grounds of this training facility over the years; if the various rooms and exhibits there could talk, we would learn so much about their struggles and journeys. I love museums so on this day, your last day of visiting Colorado Springs, we’ll also go to the Pioneers’ Museum downtown. After that, we’ll stop by the new Olympic & Paralympic Museum. There, it is amazing to see relics and items used by athletes during their successes in various Olympic events over the decades. After our exciting day, we’ll enjoy a good steak dinner at either Ted’s Montana Grill on the north end of town or at The Famous steakhouse downtown. Ted’s has a variety of meats for steak, but if we eat downtown, at The Famous, we can walk the downtown area after dinner and visit some of the bars and stores in the area. Colorado Springs has been working to revitalize the downtown area and there are some great bars and stores we can visit. 

Thanks for visiting us in Colorado Springs. After all the places we’ve visited, I hope you love the area as much as we do. Come back anytime; we’d love to show you even more!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My father, although strict man and a tough disciplinarian–despite only completing a third grade-level education in Mexico–always encouraged learning and greatly valued education. His message about learning is one I internalized at a very young age. I am a life-long learner who still has so much to learn (especially in this world of rapid technological advances); I continually seek out new programs and subjects (and trivia!) that I can learn about and apply in my daily life. I have also had the fortune of having wonderful mentors who may not have known they were mentoring me when I worked with them in different professional capacities—when I held positions including, college admissions counselor, attorney, contract analyst, mortgage loan officer, substitute teacher and most recently business owner.
In particular, two individuals have greatly influenced my professional development. They are a business law attorney from whom I learned so much about running a business and a friend who is the chief executive officer of a non-profit that provides services to monolingual Spanish-speakers. Both individuals have positively impacted my professional development and my plans to run a well-operated business in addition to continually helping individuals in my community.

Website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088459403316

Other: Upcoming website for Tramites Transactions, LLC will be available soon (translation and document services to Spanish speakers in Colorado Springs, CO). Included is the name of my current website for writing and editing (Strong Revisions & Writing, LLC).