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Growing up in Fort Smith, Lisa Alvarado had no need to learn a second language. She didn’t know anyone that didn’t speak English. That changed in 1980 when she was working as a data processor for the government at Fort Chaffee. The fort was one of many designated to process the exorbitant amount of Cuban refugees following Fidel Castro’s release of his country’s prison population. It was during this time that Alvarado met her husband, Victor, a native of Costa Rica who was working as a translator, a rare profession in Northwest Arkansas at the time. “ I was not familiar with the Latin American culture at all, ” she said. “ I didn’t speak any Spanish, and it was like an entire new world opening up to me. ”

After they were married, the couple moved to Dallas and then Miami where they lived for 10 years.

“ I learned Spanish word by word, ” she said. “ I took classes in college but being in Miami compelled me to learn faster. I read books on my own, we attended a Spanish church, I even sang in the Spanish choir. [Learning a new language is ] something that can even be done when you’re an adult. ”

Speaking Spanish also helped her career as a freelance graphic artist, enabling her to communicate with clients in Argentina and other Spanish-speaking countries.

Upon her return to Northwest Arkansas about four years ago, Alvarado found the area much changed. Now, Spanish and English as a Second Language classes are a staple in the area’s public schools and bilingual skills are in high demand.

Alvarado believes that learning a second language can be a benefit to others and can help create a more close-knit community in an area now heavily populated by Latin Americans. A painter, graphic artist, Web site designer and videographer, Alvarado has channeled her combined talents into two show series that she debuted Thursday during a press conference and screening at the Fayetteville Public Library. “ Asi Asi … Just Like That” is presented in both English and Spanish and addresses conflicts and misunderstandings between Spanish- and English-speaking neighbors. “ Emilio’s Adventures in Costa Rica, ” which is narrated by Alvarado’s 10-year-old son, teaches children basic Spanish words while introducing them to a foreign country and its people and customs.

Mixing mediums Alvarado spent 10 years in Miami doing independent graphic design and art direction for several businesses before moving to Los Angeles where she lived for four years, managing the modeling and acting careers of her four sons, Lorenzo, Evan Diego, Fabio and Emilio.

A former model, manager and set mom, Alvarado is also the founder of the Northwest Arkansas-based talent database, www. NWAtalent. com. The site provides links to individual sites featuring about 200 writers, actors, photographers, artists and dancers as well as location listings and production information for visiting film crews. Other features include creative job listings and sample contract forms.

Video production allows her to meld her passions for art, language and media, she said.  “ It was just a natural progression, ” she said. “ I’ve always loved art and I got into graphic design because of my interest in art, and then Web design … and animation. It’s a mixture of all the arts.... I love educating, I love informing, and I love to be artistic and creative. And if I can mix all those things together, that’s great, ” she said.

Alvarado took video production classes while living in Los Angeles, and followed it up with 3-D animation classes at John Brown University.

Her first documentary, “ Second Sight, ” profiled Mark Rotramble, a blind JBU student who is now a pastor in Siloam Springs.

She has since created more films, including a Spanish-language film “ Mujeres in Acción, ” which follows Marjorie Williams who hosts sewing classes and conducts fashion shows at Springdale’s Jones Center for Families; a documentary on the life of Fayetteville artist Gail Stoops; and “ Biker Stories” and “ Biker Stories 2, ” which both feature interviews with motorcycle enthusiasts attending Fayetteville’s annual Bikes, Blues & BBQ motorcycle rally. Alvarado is currently working on the series’ third installment and has been invited to speak at a conference in Boston by two universities who are examining biker culture.

“ Biker Stories” has aired on Community Access Television and “ Artist, Gail Stoops” was shown at FPL’s First Look @ Film Festival in March. Alvarado’s other films were also seen at CAT’s Freedom Video Festival in April.

About a year ago, Alvarado started Ardome, an independent video production company with a staff of four. She currently has two videos in post production: “ Emilio’s Adventures in St. Louis” and “ Mama Lee: The Corny Ear, ” which features a character Alvarado created to teach children about art. In the show, Mary and Larry Lamb, Susie Swine and Fifi Poodle visit Mama Lee, a country cow who tells great stories about famous artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, cooks yummy treats and makes creative crafts such as homemade earrings. But her two cultural projects have her full attention at the moment, she said. On with the shows “Emilio’s Adventures in Costa Rica” follows the Alvarado family on vacation. Spanish word prompts throughout the 30-minute show introduce words and sayings such as abuelo, avión, amigo, camiseta, Cómo estas ?, Qué rico and batido de fresa (strawberry milkshake ). Kids learn basic Spanish words while being introduced to the sights and sounds of a foreign country as the family visits an active volcano, witnesses a coffee bean harvest, visits a market and watches ox carts being painted. “ Asi Asi … Just Like That” stars Alvarado and longtime friend and native Costa Rican Rocio Shultz and is presented in a format that mirrors how the friends communicate with each other: half in English and half in Spanish. This forum helps address issues from both sides, Alvarado said. The show is geared toward ages 18-24, and its main goal is to bridge the cultural gap by recreating real-life situations. “ They’re re-enactments of stories we’ve really heard … and we’ve redirected the attention to how [the issue ] can be solved, ” she said.

In the pilot clip, two neighbors are at odds over one’s penchant for partying and littering his front yard with beer bottles. Alvarado and Shultz coach the respective parties to try to communicate with each other even though they don’t speak the same language.

One introduces the other to recycling and then attends her neighbor’s party where she learns to make pico de gallo, Alvarado said.

“ It’s about them getting to know each other … and meshing cultures together, ” she said.

Another episode currently being filmed will follow a teenager who is being discriminated against by her Latina peers because she’s not fluent in Spanish. Others may delve into deeper issues or political differences, Alvarado said.

Ardome in currently working to drum up sponsorships and support for the shows and is in negotiations with Univision and My Network TV, Alvarado said.

“ I’m not producing these things to entertain myself. I love what I do, but I want to share it, ” she said.