Asked about his influences in the arts, Arturo Vega gives a long, thoughtful answer that includes one particular verb phrase over and over. Here are the excerpts:

Después de la actuación... me di cuenta que... mi talento o mi vocación... era mejor... lo visual.

After acting... I realized that... my gift or my vocation... was really good at... the visual.

Captions 10-13, Arturo Vega - Entrevista - Part 2

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Me he dado cuenta que mi manera de percibir y de valorizar...

I have found that my way of perceiving and appreciating...

Captions 14-15, Arturo Vega - Entrevista - Part 2

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Pero a mí... yo me di cuenta que no era nada más... cuestión de que yo estaba absorbiendo o que me gustaba...

But for me... I realized that it was not just... [a] question of me capturing or of me liking...

Captions 19-20, Arturo Vega - Entrevista - Part 2

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...sino que me di cuenta que podía hacer algo con la información visual.

...but that I realized that I could do something with visual information.

Caption 22, Arturo Vega -Entrevista - Part 2

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Y... y me da... me di cuenta del gusto...

And... and it gives me... I became aware of the pleasure...

Caption 24, Arturo Vega - Entrevista - Part 2

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Me di cuenta que no tienes que por qué [sic] saber dibujar ni pintar para...

I realized that you don't need to know how to draw or paint in order to...

Caption 31, Arturo Vega - Entrevista - Part 2

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BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Through repetition, you learn. Here our lesson is clear: Darse cuenta = "to realize". Yes, it's used often, you must realize.