In Her Campus’ series Next Question, we rapid-fire interview emerging Gen Z talent about what it’s like to rule over the internet. This month, TikTok creator Ana Saia is in the hot seat to answer our burning questions.
Ana Saia lives about 10 minutes away from her childhood home. That’s 10 minutes too far away for her mother’s liking. “When I told her I was moving, my mom just held onto me. She’d be happy if I lived with her forever,” Saia jokes in an exclusive interview with Her Campus.
It’s an all-too-relatable scene for anyone of Latin descent who’s moved away from home before getting married. (The whole “leaving for college and never coming back” thing is a very American concept.) Saia, who is half-Mexican and was born in the United States, knows exactly what it means to exist within the space between “Latin” and “American” — and she knows exactly how to translate that experience to millions of other people who exist within it alongside her.
Saia is best known as the “red head Latina” on TikTok. She’s gone viral dozens of times for her hilarious, niche videos about her experiences growing up Hispanic, like storing pans in the oven and having to make a split-second decision about whether to speak Spanish at a Latin restaurant. She keeps her over 3 million followers entertained by pulling examples from her own life. “Growing up, I used to go to Mexico all the time to visit my family, so I was always surrounded by Latin culture,” Saia says. “I love sharing my own experiences, but it’s also just a fun thing to laugh about sometimes, too.”
Laughing about the Latin American experience is a way for Saia and her fans to bond over the complications of figuring out their mixed-race identity. Saia is a self-proclaimed “no sabo” kid who doesn’t have the stereotypical Latina look. She never quite fit in with the Hispanic crowd at her school growing up. Some people still don’t fully accept her as part of the online Hispanic community, especially because of her fair complexion. Saia recognizes the privilege she has because of the way she looks, and she hopes to use that privilege to create content that connects with others.
“My content comes from a place of love rather than a place of hate. I think people confuse the two, which is understandable because of how I look,” she says. “Other members of the Hispanic community look completely different to me, and their story is theirs to tell. I’m trying to help other people who look like me on their journey to being proud of who they are, just as they are.”
Figuring out your identity is a lifelong process, and when you’re caught between the worlds of where your parents are from and where you grew up, you inevitably learn to exist as two people. There’s Ana, and there’s Ana. Saia is learning that those identities may be different, but they don’t have to be separate. “Understanding how to navigate within both worlds is still a challenge for me, but I think it’s just about trying to be happy and OK with where you’re at. You don’t have to force yourself to fit into one box,” she says.
Saia carries this notion into her career development. Whether she shows off her acting skills through lip-syncs or her singing skills by translating songs between English and Spanish, Saia’s expanding beyond her comedy niche to explore other facets of her creativity. “I’m working on a music project right now with a producer,” she says. “It’s a work in progress, but I can tell you that it will be in Spanish with a bit of Spanglish sprinkled in.”
Just as Saia wears her güerita nickname as a badge of honor, this month, she adds another badge to her collection: Surviving Her Campus’ burning rapid-fire questions that are hotter than her mom’s salsa.
These responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Kiss, marry, kill: Carne asada, horchata, or guacamole.
I’m going to kill the carne asada — I’m a carne al pastor girlie. I’ll marry the guacamole and kiss the horchata.
What’s your go-to coffee order?
A cappuccino with nonfat milk, and maybe some caramel sprinkled in there. That’s my go-to almost anywhere. My favorite coffee chain is Coffee Bean. (If you’re from Vegas, you know.)
If you could be fluent in any other language, which would it be?
French is so sexy. I wish I could speak it, I think it’s beautiful.
What kind of role would you want to win an Oscar for one day?
Something very dramatic. I’m a very emotional person, so I really lean toward a lot of dramedies and tense scenes. Maybe I’ll pull a Leo and have a really dramatic death scene.
If you weren’t a content creator, which career would you thrive in?
I was going to be a producer before my social media career kicked off! I was a journalism major in college, so interviews like this are very second nature to me.
Which song do you have on repeat right now?
“Risk” by Gracie Abrams. I can’t skip it for the life of me. I love it too much.
Do blondes, brunettes, or redheads have more fun?
Oh, definitely redheads.