Life and Work with Ana Saldaña

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ana Saldaña.

Ana, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
In a nutshell, when I finally decided I would pursue a career in the Film and Radio industry, I was immediately offered a production assistant job for Oscar De La Hoya’s NEXT GREAT CHAMP Series on FOX, there, I met a camera operator who took me under his wing and mentored me. I learned everything I could about cameras, lighting techniques, and producing. After a while, I began to operate the cameras myself but finally settled in the audio department and I’ve been doing sound for 14 years. Throughout those 14 years, I’ve traveled the world, made life-long friends and developed my skills on multiple levels. I also always wanted to bring people together through art. I found that telling stories and allowing others an opportunity to tell their story was the best way to do that. I found myself constantly creating events for creative and like-minded people to gather, not to mention producing some documentaries, many of which, are still sitting in hard drives.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
To be quite honest, it has been a pretty smooth ride in terms of finding longevity and sustainability, I’ve been blessed. Of course, freelance work comes at a cost of always having to hustle your next gig, and sometimes being utterly unemployed for a while, but in the end, if you work hard, save as much as you can for those rainy days, and do your best people will notice and call you for work. Some advice would be to keep the faith, trust yourself, and always be kind. As far as the television industry is concerned, we aren’t curing cancer, we’re telling stories, so we should try to connect on a human level and leave our egos outside, in fact, I’d say strip yourself of your ego altogether. It won’t serve you anywhere in life, in my humble opinion. As far as creating passion projects, go for it! Again, be gentle with yourself in the process, but also learn, not only from your mistakes but from others as well. Why fall off the edge, so to speak, if you don’t have to? Be aware of what’s at stake and of your intentions.

Please tell us about Ana Saldaña.
I’m a sound recordist/mixer for my bread and butter. I travel the world recording sound and have worked on some incredible projects. If I had to choose my favorite job it would be THE ROYAL TOUR! This series takes a tour of a country with the President, Prime Minister, or King as our travel host. Peter Greenberg is the Executive Producer and television host for the series which airs on PBS. I’ve been lucky enough to work on Royal Tour Mexico, with ex-President Felipe Calderon, Ecuador, with ex-President Rafael Correa and Rwanda with President Paul Kagame. All beautiful countries filled with magic, ancient histories, and gorgeous cultures.

I also host and produce events, create content for the web, and am an artist. I produce and curate a film festival called the 5 MINUTE FILM FESTIVAL where filmmakers can produce shorts that are 5 minutes or less but must have a socio conscious message. The 6th 5 Min Film Fest will be sometime in February of 2019. I’m Executive Producer and host of a podcast called SOLIDARITY RADIO. Where we speak the truth and unite fronts. My producer, la Heidy Rodriguez, and co-host for our segment called PETTY NOT PETTY, joined forces with me. She is a fiercely talented culture and community link and producer. We also have a new member who curates our musical PLUGGED IN segment named Stephanie Vargas who is also a talented DJ. Very excited to collaborate with her as well! We air every last Wednesday of the month and our episodes are available on our site at solidarityradio.org. And finally, I’m a musician, I call my singer/songwriter music Native Soul where Neo Soul meets Ranchera. It is conscious music with a social justice advocacy that is relevant today. DEFEND WITH ME was my first single released and has done well in the film festival circuit. I play the ukulele and piano and am slowly releasing singles that are currently available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube. I also recently started an Alternative Indie Folk band called LIFE THE HUNTER with Thunderbird from Aztlan Underground. We also just released our first single called ALL I WANT TO DO, also available on all music platforms. I like to keep busy, needless to say. What sets me apart from others is I think I’m pretty easy to work with. I know my craft, I work hard, punctual 99% of the time and keep a positive outlook on life.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve benefited from using?
Yes. Don Ruiz Miguel, author of THE FOUR AGREEMENTS, THE MASTERY OF LOVE, and THE VOICE OF KNOWLEDGE are books that I’ll re-read when I’m feeling like my perspective needs some realigning or if I need some positive affirmations. I’ll also just write music. I’ll sit at the piano or pick up my ukulele and work it all out that way too. It might sound funny to some people, but sometimes, I’ll hang out in my garden with a cup of coffee and stare at my dogs haha I find their innocence, playfulness, and curiosity calming.

Contact Info:

• Website: anasaldanamusic.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @anasaldanamusic, @lifethehunter, @5minfilmfest, @solidarityradio
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnaSaldanaMusic/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RadioSolidarity
• Other: https://lifethehunter.com

Image Credit:
Alex Elena, Carlos Olivares, Andrew Sanz

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