Anamaria Artemisa Sayre is one of the newest Latina faces at one of the most important radio stations in the U.S., National Public Radio (NPR). This young Latina, who HOLA! had the opportunity to chat with, is the co-host of NPR’s Alt.Latino, a music podcast that celebrates Latin music and culture. The show has produced episodes for over 12 years since 2010. Anamaria joined the seasoned host of the show Felix Contrera (a.k.a. Tio Felix). The two sit and have conversations and let us into the world of Latin music by discussing the meaning behind the music and what’s trending, interviewing new rising talent and hosting on-air performances.
The show’s tagline is “What Latinidad sounds like”, and on her social media profiles, Anamaria self-declares as the “Alt.Latino reina del chisme.” In an interview with this Southern California Latina, HOLA! learned that she took a detour from her science and history studies to truly listen to her calling for storytelling, her passion for chatting and from learning from those she admires.
“I always really loved storytelling on the side. Since I was little, I remember that my family was all about stories. I think many Latino families are. We would sit around all day long and tell stories, family stories, or whatever it might be. And that was my love, my obsession, if you will, my whole life.”
She shared great stories about her favorite interviews and Tiny Desk concerts, what it’s like to work with her more veteran, fun and knowledgeable co-host, and gave some excellent advice about listening to instinct when finding work that lights up a fire in your belly.
Scroll down to read our interview with Anamaria Sayre, an inspiration to young Latinas and Latinos who are weighing out their options, whether to follow a traditional path or follow their hearts.
First of all, congratulations on your position as the co-host of NPR’s Alt. Latino. I’m a music lover and your new role seems like dream job! Could you tell us a little bit about your journey? What did you study? how did you get this position in one of the top Latin culture music shows in the U.S.?
Thanks! So actually, I studied nothing related to anything I do now. Well, okay, nothing related in the obvious sense. I studied cognitive science and history and was determined to pair two completely unrelated, disjointed things together because I believed this was my opportunity to learn as much as possible and maybe learn things that I wouldn’t at a job or out in the world. Studying those two things, history and STEM as majors, really ignited this curiosity and excitement in me to find connections between things. And this I believe is such a huge part of what music is in many ways, especially what we do on the show, right? It’s taking something that is seemingly inexplicable or seemingly otherworldly or just something that is like this incredible tool for communicating without words, right?
Like the way that people are able to connect with nothing more than with bodies and feelings and movement, and taking that and then being like, how can we draw some incredible conclusions about people, about family, about history, about culture? I think that having that basis in curiosity and experimentation and seeking answers around the ambiguous or the unknown, really helped me in doing the same thing with people, with music, and with stories. It’s exciting when people ask me about that, honestly, because I really love drawing that comparison because there’s so much to be learned from it.
That’s so interesting, so how did you go from graduating in those majors to getting a job in radio?
So I always really loved storytelling on the side. Since I was little, I remember that my family was all about stories. I think many Latino families are. We would sit around all day long and tell stories, family stories, or whatever it might be. And that was my love, my obsession, if you will, my whole life. That is the reason I started podcasting on the side during college and why my podcast was pretty much all storytelling. I kept doing that and ultimately, despite my lack of experience in it, decided on a whim to apply to be an intern at NPR.
Nine Lives, A storytelling podcast for the Northwestern University community.
“I asked myself what if instead of doing the fun thing on the side, that could be my actual job? What if I try to make that my career? And that was it. It was really following that instinct and following the thing I felt really inspired by and that really energized me.”
Cool, what was that podcast show about?
Oh, it was called Nine Lives. It was an unscripted show and narrative. We would just talk to different people around our campus to share stories about their lives or certain experiences or moments that were significant for them. It was really cool and taught me a lot about shaping narratives, listening to stories and finding out the real nuts and bolts of it. That’s the thing that’s resonant and meaningful. It was a good exercise in learning how things flow.
That sounds like a fantastic detour in your plans at school. Can I ask what inspired you to start that podcast?
Anyone who pursues something creative has this moment at some point. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was really excited about the STEM side of things, I was excited about the idea of experimentation and learning. I knew I loved learning things and I wanted a job where I could really learn, but I really loved learning through people. That’s my favorite way to learn, sit down with someone and have my worldview changed, from a conversation or an experience. It was that desire that led to that moment when I asked myself, what if I just do the thing that I love to do? What if that is what I go after, the whole story telling thing...
I asked myself what if instead of doing the fun thing on the side, this could be my actual job? What if I try to make this my career? And that was it. It was really following that instinct and following the thing I felt really inspired by, which really energized me. From there, it was pretty simple in some ways. I mean, not simple, simple, but for me that was the moment I decided to do the thing that makes me the most happy.
Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras from NPR’s Alt.Latino photographed by Mike Morgan
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That’s amazing. So with that unique background and love for storytelling, what do you want to bring to Alt.Latino? And not just storywise, but also types of music.
It’s so interesting because obviously it’s a music show and that’s the focus. However, something I say a lot is I really feel I’m first and foremost in the business of people. So much of what we do, what I specifically love to do, is talk to people. I love learning from people, it’s my ultimate favorite thing.
A huge part of what I bring and the balance too with Felix, is that I’m really interested in who is this artist as a person, everything that they are and everything that they have come from, and what does that say about the creative output they made. How did that happen? Where did that come from and why did it come out this way? What happened in their life and experiences and who they are is represented in the music in this specific way? The best way to describe that, is a lot of times there is an urgency, a creative urgency within these artists and they have to let that come out and it has to be represented in that way. And Felix brings so much musical knowledge and history and legacy and that we make the connection in that way.
Since we are on the subject of Felix. What is it like to work with him, someone who has been on the show for over a decade, and being that there is a generation gap between you two, are there any challenges?
Felix is one of the best people I have ever met, truly one of the greatest. The most kind, most open person. Sure he is older than me and that comes with a certain set of experiences, expectations and understandings about the world because of that. However, in no way has that proved to be limiting for us as a team.
He is so willing, one of those people that is passionate about a lot of things. I love working with him. It’s like the best part of my job. Being able to spend so much time with someone who’s really excited about the music and about the things that I’m excited about. And we disagree all day long and it’s the best! (laughs)
We totally have different tastes in music. Absolutely! But it also definitely overlaps a lot, which is really funny. Sometimes even for different reasons, but it’s exciting to see that when we do. We’re just both in it because we love it and that creates for a really beautiful partnership.
That does sound amazing. It’s incredible when you find the right partner at work, it becomes so much fun! So now that we confirmed that you have one of the coolest jobs, tell us about some of the talent you have interviewed. What is your most favorite interview or Tiny Desk concert?
I’m going to share two because I started with Tiny Desk producing the home concerts, which is very different from the in-person concerts. My favorite in-person concert, and the most exciting, the most fun and probably has an overlap with one of my favorite interviews as well, was Omar Apollo. The whole thing had amazing vibes. The thing I love the most about Tiny Desk is that a lot of people who love music, and are making music, are all in a room together. That energy is so clear and so pervasive and vibrant. It was so wonderful to be a part of that and be there that day. I ended up interviewing Omar after a stunning performance and such a beautiful representation of who he is with the Mariachi and everything.
I was really nervous because I wasn’t sure I was going solo on it, or if I was going be able to get him to talk about a lot of the things that I knew about him and felt were really important to represent in the interview. I didn’t know how it was going to end up turning out. It ended up being wonderful and we connected on a lot of different things. To me, that was the best thing in the world, to be able to fundamentally connect with an artist as a person. I joke that I have actually no, true creative musical ability, but somehow I have a creative soul because I totally get what they’re saying (laughs) . I feel that 100 percent.
I think there’s something about people who are able to make things and are so talented. They’re operating on another level than the rest of us. And I feel lucky that I get to be an observer.
Watch this clip of one of the amazing revelations Anamaria and Omar Apollo bonded over.
Then my favorite home concerts, one of the earlier and differrent ones I did was with the artist, Silvana Estrada. I don’t take credit in a visual or creative sense for this one, but, I still cry every time I watch that one.
And she recently won a Latin Grammy for best new artist.
She did! She’s a lovely person and has become a friend through all of this. She is such a beautiful soul and the music that she makes is stunning. I love that she always talks about joy through pain, and joy through hardship. To me she is representative of those that are intentionally joyful, which is rare in life. This Tiny Desk concert beautifully encapsulated her energy and her family and community and everything that she is. Both Felix and I cried the first time we saw it and so did Bobby, who’s the series producer on Tiny Desk. It still gets me.
Wow! Her concert and music sounds so emotional. So who is your dream guest?
Okay. Well, obviously my short answer is Bad Bunny, but I hesitate to say that because I feel like I don’t actually know who a dream guest is until I’m in the interview. It’s hard to say, right? Like, what they’re gonna say, who I’m going to best connect with, what’s going to come out of it. I think sometimes the best interviews are unexpected. I haven’t had a single interview where my brain doesn’t explode because I’m learning so much from them and they are wonderful people. That’s why it’s hard for me to say who a dream guest is, because they’re all dreams.
You covered the last Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas. What were your favorite moments from what is said to be the biggest night in Latin Music?
It was such a lovely week. I had a great time.
I also heard it was terrific from our team on the ground. Next time NPR should do a Tiny Desk concert in the HOLA! Media Suite.
There you go, we should! There were a few things that stood out to me. The shared win of the best new artists between Silvana Estrada and Angela Álvarez was very touching. And Oh my God! I’ve already talked about crying in this interview, but that was truly one of those tearful, beautiful, unforgettable moments that makes you rethink life and pursue your joy and passion. If Angela can at 95 years old, we should too. Also, Alfonso’s win was incredible.
One of my favorite things was going to an industry event called Los Producers. It was a show that producer Sebastian Krys hosted as a fundraiser. It was the night before the Grammys, but it was a fantastic event. It brought together a whole spread of artists performing together. Juanes was there, Silvana Estrada was there, Vale was there, they’re one of the other best new artist nominees. Luis Fonzi was there, and all of these people performed together sometimes classic songs.
It was just so cool, one of those times you think, “Wow, they are all here for the love of the music”,....singing songs you usually wouldn’t get to hear them sing...like a jazz duo, Cande y Paulo and Luis Fonzi or artists like Mireya Ramos from Flor de Toloache, all these different styles, genres all in unity.
Lastly, any wise words of inspirations to your young Latino peers who would love to pursue creative careers?
You have to try. Slowly but surely, there are definitely more representation of Latinos, and I’m speaking more to the journalism side than the music side. My general recommendation is, and this is hard to say, but it’s one of those things I like to say, and to take it with a grain of salt because I know that life is complicated and difficult and families are complicated and difficult. So pursuing your passion or the thing that you’re most excited about is not by any means easy. I’m really lucky that I landed where I am and in a place where I have a job that that offers financial security and stability. It’s not necessarily easy to do the thing that you’re most excited about. I lucked out that I found it earlier in life because it wouldn’t have necessarily been sustainable for me to keep pushing for it, if I didn’t have that security.
So I say, with a big disclaimer, that it’s hard and sometimes different choices have to be made at different moments. I will say if there’s something that is like lighting that fire in your belly, makes you excited, gives you energy, that is something to think about, something that’s more than just a moment, right? It’s a thing that you’ll keep going back to over and over and over again, because you’re just so excited about whatever it is you were doing. If you have that thing, oh my God, go for that!
I imagine that if I had gone down the more ‘STEMI’ path, I probably would’ve liked it, it would be nice, but I found a job where I can do interviews and come out literally like, oh my God, I’m thrilled right now! I’m jazzed! I’m so excited! My wheels are turning in such an amazing way! I think people should follow that light. Someone said to me the other day, “everything you want in the universe is right in front of you. You just have to see it and grab it”. And maybe that’s true, maybe it’s not. But I do think that there are certain things that can happen if you pay close enough attention to the way that you’re reacting as a person to things in the world. There are certain things that cause a visceral reaction in you.
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