Vida Creator Tanya Saracho Is Carving Out Space for Queer Latinx TV

Tanya Saracho is one of The Advocate's Women of the Year. View the full list from the current issue of the magazine.

Creator and showrunner Tanya Saracho, who is queer and Latinx, delivered a world of possibility for people who'd never seen themselves depicted on-screen before in her Latinx series Vida, which premiered in the spring of 2017.

The Starz show, which premiered its third and final season in April, tells the story of disparate sisters Lyn (In the Heights' Melissa Barrera) and Emma (Riverdale's Mishel Prada) searching for a way to run their mother Vidalia's failing bar and apartment building in the wake of her death.

When they return home from far-flung places, they discover that their Vida married a woman, Eddy (nonbinary actor Ser Anzoategui), after having exiled Emma for being queer.

Vida, with its mix of humor and heart, delves into topical issues including gentrification, the intersections of queer and Latinx identities, colorism, and identity policing among queer people. And Saracho, a playwright who had previously written for TV on Looking, How to Get Away With Murder, and Devious Maids, made a mark from day one, casting several queer actors and staffing her writers' room primarily with women, LGBTQ people, and Latinx people.

Trending stories

Out and About with Christian Cooper

Joe Locke warns that his twink death is imminent

Trump admin guts $258 million in funding for HIV vaccine research

I'm 42, gay, never had a bf, and hate apps. What do I do?

Vico Ortiz shares how creating their solo show unearthed their earliest trans moments

Who gets to tell the story of Félix González-Torres?

Gays went feral at an iconic Pride celebration in Pensacola, Florida

France becomes world’s first country to enshrine abortion rights in constitution

All 6 rogue Mississippi cops got long prison sentences in 'Goon Squad' torture of 2 Black men

Checking out: nhow London, the city’s coolest hotel

Joe Biden has tied the record for most LGBTQ+ judges confirmed in federal courts

Aussie tennis star Daria Kasatkina announces engagement to figure skating girlfriend

How climate disasters hurt mental health in young people

Elon Musk uses burner accounts on X, doesn’t fact-check: report

LGBTQ+ inclusion in mainstream movies reaches 3-year low, study finds

Rachel Levine fought HIV & STIs at HHS. Now she’s speaking out because that progress is being undone

Love bombing 101 and how to break out of a toxic relationship

Grindr is reminding us why jockstraps are so sexy and iconic

Rising star LAVERN says LGBTQ+ ravers 'bring the fire' ahead of EDC performance

Wilderness, woods, and Wigstock: Drag icons light up the Catskills

This HIV Long-Term Survivor Day, listen to this leader from God's Love, We Deliver

Sam Rockwell talks 'White Lotus' monologue prep, S.F. sex club, and meeting Harvey Milk

Queer TikTok rallies around anti-ICE L.A. protests with support and resources

Guerdy Abraira reveals where she stands with Julia Lemigova ahead of 'RHOM' season 7

VIDEO: A man living with HIV discusses his journey to fatherhood

• 0
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8

"The recognition of yourself in the media really does have this alchemy, this chemical reaction," she tells The Advocate about fans' response to the series. "I wasn't prepared for that, especially when people stop me or on Twitter, or when they send me a long DM, because I think the dominant culture hasn't had to find a recognition of themselves."

"I didn't know the power that that would get, like I knew that's what was the right thing to do," she adds. "A lot of people have been like, 'Thank you for this, for putting me upon that screen.'"