Into the Kitchen

Silvia Salas Sánchez is a content creator on YouTube. Her videos of cooking with her grandmother earned her the platform’s Silver Play Button. This has led to other jobs and to writing a book about her grandmother.

Sánchez met with students at a Your Hot Job career event. Here’s what she had to say.

I create content for different platforms. YouTube is the main one, but I also share videos on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and more. I work with different companies, like supermarkets and food manufacturers from around the country.

It all started years ago, when I started recording videos of my grandmother cooking. It was so much fun to make videos, but the best part was just spending time with my abuela. Not only did we cook food, I got to eat the food. Most important, my abuela taught me a lot about life, culture, and tradition.  

One day I asked my grandmother, “Can I record you making tortillas? I’m having a hard time getting them to look as beautiful as yours.” I told her, “Pretend you’re going to be on a show, and I’m recording you like a TV producer.” I put the video on Facebook to share with my friends. They said, “Your grandmother is hilarious. We need to see more!”

For years, Salas-Sánchez (left) made cooking videos with her grandmother.

COURTESY SILVIA SALAS-SÁNCHEZ

We did this for many years, and I got to know my grandmother really well. After she passed away a couple of years ago, I thought, “More people need to know about her.” So I decided to write a children’s book about a day with abuela.” It’s called !Pásale!, which in Spanish means “Come on in!” Our grandmothers always want us to come in and have something to eat, sit down, talk, and just spend time with them. 

Anyone can pull out their phone these days to record and take pictures, and put these online for people to see. But it takes certain skills to be able to create content. You need editing skills and software skills. But you also need to know how to write, to read—all these things that you’re learning in school. 

And it’s not easy. But if I can do it, so can you. Whatever you’re passionate about, whatever you really love and care about—use these things to motivate you. Develop your interests. For me, creating YouTube videos and writing a book just happened naturally. I am a storyteller at heart.