Excited doesn't even begin to describe how Polanco is feeling now that In the Heights is out, and she said, "The timing is just right."
"This is the beginning of what we've been wanting for so long," she said. "You don't realise what's missing until you come across it. We've been used to not seeing it on screen." She stressed how important it is that this movie feels "very different from just checking off a box" and isn't just phoning it in when it comes to diversity.
"There's a language spoken in the film — about the movement, the food, the music, the relationships, the dreams across the board, the story of the immigrant — all up there," Polanco said. "We're seeing, for the first time ever, people of colour displayed in just a very natural [way], living life, celebrating, going through adversity, being a community, being Latin and going through it. I really hope the audience takes away the idea that they too can tell their story; they too can create; they too can direct. That whatever that dream is, you really have the opportunity to do so."