"Everybody knows that I'm a Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx. It's not something I ever tried to hide — or ever thought that I should hide — so I can get ahead. I always felt that individuality is what made me different from every other actress that was out there when I first started."
"We need to tell more of our stories. I think we need more and I think the Latino community — when there is a movie that's starring Latinos or made by Latinos — we should go in droves to support it . . . we are a very powerful communityand we spend a lot of money in this country . . . I want you guys to understand that we have the power to change our own realities."
"As Latinos, we really have to understand that the world is ours and that we matter and that we have worth and value . . . this is your world too and you should reach as high as you want to reach and go for whatever you want to go for and nothing is out of the realm of possibility."
"Some people go, 'Oh, she's always saying she's from Puerto Rico, she's from the Bronx.' Yeah, because I'm proud of that and there's no reason for me to ever hide that part of myself to be successful. To the contrary, I feel it's the secret to my success."
"Latinos feel very connected to where they're from. There's something that runs inside your blood that makes you who you are, that gives you that fire, that gives you that passion . . . it's a real thing, it's a real drive. "