"I do not know who was the first person who said 'well, this is the model of what someone is supposed to look like.' I've always had trouble with that," Mercado said. "Maybe it's because of my Dominican stubbornness and being a New Yorker and that we just give no f*cks and because New York is diverse. I grew up walking two blocks and meeting all sorts of people from all over the world. And that itself is so beautiful."