The latest gig on her calendar?
The theme of this years PEOPLE en Espanol Festival is Your Voice, Your Power, Your Festival.
Has it always been easy for you to harness the power of your voice?
Credit: Santiago Felipe/Getty Images
Its never been easy.
It can be seen as an emotional or non-urgent matter, you know?
I have people backing me up.
JoJo Whilden/Netflix
Can you share some details about what youre planning to speak about during your panel on Oct. 18?
I want to talk about the emotional and physical toll of relationships, and how to disconnect from them.
I definitely want to speak about the difficulties of that and how it affects your insecurities and your confidence.
I want to talk about the extremes that people will go to hurt you.
[Ed note: Polanco recently split from her fiance.]
You have a teen daughter.
What kind of conversations do you have with her about self-confidence?
I tell her how beautiful she is, and how unique she is.
I have no idea.
When youre in jail, you have no control over your situation.
It just gets more and more difficult for her.
Bennett broke up with Daya last season.
Do you want to see them get back together?
I would love to see that, but you have to be realistic.
When did you find out that Bennett and Daya werent going to work out?
What was your reaction like?
I found out when I got the script for the episode.
When I found out about the breakup, I was sad but proud.
But shes in jail, and theres a disconnect there.
Were you rooting for them to make it work for the long haul?
I actually thought they would.
My inner princess was always like, Thats my prince.
Like, Well live our life in here until its time for me to get out.
In the show we see lots of divide among the groups based on race and ethnicity.
Well, I think were all professionals and were very clear about when were on set or off- set.
We give a shot to be loyal.
But I use music to help me prepare.
Or if a scene is romantic, Ill put on R&B or Spanish bachata.
What do you want to see from Daya in season 3?
I want to see her break out of her shell.
She needs to react more to situations.
So Id like to see another side of her.
Your character isnt the only one with artistic talent I know you draw, too.
Did you draw any of the pieces we saw last season?
They still do the drawings for me on the show, but I do draw.
Maybe youll see some of my drawings next season.
Are there any characters whose backstory you want to see more of?
I want to see more of the Latino characters.
But theres so many prisoners!
I like when they give time to everyone.
Im looking forward to the new, oncoming and current prisoners.
For more on the PEOPLE en Espanol Festival, clickhere.
