Yalitza Aparicio

“Just because you are a woman doesn't mean you have to suffer more. We have to get that idea out of our heads.”

“Sometimes, when I'm surrounded by a lot of people, I shake, I'm so nervous.”

“My skin - very Mexican, very Oaxaquenan, and very human, from the color of my land and the diversity of its colors.”

“I wanted to be like my mum: as strong as her. She was my role model.”

“It shouldn't matter what you're into, how you look - you can achieve whatever you aspire to.”

“Employers tend to forget that the people who are working for them are also suffering. They also have problems. They also are facing issues.”

“Yes, you can do it. You can dream about being on the cover of magazines; you can dream about being in a film.”

“It wasn't something that I really wanted or had dreamed about. Because of your socioeconomic status or your culture, you think you can't aspire to be an actress, and to participate in this medium, that sounds like a fantasy.”

“I really love teaching; I was actually studying to be a preschool teacher.”

“I haven't really made plans for the future; I'm just enjoying the moment, going with the flow. I haven't really had time to mortify myself thinking about the future.”

“I never expected a camera was going to follow all of my moves, and that was surprising when I saw it for the first time.”

“I'm not the face of Mexico.”

“I've never liked feeling closed in.”

“Certain stereotypes are being broken: that only people with a certain profile can be actresses or be on the cover of magazines.”

“I realized that film can educate people of all ages in a far-reaching way.”

“I believe acting and teaching are not so far apart. As a teacher, you educate. And films educate, too, but they do it in a massive way.”

“For me, it has been very important to grow up knowing about my mom's work and that she was always, at every moment, supporting me and teaching me to have this strength.”

“I don't want my mum to be a domestic worker any more because it is so exhausting.”

“People who know me cannot believe that I am here, because I am so shy.”

“I have not decided if I want to be a teacher or an actor, because I like both of them.”