Julissa Calderon has been in the public eye for years, growing a large internet following after starring in a collection of Buzzfeed videos. Since then, expanded her career as an actor and producer, starring in Netflix's Gentefied as Yessika Castillo. Throughout our conversation, her wit and intelligence were unmatched. Calderon radiated an infectious amount of passion for her acting career and other personal endeavors.
When it comes to Gentefied: Yessika's fate in the series was left undetermined between seasons, given the character's break-up with the show's main character, Ana Morales. Even Calderon expressed her concern for her character's future in season two and shares that fans see less of her in the latest season. However, she has a lot of hope for Yessika's journey in future storylines and would love to see the comedy-drama focus on Yessika's activism if the series gets renewed for another season.
Julissa Calderon On Yessika's Activism In Gentefied
Calderon was very candid about her uncertainty when it came to Yessika's future in Gentefied. She told us, "I had no expectations because I didn't know what was going on. When we ended in season one, the girls had broken up. In the last episode, you didn't see Yessika at all."
She continued, "I had no expectations, because I was like, well, maybe she's gone. Maybe they're done. Maybe she's not coming back again. You don't see Yessika as often this season. But that's what happens when people break up."
But speaking about her character's potential future in the series, Calderon was adamant about one thing. She shared, "I want to know what it's like to be a brown Latina activist. I want to know what that's like. I want to do a deep dive. What does that mean for her? How does she wake up? What's a day for her?"
Julissa Calderon On Community Enrichment and Her Spiritual Journey
While speaking about Yessika, the 32-year-old actor shared that she relates to Yessika through her passion for activism. Calderon said, "One of the biggest things that I relate with Yessika is that she's about the community. She has a love for the people. And that's me, I always talk about that, right?" She continued, "I'm always trying to build up my people, and my community and make sure that I am of them. And they're of me. And that they feel represented and seen when they see me and feel me and hear me."
Calderon chooses to enrich and engage with her community through social media. She has led many mental wellness initiatives on the platform, encouraging others to get in tune with their emotions. She does this through journaling. The actor said, "This is my therapy. I wanted to bring out something for the people that is "of me" but not something that I'm just gonna do for people to buy."
The product being referenced is her Dream and Manifest Journal, a guided journal starting at $34.99 that is meant to help people reach their true destiny through reflection and manifestation. She expressed, "Because this is therapy for me, I felt like I needed to give people therapy. A lot of people can't afford it right? Or don't have the means to find a therapist. Or have shame. And with this, you don't have to tell anybody. And it's all under $40."
Furthering breaking it down, Calderon said, "This is like a year's worth of therapy. And you get to figure it out. There are questions in here and prompts that allow you to think. I just wanted to uplift my people and allow people to write and for these little girls out here to understand that they're not alone. And hopefully, this does that."
Gentefied is currently streaming on Netflix.