Actress Rosario Dawson is Cosmo for Latinas Fall 2014 cover girl. (Image: Cosmo for Latinas)

Boricua/Native-American/Irish/Afro-cubana actress Rosario Dawson is Cosmo for Latinas’ Fall 2014 cover girl. The 35-year-old sat down with the glossy to discuss her plans to get young Latinas to vote, her teenage years, and why she wants to be her mamá’s hero (Que cute!).

Here are some snippets from the exclusive interview:

What are Voto Latino’s goals for the coming year?

It’s not just about getting out there to vote, it’s also about who you vote for. We need more women of color in politics, because, otherwise, we’re not represented. Through our summit series, we’re engaging Latinos in community building and networking — it has been absolutely remarkable because we’re having students and dreamers from across the nation networking. And we’re excited to announce our VL Innovators Challenge! We’re working with the MacArthur Foundation and Google to give away $500,00 — we’ll be awarding $10,000 to $100,000 grants — to young Latinos who want to get their feet wet in the tech world.

How did you get involved with Voto Latino?

A media exec I knew came up with the idea and name, and asked my mom and me to get involved. We wanted to speak to American Latinos like us, in English, utilizing technology, media partnerships, celebrities, and volunteers. It’s been an amazing 10 years, and it’s very exciting to grow it from its roots to all that it encompasses now. I thank and congratulate all who have made our decade anniversary possible.

What were your teenage years like?

I was an awkward teenager. I went stag to my prom. I was dating one guy in elementary school who made me hold hands at recess, and then he broke up with me to go with a girl who would make out. I found out about it at school and for some reason the school bully wanted to beat me up for that.

For more of Dawson’s interview and photo shoot with Cosmopolitan for Latinas, pick up the issue on newsstands September 3.