Dayanara Diaz

"You know what it's like to kill somebody? Nah, didn't think so. Get in line and leave the family stuff to me. 'Cause Eva's gonna do whatever I tell her to do. And we maybe even bringin' Lucy in. Who else can I trust but family, right?"

- Dayanara to her mother.

Dayanara "Daya" Diaz is an inmate at Litchfield Penitentiary. She appeared as the secondary antagonist for Season Six and the primary antagonist for Season Seven of Orange is the New Black. She was portrayed by Dascha Polanco.

Personality
Originally, Dayanara was a timid, creative and sweet girl when she first arrived in prison. However, as her time in prison elapsed, she began to harden and rebel against her mother, Aleida. In Season Four, Daya finds herself holding Thomas Humphrey and Artesian McCullough at gunpoint, inciting a riot. Following from this, Daya became power-hungry, and once she realised she was getting her sentence extended and transferred to Maximum Security, she begins to display a more callous, brutal, gang-leader personality.

Biography
As the eldest of all of Aleida Diaz' children, Dayanara found herself acting as "second mother" while Aleida packed heroin for her boyfriend, Cesar. After Aleida is arrested and detained, Dayanara begins a relationship with Cesar, taking her mother's role, and following the same route as her into prison. There, Dayanra is not accepted by the rest of the "Latina" clique. Dayanara earns a job in the kitchen with the rest of the Latinas under Gloria Mendoza after Galina Reznikov is fired for smuggling contraband. Dayanara ends up pregnant in Season Two, with the father being correctional officer John Bennett. Daya, Reznikov, Aleida, and Nicky concoct a plan to indite unliked correctional officer, George Mendez, as a rapist in order to prevent Bennett from being caught out. In Season Three, Bennett abandons Dayanara to have the child alone as he simply cannot keep calm under the pressure. After giving birth and having her child taken away from her, Dayanara begins to care less and less about the consequences of her actions, and once Aleida is released from prison, holds a gun at an abusive correctional officer, Thomas Humphrey, cheered on by the rest of the prison population. Dayanara shoots the ceiling, causing shrapnel to fall. Dayanara shoots Humphrey in the leg after he begins humanising himself to Dayanara in Spanish (a language she was never taught). A riot begins after this. Dayanara finds leadership in the riot naturally since she has the gun, and causes tension between her and Maria Ruiz. Dayanara loses the gun after Gloria Mendoza knocks Dayanara out and takes the gun from her to prevent Dayanara from doing any more harm. Dayanara is then given a longer sentence and transferred to Maximum Security for inciting a riot and (wrongfully) murdering Humphrey. At Maximum Security, Dayanara finds herself making acquaintance with Barbara Denning, the leader of D-Block, and becomes addicted to Oxycontin. Dayanara begins shifting up the ranks of D-Block as a result of her relationship with Dominga Duarte. After Barbara's death, Dayanara takes complete control of the Oxycontin business and kills Duarte by accident instead of putting her into a coma with bath salts as revenge for having sex with Annalisa Damiva. Dayanara is initially upset by her actions, but soon toughens up after forming a coalition with Adeola Chinede, an implied murderer. When Aleida returns to prison for assault and damage to private property, she starts a rival business. When Dayanara's supply is confiscated by Rick Hopper as a result of Aleida's help, Dayanara threatens GED teacher Elmer to bring in drugs. Elmer quits instead. Dayanara reveals to Aleida she is using her younger sister, Eva, to bring drugs into the prison, and says that soon she will use Lucy, the youngest of the Diaz children. Aleida has had enough of Dayanara's new self, and punches her in the throat and begins choking her. It is unknown if she survived this.

Powers and Abilities

 * Artistry - Dayanara has shown incredible art skills through a variety of mediums such as spray paint and sketching.
 * Leadership - Dayanara single-handedly fought her way to the top and retained her position there through any means necessary.