The daughter of a Cuban Catholic father and a Jewish mother who converted to Catholicism through a correspondence course, Maria travels through life loved by both her mother, who gives her pink rosary beads, and her Russian Jewish grandmother, who feeds her potato latkes. After her parents’ divorce, she heads off to UC Berkeley, where she has a roommate who insists she is an “M.O.T.,” a Member of the Tribe, since her mother was born Jewish. Her confusion and struggles to handle her dual identities leave her unable to find her real self in either culture or religion, until she discovers a surprising path that will allow her to embrace her ping-pong identity.

Performed by Maria Ramos-Chertok
Produced by The Braid/Jewish Women’s Theatre
USA, 2019
True story, Drama
English
9 minutes