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
Up Next in NEW! Series 5 | "I Am a Warrior and Other Stories of Light"
-
Eat, Eat | The Braid
Dr. Ron Wolfson, author and educator, looks back lovingly on his bubbe’s culinary skills, which filled him with ecstasy. As a boy, his huge appetite sent him right to the “husky” section of his local department store. As an adult he explores the history of Jewish face-stuffing and finds its or...
-
Super Scar | The Braid
A 36-year-old expectant mother doubts whether she is ready to become a mother, since her real dream had been to “become the next Lucille Ball.” She goes on to experience severe trauma when a fibroid attached to her bowel ruptures 30 weeks into her pregnancy. What follows is a terrifying and nai...
-
Holy Ground | The Braid
The son of a Chinese father and secular Jewish mother embarks on a Birthright Israel trip, designed to introduce young American adults to Israel. Not at all religious, he is skeptical about whether he will be “wowed” by a visit to the Wailing Wall, as his guides promise. On the way to place his...
