My best friend Clarissa has been my roommate for the past two years. She has offered to share the story of this ceramic figurine of a woman praying. In her grandmother's home in El Monte, California, there are many religious symbols, and this praying woman is significant to Clarissa's family history. When Clarissa's father was a child, their grandmother moved the family from Michoacan, Mexico to LA County in search of better employment as well as better education. Some of Clarissa's extended family had already made the transition, and wrote to her grandmother saying that the move to America would change their lives. This ceramic figurine is from Clarissa's grandmother's home in Michoacan. It represents the entire family's deep commitment to their Catholic beliefs. Clarissa's uncle explained to her that although the family had begun this new life in the United States during the early 1980s, their faith would always be familiar and comforting. There is even an inside joke within the family that if anyone was ever misbehaving, Clarissa's grandmother would point to the figurine and say, "she is praying for you." This family story is relatable to the experiences of Irish Catholics who immigrated to the United States. Because it was a majority Protestant nation founded of such principles, those who practiced Catholicism faced religious prejudice. However, the faith that made some Irish immigrants strangers in this country was also the faith that kept them culturally connected. The same could certainly be said for many Mexican-Americans who are proud of their beliefs.
 

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant