Episode : Viva Cuba

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Penelope was working in her clinic, normally, until her boss comes in, rushing for her help.

"Penelope..." He calls, "I need a consult, stat."

The man adds a piece of written paper and a light board, to see it better.

"What's that?" The nurse asked.

"Lyrics. I was so inspired by our conversation yesterday, I started writing parody songs."
"Doc, there's, like, 20 patients waiting outside."

"Just tell me which one you like better," He goes on, tapping his foot and snapping his finger rhythmically. "What a ham, what a ham, what a ham. What a mighty honey glazed ham~"

The nurse was unimpressed.

"Or..." The doctor then dances to his own lyrics. "Exercising makes us strong. Zumba, Zumba~"

"Wow, this... It's just so hard to pick," Penelope exaggerated, clearly wanting to forget what she saw and heard.

"I have others—"
"No! Okay, the ham. I like the ham one. Don't do the Zumba. Please don't do that again."

Dr. Berkowitz put his paper away, with a smile. "I am really enjoying myself, you know. It's never too late to do what you love."

The cuban woman started to turn her wheels, and decided to speak what she had been thinking about.
"Okay. So, I've been thinking. Theoretically, if I still wanted to become a doctor—"

"Yes, yes, yes!"
"Okay! Now I'm excited! Break it down. Tell me, what do I do?"

Penelope grabbed the nearest pencil and paper in sight, to idealize her future plan.

"First, you take the MCAT," Berkowitz lists, "Then you take it again when you fail. Most people do. Me, three times. And then, just four more years of med school."

"Okay. Five years, that's not that bad!"

"Then three years of residency. And you never know where they're gonna send you, or what adventure awaits you. You may get Honolulu. I got Toledo. Why people say, 'Holy Toledo,' I'll never know. Nothing holy about it. It's hell."

"Okay. Eight years."

"Oh, and then your fellowship. Three more years."

"So, 11 years?"

"Wow. You are going to ace the math portion of the MCAT. And  don't you worry, you'll be shocked at how quickly a decade goes by. Especially when you don't see your family. But, in the end... it will all be worth it, because you will be a doctor." The man cheers,"And 200,000 dollars in debt! I still haven't paid him off!"

"You haven't?"
"Looks like the sweet release of death will come first. I win!"

¡

Andrea, Schneider, and Alex were setting up for the Alvarez's video shoot.

The cuban boy looked to his friend, she has been acting on edge from the whole day.
She was itching for school to end and is just seemed to be anticipating for this to be over, as well.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked her.

Before she could answer, the handyman interrupted, "Isn't this better? A good camera, proper lighting, and a cast in wardrobe."

Elena then comes out with a very sparkling red and silver lining fitted dress, with her hair up and in a fruit basket headpiece.

Andrea bit her lip, from holding in her laugher.

"I look like a fruit salad," The Alvarez girl protested.

"I look like Cousin Consuelo," Penelope comments in, with loose old clothing and a beard, making the two kids try extremely hard to not laugh at them.

Alex had to suck up his laughter and urge them to be in the camera, by first being his mom. "Don't let the beard throw you. It actually looks really natural."

When Andrea places the mom in her spot and moved away, Alex directed, "Lights, camera... Talk now!"

Penelope then read off her script, in an exaggerated cuban accent. "I am a farmer. I grow—" Andrea gently throws a prop of bagged coffee beans to her. "—coffee beans... one of Cuba's most important exports. I work every day from sunrise to sunset. But I am happy with my simple life." Penelope throw in a smile.

"Cut!" Alex groans, "Can we do that again? It doesn't really seem like you're a farmer."

"'Cause I'm not really a farmer."

"It's not too late to recast," Schneider suggest, obviously to himself.

"You auditioned and didn't get the part. Sorry bud, but you gotta move on," Andrea tells the man.

"Okay, Elena, you're up," The boy calls for his sister.

"Okay. But I have some notes on the script," She talks.

"Oh, here we go." The landlord rolls his eyes. "I hate it when the talent has thoughts."

Elena still went on. "What are you trying to say about Cubans? You're making us out to be total stereotypes. We're not this different from everyone else."

Penelope scoffs, "Elena, get over the diversity thing. A committee of people think you're a smart latina, and they want you to help achieve your dreams. How is this not a good thing?"

"Because I only got chosen to fulfill their race quota! They probably think I dress like this, and that I came over on a raft, rolling a cigar, and yelling, 'Say hello to my little friend.'"

"Can we please finish shooting?" Alex pleaded.

"Yes. We'll talk about this later," The mother answers to both of her kids.

"There's nothing left to talk about," Elena argued, "I already e-mailed them and told them I'm not accepting it."

"You did what?" Penelope rips off her fake beard in anger. "You don't get it, kiddo. You don't get it! This is a big deal. And you don't have the luxury to be like, 'Oh, it hurts my feelings.' Come on! When I was 15, I've jumped at this. You have no idea what life is going to throw at you, and right now, you have the chance to pursue your dreams. And not everybody gets to do that."

"But it's my future! I wanna do it my way."

The teenager stomps away, with Penelope quickly walking after her, to continue the argument.

"I have never seen such un-professionalism. This is why I don't work!" Schneider comments.

"It's okay. Let's get to the star," Andrea pushed along, "Abuelita, you're up."

Dramatic as always, Lydia push open the curtains, wearing a cuban styled dress that looked good on her, with confidence raying on her.

"Oh, hello," The old woman spoke to the rolling camera, "I didn't see you there. It is I, Lydia Rivera, the most famous dancer in Cuba. I can do flamenco, salsa, mambo, pachanga, and the funky chicken."

With the castanets, she plays them to rhyme her dance, as she makes her way to sit down on the couch.

"Okay, Abuelita," Alex says, "Time for your story. Make me laugh. Make me cry. Get me an A."

Lydia began, "Well, when I was in Cuba... the peoples would line up for blocks and blocks just to see me. I was the iPhone of my time. But then Castro took over. My family was forced to flee. And that's when I came to America."

"Ooh!" Alex brought up. "You know what would be good? Talk about being one of the Pedro Pan kids."

"Ah! Pedro Pan was a program that started during the revolution to fly children out of Cuba and give them safe haven in the United States until Castro left."

"Okay..." Andrea joins in, interested in the story, "so you were put on a plan to a new country where you didn't know the language."

"Oh, yes."

"Without your parents?"

"Yes."

Alex tries to put the story together. "And you were Elena's age, which would have made Tia Maruchi my age? And Mimi would've been really young."

"Yes," The woman replies, trying to put on her brave face, but remembering all horrible memories of her time.

"Wow, Abuelita. I can't even imagine. That must've been so hard, taking care of your sisters, since you were the oldest."

Andrea couldn't even imagine being in Lydia, or any of her sister's shoes during that time.
The young girls face began to sink down in sadness, seeing Lydia touch her heart, from something hitting her emotionally.

"Mami," Penelope spoke, coming into the room, "Are you okay?"

"Ah..." Lydia's voice breaks, "You know, I am sorry. I'm a little tired. I'm sorry, papito. I think I am done talking. Hmm?"

Understandably, Alex nods his head, as his grandmother slowly closes her curtains, leaving herself in solitude with her emotions.

"You want me to do her part?" Schneider breaks the ice, earning him a slap on the shoulder from Andrea.

¡

In Lydia's little bedroom, she looked through old photo albums of her childhood, which seemed to be easing her wounded pain.
Penelope comes in the room, sitting down with her mother, knowing that she needed someone by her side.

"Is Alex okay?" The elderly woman asked, slowly, "Did I ruin his movie?"

"No, Alex is fine," The nurse replies, "He's a little confused. Frankly, so am I. I know how much you like talking about all the good times in Cuba. And I also know that there are certain things that are hard to talk about. But I've never seen you react like that. What's going on?"

Lydia held onto her tear for dear life.
She didn't want to show her vulnerability like this.

"It might be good for you to talk about it. That's what I've been doing in therapy," She adds in, but immediately reals back from the look her mother gave her, "Okay, forget therapy. But you came here alone, with nothing... and you made an amazing life. Someday, maybe you could talk to me about it. I would love to hear your whole story."

When the woman was about to leave the room, Lydia decided to open up.

"I remember being at the airport," The grandmother spoke, "We were only allowed one suitcase. And my mami was so clever. She sewed two dresses together, one inside the other... so I could have more clothing. Then it was time to say goodbye, but I couldn't let go of Blanca."

"Who's Blanca?" Penelope asked, quite shocked from the new person in her story.

"My sister."

"Mami, you don't have a sister naked Blanca. There's Mimi, Maruchi, Mirtha."

"She was my older sister."

This was quite huge.
Lydia had never mentioned Blanca to her daughter, because the pain she held with her sister, was quite unbearable to remember again.

Lydia continues, "She couldn't come with us because she was 19. Too old for Pedro Pan. And she kept telling me... 'It's okay, we'll be seeing each other again in a few months.' She said, 'Pucha, you have to go. Walk through the pecera and don't look back.' If you look back, you will never go forward. So I did it. Because I did everything Blanca told me to do. I never look back."

"Oy, Mami..." Penelope sniffles.

Lydia sobs, "She died when you were little. They said that she died of the flu... Pero quién sabe. Every day, I wish I hadn't listened to her. Every day... I wish I had looked back."

The older woman broke down, which Penelope quickly responded, "Mami, I'm so sorry."

"No, no. It's okay. I'm glad I told you. Leaving was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. And I am happy that I did it. Because look what I made."

The two woman embrace.
Lydia felt nice to tell her full story, to tell about Blanca.

Sniffles came from the other side of the curtains.
Penelope opens them up, seeing that it was the two Alvarez kids, Andrea, and Schneider.
Elena and Schneider had tears in their eyes, while Andrea already had tears falling down.
What kept the girl from sobbing was Alex's hand intertwined with hers.

"So, I guess you heard everything?" Penelope rhetorically asked them.

"It's just a curtain!" Schneider exclaims, wiping his eyes.

Elena walked into the room, sitting beside her grandma. "Abuelita... I had no idea what our family's gone through. I'm gonna take that diversity spot."

Lydia sighs in relief.

"I'm sorry I was so stubborn," The teenager says to her mother.

"It's okay," Penelope forgives, "Just get in there and outshine everyone and they won't even remember you're Cuban."

"Oh, no. I'm going to make sure that they don't forget that I'm Cuban."

"Pa'lante!" Lydia cheers.

¡

After redoing the video, Andrea left the Alvarez house and straight to a ice cream parlor, where she was going to meet someone.

The girl was nervous, she didn't know how to react when she sees her, or what to even say.

After getting her Cookies & Cream ice cream cone, she heard the front door open from the bell.

Andrew turns around and was shocked to see who it actually was.

"Andrea?"

It was Alaina Hinojosa, who walked inside the building.

"Mom?"

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Translation/Meaning

pecera - fishbowl (please correct me because i seriously doubt it's that)
Pero quién sabe - But who knows
Pa'lante! - Forward/Keep going!

A/N

If you are wondering who is plays Andrea's actual mom...
Meet Alaina Hinojosa

played by Gina Rodriguez