The United States is a Nation of Immigrants, but many Americans don’t realize what the generations before them went through and sacrificed to provide them with a brighter future. Actress Daphne Rubin-Vega has felt the consequences of such decisions first hand.
She is a two-time Tony and Drama Desk nominee, best known as Mimi in Broadway’s long running musical Rent. And she was only three years old when she was separated from her mother who left Panama to study nursing in New York City. Her Mother was absent through much of Daphne’s childhood. Back then, Daphne didn’t understand why; and now, a mother herself to a 6-year old boy, the questions pile up but the answers are still scarce.

A letter Daphne found in a drawer, written by her Mother long after her Mother died gave Daphne a new perspective and was the inspiration for her one-woman semi-autobiographical play “FUQ’s.” “Frequently Unanswered Questions” explores the bonds of a family separated not just by the Caribbean Gulf, but by the longing and loneliness of being the last one standing, struggling to understand her Mother’s choices. Maria Hinojosa sat down with the actress to talk about her new play.

Right-click here to download an .mp3 of this segment.

“FUQ’s” is being performed March 22nd and 24th as part of the Culture Project’s “Women Center Stage” series in New York City. It was written by Rubin-Vega with playwright Winter Miller and Directed by John Gould Rubin.

Watch exclusive clips from Daphne Rubin-Vega’s rehearsal and interview with Maria Hinojosa.
Video by Nusha Balyan