Mirta Ines Trupp searches for family history and her identity in her memoir, With Love, The Argentina

Family and in her historical fiction, Becoming Malka: the story of a Russian, Argentinian, American and

Jewish immigrant.

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Teachers couldn’t pronounce her name and students couldn’t figure out what group she belonged to. “

Here at home, I struggled to find myself within the American tapestry. I was acutely aware of how different we

seemed to be from others. Not only were we immigrants, but we didn’t quite fit the mold. … I couldn’t find

my niche.”

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In With Love, The Argentina Family, Mirta frequently to visit the Argentina family and her, when her father

begins working for Pan Am. . Where does she belong? Who is she? Her identity struggles are internal and

historical and she cannot be compartmentalized.  Guided by her extended Argentina and US family,

Mirta becomes fiercely patriotic yet pulled to Argentina.

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Mirta told me, “As a child, growing up away from my extended family of grandparents, aunts,

uncles and cousins, I had a mish-mash of rituals and traditions in my brain. I couldn’t differentiate between

Argentine customs, Yiddish baba maises (literally grandma stories) or Russian superstitions.”

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Mirta’s story defies stereotyping, showing that umbrella terms are narrow and “more often than not, label and

corral people into groups that are simply inaccurate. Clichés about the color of skin or the choice of foods are, still to this day, floating about in our society. Spanish-speaking peoples are not all ‘brown.’ Not everyone eats tacos or spicy foods...The idea of Jews being of various ethnicities, color or creeds is a foreign concept to some. It is, in fact, very similar to the Latino misconception, because a person can be 'black, brown, or white' and come from a Spanish speaking nation. Jews can be 'black, brown or white' and speak Hebrew, Yiddish or Ladino.”