Parity Pipeline

Genre

Synopsis

It’s New Year’s Eve, 1972, and the Cuban-American Cienfuegos family – parents Gloria and Jorge, their eighteen-year-old daughter, Viv, and eight-year-old U.S. born daughter Lucia - are prepping for a festive bash in their Upper West Side apartment. Gloria is desperate for her party to go well and for her lifelong friend, renowned writer Guillermo Robles, to experience a traditional Cuban celebration. She hopes that this is her family’s last New Year’s in the States, and at midnight she hears the inevitable Cuban American toast, “Next year in Havana!” Gloria is pressured when Jorge tries to convince her that a move to a house on Long Island is just what the family needs. Viv puts flame to the fire when she arrives at the apartment with a new shag haircut a la Jane Fonda in Klute, which enrages the ultra-traditional Gloria. Thus begins a night full of tension with uninvited party crashers disturbing her careful plans. Little does Gloria know that Viv has an even bigger shock awaiting her. Guillermo makes a grand entrance and tells stories of Gloria’s bravery as a revolutionary. Viv sees a side of Gloria she had not known previously. Suddenly, Lucia’s hamster goes missing, turning the party into a wild search and recovery mission, during which Gloria discovers Viv’s big secret - she is renouncing her Cuban citizenship and becoming an American! Gloria goes ballistic. The film ends with Viv’s swearing-in at the courthouse accompanied by Jorge and Lucia - with her mother glaringly absent. Viv leaves the courthouse with conflicting emotions and suddenly sees Gloria at the bottom of the courthouse steps, holding a single white rose. Mother and daughter embrace as we hear Cuban and Rock & Roll music merging into a beautiful fusion of forms.