Pepperdine University 10

Maria Canal Pereira, a talented actress and mother, grew up in a dysfunctional household. She found solace in finger puppet games with her sister, creating characters and stories. Her creativity stemmed from the necessity to cope with her alcoholic father and mother's prescription pill abuse. Despite the challenges, Maria's family home was filled with love, laughter, and cooking. She discovered her passion for acting in elementary school and excelled in high school and college performances. After moving to Los Angeles, Maria's career took off, especially after landing a role in "Cop and a Half." She met her future husband, David Barrera, during a play and they became working actors together. Maria gained recognition for her role in the Disney Channel series "Wizards of Waverly Place" and continues to impact the lives of her fans. Her journey is far from over. Finger Puppets. A dysfunctional household and one exceptional young girl. A perfect storm of circumstance and talent that would curate an amazing actress and mother. Maria Canal Pereira is an icon with roles in Disney shows, movies, and DC cartoons, along with a myriad of other titles. And she just so happens to be my mother. I remember being sprawled out on my mother's couch, dying of laughter as she recounted the games she played with her sister growing up. She couldn't contain herself as she described the game affectionately named by her sister Martin Devils, where they could figure their hands to act out wacky characters of their own creation, like Little Lovin', Baby Jesus, and one reminiscent of Julia Child named Seasoning Chicken. Each character with their own voice, hand motion, and backstory. My Aunt Dora recalls it as my mother's first acting experience, but their creativity came from a place of necessity rather than fun. My mother grew up with an alcoholic father, and as a way to cope, her mother abused prescription pills. Maria remembers lacking the sense of security that comes with knowing what someone was going to be like, or where you stood with them, because of the influence of drugs and alcohol on her parents. My mother says her brother Ricky became the man of the house at 13, and as the eldest siblings, he and Dora became parental figures to my mother, but their parents were not completely absent. Ricardo, my late grandfather, had a passion for talent, for cooking, which never left the dinner table empty, and Maria drew inspiration from her mother, who relived moments through her animated storytelling. Their home was always filled with affection, laughter, and cooking, according to Maria. My mother knew from the moment she was from the moment she screamed R in a lineup of children spelling out George Washington, along with a song and dance as an elementary school tribute to the first president. However, she had to wait until eighth grade to be able to take an acting class, but as soon as she was able to perform in real plays, she immediately got a leading role every time. In her senior year of high school, she blew everyone's socks off as Amanda Wingfield in the play The Glass Menagerie. Her sister Dora said that she would watch her and forget that she was Maria, and recalls the performance as the first time she truly thought Maria would be a star. In fact, Dora went to every single one of Maria's performances in college, exemplifying her undying support and love for her sister. But the play that truly solidified Dora's admiration for Maria was when she played Mrs. Kendall in a play called The Elephant Man. Dora says that Maria never accepted the status quo and was not going to settle for anything less than her dreams. She became somewhat of a campus celebrity, landing her name in the yearbook, congratulating her on her drama scholarship for the University of Miami. In fact, it was at UM that she truly thrived as an actress. After graduating, she dominated the local acting scene and found success easily, but she became a big fish in a little pond. According to Dora, it wasn't until her acting teacher Shurtleff got her an audition for Cop and a Half, starring Burt Reynolds, that she got her big break. After landing the role and thoroughly impressing director Henry Winkler, she moved to Los Angeles and began her professional career. When she showed up at Carina Pacific's door, her future roommate, under the rule of a psychotic landlady, she was a vivacious and exuberant young woman with her whole career ahead of her. Carina had never experienced anyone like Maria and describes her as an open book with the freedom of expression that only an actor has. She watched as Maria was so comfortable expressing herself freely, she found it so interesting to watch the life of an actor and how she woke up at strange hours and seemed to always be reciting her lines. The time they spent together, while strained by their nosy and erotic landlady, was precious. Carina watched as her career grew and altered the course of her destiny. However, Maria's life would truly change when she met David Barrera while doing a play together. At first she was annoyed by his nodding to the director and thought he was too much of a yes-man, but little did she know she would go on to marry this man and have me, the one writing this damn thing, and after they were married they became working actors together. Soon they would have two lovely little girls, one of them happening to be me. In 2007, Maria would be part of a project that put her name on the map. This project was the Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place, starring Selena Gomez. Maria became an icon to children all around the world in her role as Teresa Russo. To this day, when we are out in public, people come up to my mother dying for a photo with her and she is happy to take one with them because she is proud of the impact she has made on their lives and the lives of many fans just like them. Her generosity as a mother shines even in her interactions with fans and her true character has not and will never be tarnished by her fame. My mother is truly an incredible woman and her story is not over yet, so look out world because here she comes.