I’m a writer, solo performer, social justice activista, lawyer, and world traveler.
Welcome to my online casa, where I share my thoughts about living in a multicultural world as we navigate moments of opportunity and discomfort. I am Irma (Ear-ma) Herrera. All of us affiliate and identify with groups based on different criteria: racial or ethnic identity, gender, socioeconomic class, trade or profession, taste in music, and where we went to school. And as night follows day, we quickly stereotype and make judgments about others based on these criteria.
In my work, I explore what it is to be a class migrant who benefited from expanded opportunity. I am committed to fighting the well-financed efforts presently underway to shut down these paths for marginalized communities. My +30 years as a civil rights lawyer has given me a front-row seat to the most exciting and challenging societal tectonic shifts.
I am a refugee from a racially polarized South Texas town who fell in love with big cities. I am both urbanite and anonymous small-town girl. Mexican-American by birth, world citizen by choice, and proud speaker of Spanish, the greatest gift my parents bestowed. Studying languages and discovering how words from different languages connect is something I find downright thrilling. I love comedy, mimicry, puns, and anything that gets a genuine response from people, whether laughter or even a groan.
My multiple identities are indivisible. At all times, I am all of these: Chicana, Latina, madre, lawyer, playwright, writer, stand-up comic, feminist, world-traveler, avid hiker.
Check out my blog where I’ll muse, rant, throw shade, and celebrate the beauty and goodness that surrounds us, mainly though words, but sometimes only a picture can tell the story.
Bienvenidos y adelante.