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. ​
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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.
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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.
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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.
Past Performances
The Marsh Theater, San Francisco & Berkeley
Texas A&M University, Kingsville
Guadalupe Performing Arts Center, San Antonio
Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville
MACLA, Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, San Jose, CA
No Strings Theater, Las Cruces, NM
ASU Kerr Cultural Center, AZ
Testimonials
“Creative, clever, and critical, Irma Herrera's "Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name?" addresses themes of identity, courage, and prejudice in ways that are relevant today. In this one honest, charming, one-woman show, Irma embodies a variety of engaging characters through speech, song, images, and the occasional dance.“
~ Sam Pasco, KXSF 102.5 FM
“At a time in which the very definition of a real American is hotly contested, Irma Herrera brings intelligence, humor, and grace to the race debate. Many people will see bits of their own experience in her struggle not just to belong, but to thrive in a society that is so often ambivalent about including her. A must-see for anyone who wonders what it will take for us to all get along.”
~ Rinku Sen, Former Editor, Colorines