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I'm inviting all my NYC-area/NJ friends to the Princeton Campus to see my one-woman show on Saturday, April 6. It's a MATINEE, so hop in your car, bus, or on the train, and you'll be back in time for dinner. Use the QR Code to RSVP. There is no charge, but registration is required. Please share with your NJ/NYC networks. I'm tooting my own horn by sharing comments/reviews about my play. Money-back guarantee that you'll be thinking about what you've seen weeks after the lights go dark. “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, Colorlines “As I sat in the audience, I couldn't help but feel that Irma had looked into my life -- a brown child traipsing through the finest universities and forging a professional life. In one hour, she conveys the joys and pains of living a bicultural/bilingual life, particularly in today's political climate. Gracias, Irma Herrera for telling our stories.” ~Ernestina (Facebook Post) “At a time when civil rights and many communities are under siege, Irma Herrera provides sharp insights into the history and politics that drive these attacks.  She sees the humor and irony in the battles to save lives, democracy, and to promote justice. You don't want to miss her show!” ~Bill Tamayo, Civil Rights Attorney, San Francisco Hoping to bring my play to a city near you.

Eight years ago, on March 11, 2016, I walked on stage at Ross Valley Players Theater to perform my one-woman show, Tell Me Your Name; I had no idea I was embarking on a new career. This picture is from that first show. Since then, I've been using theater to address issues of fairness and justice. After three-plus decades as a lawyer (and some years as a journalist), I took a break from law to focus on writing. I had started a novel several years earlier and planned to continue with that project. But something about that work in progress wasn’t working. My friend Diane invited me to join her for a series of Saturday classes at The Marsh Theater titled Telling Our Stories with David Ford, an enormously gifted teacher and director of solo plays. I fell in love with oral storytelling in that 10-week workshop. The culmination of these classes was a group show after the 10-week sessions, with each student performing for 15 minutes on stage. My friends and colleagues repeatedly showed up, seeing my new material and providing wonderful feedback and support. Often asking, “When is your next stand-up show?” It pleased me that they thought of my work as standup comedy. While it isn't standup, it does have lots of laugh-out-loud humor. After enrolling in David Ford’s class for three consecutive sessions, he encouraged me to develop the material into a full-length (hour-long) show weaving history and comedic insights into stories about names. While writing this show, I was accepted into an intensive eight-day workshop in San Francisco with the award-winning playwright and solo performer Anna Deavere Smith and her production team -- dramaturge, dialect designer, and movement coach. The knowledge and confidence I gained from this experience convinced me I could get my show into a theater. Shortly after that workshop, I was at a friend’s birthday party, where I met another guest and learned we both loved theater. She shared that she was on the board of a community theater interested in producing new work by California playwrights. I told her about my play, and she asked me to send her a copy of the script. A few weeks later, the theater told me they wanted to produce my show the following spring. David Ford, a great collaborator whose insights and direction had helped me develop the material, served as the show's first director. Have you ever heard this saying? “The harder you work, the luckier you get.” Sometimes, it’s also phrased as “fortune favors the well-prepared.” I sure was lucky to have made this random connection, and by then, I had spent a couple of years diligently researching, writing, and studying the art and craft of solo performance. In this show, I portray 20+ characters, including me at various ages, my parents, teachers -- a parochial school Filipina nun and a University of Notre Dame Law School professor – as well as classmates, colleagues, opposing counsel, and others I have encountered throughout my career. Collectively, these characters show us that names can be minefields of misplaced notions, comical, sad, demeaning -- that speak volumes about where we are as a diverse nation. I was thrilled that my play was included in the Nuevo Teatro: Festival of New Plays at The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center Theater in San Antonio. Performing the show in South Texas, where I was born and raised and where many of these stories are set, has been especially meaningful. Fortunately, in the last year, I have been able to return to my home state with updated versions of my show. I code-switch between English, Spanish, and Spanglish much more frequently with overwhelmingly Latino audiences. Shortly before taking my play to The Guadalupe in San Antonio in 2017, I began working with another talented director, Rebecca Fisher. I also changed the play's name to Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name?  Bruce, a friend and colleague who produces solo shows, shared with me that the show's title, Tell Me Your Name, gave no clue about its content and how it addressed identity and belonging. Was I open to changing the title? "I'll think about it," I told him. As I was leaving, I told Bruce, "Here's the deal: I have no control over whether people care about or try to say my name correctly, but why would I mispronounce my own name?" "That," Bruce said, would be a good title." And so the name changed. In the Fall of 2018, I had a six-week run at the San Francisco Marsh Theaters, a premier venue for solo shows. It was extended twice and, in 2019, moved to the Berkeley venue of The Marsh. My show was selected for the Best of SF Solo Series, which played in San Rafael and San Leandro, California. My last show was on March 8, 2020, and already, people were staying away from venues like theaters. Two weeks later, COVID shut down our entire country. Hard to believe this was four years ago. During COVID, my play was selected to be part of Re-Encuento 2021, the National Latino/a/x Theater Festival (virtual) sponsored by the Los Angeles Latino Theater Company. Audiences across the US, Europe, and South America watched it. I also had the opportunity to perform my show on Zoom for schools, non-profits, law firms, and corporations. Following these shows, the virtual audiences engaged in productive group discussions about creating more equitable schools, workspaces, and organizations. Since the reopening of theaters, I've performed my show in San Francisco, Berkeley, Nashville, San Antonio, Kingsville, Texas, and Scottsdale, Arizona. Beyond theaters, I've taken my show to colleges and universities and will be at Princeton next month and at Trinity University in San Antonio later this year. What keeps me deeply engaged with the work is researching efforts nationwide to roll back civil rights gains and tailoring stories to connect the dots to the history of the places where I perform. The script changes to address the culture wars raging in our country, and there is no shortage of material, from the dehumanizing and scapegoating of groups, the rise in targeted hate crimes, gun violence, the anti-CRT movement, and the concerted effort to ban books in schools and public libraries, especially those by writers of color and the LGBTQ+ community. The persistent attack on women's rights, especially to bodily autonomy, is front and center of everyone's mind. All these topics are at the heart of the work and the post-show talkbacks with audiences. My goal with each production is to bring fresh perspectives to long-standing problems and encourage everyone to examine their biases and prejudices (all of us have them). Dr. Martin Luther King said, "Justice is Indivisible. Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere." I seek to give life to his words. See something, say something. All of us can be champions for justice and fairness. You can watch this 2-minute video about my theater-making adventure. Thanks to everyone who has seen and encouraged others to see my show. Please come again when it is at a theater near you.

March 8, 2024, is International Women’s Day (IWD) when the globe celebrates women's social, economic, cultural, and political achievements. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality. This year’s theme is #InspireInclusion, something we can commit to doing not just today but throughout the year and the rest of our lives. My work as a lawyer, a writer, and now a performer has always been about creating a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. I want to live in a diverse, equitable, and inclusive world where we value and celebrate differences and appreciate individuals regardless of race, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, socio-economic situation, or gender identity. Knowing that girls and women face additional barriers to equal treatment, I work hard to treat our daughters, sisters, nieces, mothers, and grandmothers with dignity and respect. And it starts with us. Speaking to my Latina sisters here, do you confer equal respect to Afro-Latinas, Indigenous women, trans sisters, immigrants (regardless of legal status), and women with low income or limited formal education? It is always important to check ourselves first and come to terms with all those messages we got growing up about who is more valued and respected. The Push for Women’s Equality The first National Women’s Day was observed in the United States in 1908 in support of the striking women garment workers in New York who were fighting for better working conditions. Three years later, in 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, one of the most infamous incidents in our nation’s industrial history, claimed the lives of 149 people. Most of the victims were young immigrant women who toiled in cramped, overcrowded sweatshops, putting in 12+ hour days. The subsequent investigation and pressure from labor led to the enactment of numerous labor laws. Frances Perkins, a former teacher who became involved with the social reform movement advocating for workers and consumers, served on the Commission investigating the Shirtwaist Factory fire. She later became the woman to serve as a U.S. Cabinet Member appointed by President Roosevelt in 1933 as Secretary of Labor. Perkins championed many policies that became part of the New Deal and established the Social Security and Fair Labor Standards Acts. Women’s organizing for equality has much earlier roots than 1908. In 1848, the first women’s convention in support of women’s equality was held in Seneca Falls, New York. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized it, demanding women's civil, social, political, and religious rights. One spark for this gathering was women’s indignation that they were barred from speaking at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840, mainly because women had been active in the Anti-Slavery movement since the 1830s.  The Seneca Falls Convention led to the issuance of the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, modeled after the Declaration of Independence.  It was the first women’s rights convention demanding equality for women, and since then, similar conventions have been held for years to support women’s equality. Similar efforts pushing for women’s equality were also happening elsewhere. In March 1911, over a million women marched in several European countries demanding the right to vote, to hold public office, and to end sex discrimination in the workplace. Two years later, Russia claimed March 8, 1913, as its official International Women’s Day, and other countries soon followed. The United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day in 1975 and declared International Women’s Year. In 1977, the United Nations designated March 8th as the UN Day for Women’s Rights and World Peace. We are all beneficiaries of the gains women have championed. Today, we encounter enormous, well-organized campaigns to turn back the clock by a century. Every day, we see laws being passed to suppress the teaching of American history and the evils of slavery, book bans to silence the stories of diverse communities, and the spewing of hate against the LGBTQ+ community, especially our trans children. Countless laws have been passed to limit women’s bodily integrity and to strip us of the right to decide if, when, and how we bear children. Fight for our rights here and abroad. On the international front, demand just treatment of migrants and refugees. Demand a cease-fire and an exchange of hostages and prisoners in the Israel-Hamas war. Inspire Inclusion today and every day, and thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

Happy New Year. Aren’t I a bit late? Not for the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Dragon, which fell on February 10th this year. The Year of the Dragon is associated with good fortune and success, which I wish to all of you, and I hope to have some of that myself. I’m excited about several projects, and one of them is my Stairwell Teatro 2024. I often receive stories from you, dear readers, that grab your and my attention. Two of you told me about the Sunny (Asuncion) Hostin episode in Finding Your Roots, the PBS Program Henry Louis Gates Jr. hosts on PBS. Another friend passed on a New York Times article about Japan changing its laws to make it easier for people with unusual or atypical Japanese names to change to more traditional ones. Similarly, I listened to a bilingual French podcast about a family discovering a box of documents in their grandparents’ home the year after their grandfather died, where they learned their ancestors had changed their names and hidden their Jewish identity to protect themselves as the Nazis were gaining power in Europe. They created new identities as a survival mechanism. This family and others similarly situated had advocated a change to French laws that would remove some of the many hurdles to reclaiming their family names. I’ve also been working on episodes about the words used to identify our community and the strong opinions about the terms Hispanic, Latino, Latin@, Latinx, and Latine. Stay tuned. And please, keep those stories and articles coming. I love hearing from you. I look forward to taping and releasing Stairwell Teatro Episodes throughout 2024, and I will share them in a newsletter with several episodes bundled together. Those of you on Facebook and Instagram can see them as they are released.  I had a busy travel and work schedule in December, January, and early February, and I got slightly behind. I last sent out Episode 13, Amarilla, in mid-December 2023. Since then, I’ve produced five additional episodes. Here's a rundown on the Episodes included in this newsletter/blog. Episode 14 – Maria Luisa Did you know that when you apply for US Citizenship, the application gives you the option of changing your name? Episode 15 – Guadalupe/Juanita Are our names interchangeable? When I give my name as Guadalupe to a barista, might they be hearing Juanita or Maria, or another stereotypically Latina name? Episode 16 - Generación Y (Part 1) Episode 16 - Generación Y (Part 2) When I spent several weeks in Cuba, pre-pandemic, I met many people with names that started with the letter Y, which were names I’d never heard before. I also met people with recognizable Russian first names. What's the story behind that? Since the episodes are typically under two minutes, you can watch the entire playlist in an hour+ by clicking here, or you can pick and choose and spend a tiny morsel of time watching just those that pique your interest. I hope these episodes are entertaining and thought-provoking. I appreciate hearing your responses to these episodes, and I love getting your story ideas. Year of the Dragon One of the things I especially love about the San Francisco Bay Area, where I live, is being in the presence of people from different ethnic and racial backgrounds and learning from my friends about their family’s histories and traditions. Lunar New Year celebrations last several days and are about gathering with family (often traveling back to one’s hometown), sharing food, and honoring ancestors. It is always so much fun to be invited by friends to a Chinese New Year’s dinner with traditional hot pot and to hear about their family gatherings over the years. A few more tidbits about the Lunar New Year: this Time Magazine article, notes that it is observed in many parts of the Asian World and celebrated by over two billion people across the globe in China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the United States, and other countries. According to the Chinese zodiac signs, each year in the lunar cycle is associated with a particular animal. This is a 12-year cycle, and each year is associated with a different creature: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. The cycle repeats itself. All of them are real except for the mythological dragon. The dragon symbolizes strength and power and is associated with good fortune, wisdom, success, protection, and masculinity. Your Chinese Zodiac sign is determined by the Lunar New Year in which you were born. The start of the Chinese New Year varies from year to year. It is not calendar year-based. If you want to know your Zodiac sign, please note the birth years below. But, for those with mid-January to February birthdays, you'll need to check when the Lunar New Year started on the year you were born to accurately determine your Zodiac Animal. I am a Rabbit, and these are the typical characteristics of people born in the Year of the Rabbit. Please note, when you look up your year, you'll find information about Strengths and Weaknesses (you'll note I'm only sharing strengths). May the Year of the Dragon be filled with good health and good fortune for you and your family.

Our flight follows the Pacific Coastline along Northern California on a clear day. Unlike most recent flights, half the seats are empty. I settled in for the 3+ hour flight, pleased that Mark and I had an empty seat between us. Twenty minutes after takeoff, the pilot’s voice comes over the PA System. “Folks, we are returning to SFO. Unfortunately, one of the flaps on the airplane is not retracting. I know that everyone is looking forward to getting to Puerto Vallarta, but this plane will be out of commission. First and foremost is your safety; we apologize for this inconvenience. We’ll provide more information as it becomes available.” The lady across the aisle has a scowl on her face. “Great,” she says with sarcasm, “we won’t get to Puerto Vallarta today; this will ruin my vacation.” I’m feeling a bit more upbeat. “Let’s hope they’ll get another plane, and we can be on our way in two or three hours.” My optimism does not lighten her mood; she says nothing, holding on to her angry look. The plane landed smoothly, and passengers applauded, something common in other countries but not the United States. I feel great relief. Yes, plane accidents are rare and we have a far greater chance of being in a car accident headed to the airport. Still, knowing that does not ease my mind before or during any flight I’ve ever taken. I get two texts while our plane is waiting for our gate to be available – one from United, the other from my TripIt App: Flight 1212 is now departing from a new gate in 40 minutes. As I hoped, a new plane pressed into action. That information is confirmed -- as we exit the flight we are directed to the new gate at SFO. We arrive in Puerto Vallarta a couple of hours behind schedule. The woman’s scowl has lifted. Two months ago, returning from Egypt, we encountered mechanical problems on the Frankfurt – San Francisco flight. The 300+ passengers on the Boeing 777 were settled in their seats and ready for takeoff when the Captain announced a short delay as a cargo hold door was not closing. After a half hour, we were told the delay would be several hours, and we were instructed to deplane. We were informed we’d be given a voucher for lunch and to please return to the gate area for further instructions. One other complication: because of the delay, our flight would stop in the DC area at Dulles Airport to take on a new crew, as the current crew would be exceeding the permissible number of hours on duty by then. Instead of arriving in San Francisco at 4 pm, we’d arrive shortly after midnight. Audible groans from the passengers. Those with SFO as a final destination should stay put until further notice. Passengers with connecting flights in San Francisco were directed to speak to a gate agent about possible booking on other flights. The line to get a meal voucher exceeded a hundred people. Mark and I headed directly to the eatery closest to the gate, we pay for our lunch. When we returned to the gate, we learned the flight had been canceled, and a new flight would take us from Frankfurt to San Francisco the following afternoon. Be patient, we were told, as more agents would soon be available to explain the plans. Additional United employees with iPads arrived, flashing us QR codes with information about overnight hotel arrangements and instructions to get to the bus taking us to our hotel. Thanks to technology, the airline turns over their “what to do with stranded passengers on disrupted flights” to Layover Solutions, which handles the logistics. The United personnel conveyed all this information in English and German. If you didn’t speak either, you were at the mercy of other travelers or United employees who spoke additional languages. No matter what country you are from, knowing English is very valuable. I noticed a woman having an animated conversation on her cell in a language other than English, then handing over the phone to a United employee, who spoke English to the person at the other end of the line and handed the phone back to the woman. As my spouse was waiting for wheelchair assistance, which would get us through immigration and to the bus taking us to the hotel, the gate agent turned to us and asked, "can she join you? She doesn’t speak English or German, and I don’t want her to get lost." We introduced ourselves, and I guessed correctly that Agnieszka was from Poland. We could communicate thanks to a translation app that I use, DeepL. A fleet of buses transported us to the hotel, which was a good 45 minutes from the airport. Imagine several hundred people trying to check in simultaneously; the line snaked outside the hotel onto the street: by then, it was early evening, and a drizzle had started. The hotel provided a few umbrellas, which people shared.  As the hotel restaurant did not serve dinner, we were to get our dinner through a meal voucher available via an App (think DoorDash). The lobby was abuzz with activity, some people just checking in as other passengers were already getting their food delivered. Like many others, I couldn’t make heads or tails of the App. Fortunately, you could opt for the English version, which was of marginal help. Many of the younger travelers, mostly Americans of varying ethnic/racial backgrounds, set about teaching their elders how to use the App and helping us order our dinners. Passengers picking up their orders at the lobby generously offered pizza slices to those still waiting in line for a room. The following morning, the hotel restaurant provided a hearty breakfast, and people in the dining room chatted in different groups and welcomed others to join their table. Since the bus pick-up was mid-morning, I had free time to explore the neighborhood on foot. It was not a residential area but rather a warehouse/commercial zone with car repair shops, a bike store, a beautiful garden store that was a feast to the eyes, and one eating establishment that offered food from all over the world, reflecting the multicultural city that Frankfurt has become. The return trip to San Francisco was uneventful. Hugs, smiles, phone numbers, and email addresses were exchanged as folks parted ways at the airport. It is always uplifting to see expressions of kindness.

This quote, hanging on a screen above the stage, gives audience members something to ponder while waiting for my show to start. Earlier this month, I sat alone in the Kerr Theater in Scottsdale, looking at this screen before the theater opened. I thought of a James Baldwin quote, which I googled and found immediately. It was too late to switch out the quotes, but moving forward, I plan to use Baldwin’s words as they capture what I strive to do: whether it’s performing my play at theaters, speechifying or storytelling at conferences, presentations in the corporate sector, or meetings with student groups. Through sharing stories and real-life experiences, I hope to offer people a different way of seeing and touching their hearts and minds. 2023 was a fast-paced and exciting year with performances in theaters and universities in Tennessee, Texas, and Arizona. I was a featured speaker at a multi-racial conference of women realtors in Southern California and at another conference for Latinas who work in all sectors of the economy in Silicon Valley. Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors, an immigrant rights organization, invited me to be their featured speaker at their annual event at Nashville’s historic Public Library. Throughout the year, I met folks who inspired me with their stories of perseverance and the numerous ways they are working to make the world a better place. Many invitations/opportunities to present my work occur through word of mouth –someone who saw my play or heard me in a podcast recommends me. A Zoom interview with The Tennessean (Tennessee’s largest newspaper) before my shows at Nashville’s TPAC (Tennessee Performing Arts Center) was shared within the Gannett news organization, and Vamos Forward, the Latino Employee Resource Group (ERG) invited me to a roundtable discussion about identity and representation. Later in the year, Vamos Forward and Gannett’s MENA (Middle Eastern North African) ERG did a joint program on identity and anticipated changes in the census and how different groups are placed into racial categories and was again invited to be one of the speakers. These programs allow me to learn about other communities and the work people of color (whatever we call ourselves) are doing in journalism, media, law, finance, and social services. A LinkedIn “Help, does anyone have a speaker suggestion for Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month?” request led my friend Nancy to offer my name. I was invited to give a presentation via Zoom to a national organization that serves folks with developmental disabilities. The common thread in all these presentations is a heartfelt exploration of how we can create workplaces that value employees from different backgrounds and communities. My work as a playwright/performer/storyteller/public speaker keeps me learning and engaged and feeling amply rewarded with the wonderful feedback I receive. In preparing for this work, I follow the news and read widely, studying almost as much as I did in law school, but this is much more fun. Thanks to the hundreds of excellent webinars sponsored by universities, news outlets, and organizations on diverse subjects, I can watch webinars about law, politics, democracy, and social justice several times monthly. I attended the African American Policy Forum’s (AAPF) Critical Race Theory 5-day Summer Institute for the third year. I was especially interested in the national efforts to take over school boards, ban books, and teach inaccurate versions of our nation's history. Founded in 1996, AAPF is an innovative think tank that connects academics, activists, and policy-makers to promote efforts to dismantle structural inequality. Here’s the description from their website. “We utilize new ideas and innovative perspectives to transform public discourse and policy. We promote frameworks and strategies that address a vision of racial justice that embraces the intersections of race, gender, class, and the array of barriers that disempower those who are marginalized in society. AAPF is dedicated to advancing and expanding racial justice, gender equality, and the indivisibility of all human rights, both in the U.S. and internationally.” Check out their website to learn about their excellent webinars and live programs. This year, I also revived my Stairwell Teatro Series, which I had started during the pandemic. A freak accident back in 2021 tore three of my four rotator cuff tendons, and post-surgical complications sidelined me for several months, so I stopped recording these stories in 2022. This year, I decided to revive the series and am having lots of fun sharing cuentitos I’ve collected over the years. Thanks for watching these stories, and for sending me your own name stories. Please keep them coming. I continue to plug away studying French, which I've done off and on for decades (by myself and with an occasional class or tutor). I got back on Duolingo in 2022 (thanks, Marcia) and now have a streak of over 700 days. It’s great fun, and they have interesting podcasts that support language learning. If serious about gaining fluency in a language, one needs to do work beyond Duolingo, but I highly recommend Duolingo to anyone interested in studying another language. I’m a big Duolingo fan and admire the founder, Luis von Ahn, whose goal is to make language learning free and available to everyone. Supporting the Premium App version helps support this goal. Luis, originally from Guatemala, recognizes that speaking English (which he studied while growing up) enabled him to come to the United States for university. He is an enormously successful computer entrepreneur and a recipient of a MacArthur Genius Award. Before starting Duolingo, he was a co-creator of CAPTCHA. Learn more about him here. In preparation for a trip to Egypt, I spent many hours over three months studying Egyptian Arabic on my own and with a tutor twice a week. My modest goals were to greet people, have rudimentary exchanges, and express appreciation and politeness. It was a humbling experience to study something so outside of my comfort zone. You can't imagine my excitement when people understood my greetings and simple requests. My spouse, Mark, and I also had several travel adventures this year. We returned to South Africa and Botswana and visited Zambia, where we enjoyed the natural beauty and World Heritage sites like Victoria Falls. Seeing animals in their natural habitat is a thrill that is hard to describe. In South Africa, we saw friends we had last seen 15 years ago. We traveled to Egypt for two weeks, spending five days on a sailboat on the Nile. That country has many wonderous sights, many thousands of years old. and amazingly well preserved. We also participated in a Civil Rights Tour of Alabama, visiting Selma, Birmingham, Montgomery, and other important sites. One interesting aspect of this tour was that half of the people in our group were students from the College of Wooster, which happens to be in Mark's hometown, and one of the adults in the group accompanying the students was someone he knew from high school. Every day, we met folks who had participated in the civil rights marches and protests and those who work at these historical sites. 2023 was also a year when I logged many miles hiking the trails in Northern California and city streets near my home and wherever I traveled. I love walking alone and with friends; it’s the best Rx for clearing one’s head and keeping an even keel. I am grateful for my good fortune and all the enriching experiences I’ve had this year. I am also mindful that many folks have faced significant challenges this year. Several friends are dealing with serious health issues of their own or with loved ones. Others are dealing with the deaths of close family and friends. Tens of thousands of innocent people are dying in the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas as a result of genocide, wars, drugs, and other catastrophes caused by climate change: droughts, fires, floods, and famine. In our own country, there is a rise in hate crimes, with sharp increases in antisemitism and Islamaphobia, and the stoking of racism by white supremacists against African Americans, Latinos, immigrants, and the LGBT community, to name but a few of the targeted groups. Many of us are siloed and rarely speak to folks with views that differ from ours. Still, I remain hopeful that enough of us are doing something (no matter how small it may seem) to help create a greater sense of compassion and understanding. As James Baldwin reminds us, each of us can change the world. I wish you well in 2024.

For a long time, I've wanted to perform my play in Arizona. The state's notoriety in stoking anti-immigrant sentiment was something I thought about often. When SB 1070 (Show Me Your Papers Law) was enacted in 2010, it was the broadest and strictest anti-immigrant state law. Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Governor Jan Brewer gloated in media outlets about their state's anti-immigrant law. Soon, other states tried to outdo each other, passing punitive anti-immigrant laws. The history of discriminatory laws and the norms they preserve are themes in my one-woman show, Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? Two years after Arizona adopted SB 1070, baseball pitcher Sergio Romo wore an I Just Look Illegal t-shirt at the 2012 World Series Victory Parade in San Francisco. Days earlier, Sergio had clinched the World Series victory for San Francisco's beloved baseball team with his fine pitching. Sportscasters and news analysts discussed whether Sergio was making a political statement and if it was appropriate to do so on this occasion. He was most definitely making a statement: laws like SB 1070 racially profile people who look like him. Four years later, Colin Kaepernick took a knee and heightened awareness about police brutality in the African American community. In the following years, many athletes, including entire NBA teams, showed up courtside protesting police killings of black men by wearing t-shirts with the words "I Can't Breathe." One day, while working on my play, I flashed on this image of Sergio Romo at the SF Giants World Series Victory Parade. This reminded me of various situations where I and others (who look Mexican) have been expected to justify our presence in the United States. I knew then that I needed to use this picture of Sergio Romo in my show. My wish to bring the play to Arizona finally came true in Scottsdale on December 10th. I had a wonderful time visiting Scottsdale and Phoenix and seeing long-time friends who have lived in Arizona their whole lives and others who found their way to this beautiful part of the country. The Kerr (pronounced care) Theater is a warm, intimate space in a handsome Southwestern adobe that was once the home and studio of one of the nation's early women composers and classically trained musicians, Louise Lincoln Kerr (remember its care). She was known as The Grand Lady of Music for her generous arts patronage. World-class musicians came from around the world for days and weeks to visit and play music at the Kerr home. I could feel the power of the woman who created this space and imagined her joy - doing what she loved best, making music with friends and colleagues. I am happy to report that all went well with the show (something one can't ever be sure of; see below) and that I had a wonderful audience. Thanks to my friend, Micha Espinosa, ASU Professor in the School of Music, Dance and Theater, for connecting me to the Kerr Theater. She also introduced me to one of her students, Gianbari Deebom, who recorded some audience members' reactions to the show, which we've put in this short video. Do You Get Nervous Before Shows? I'm often asked this question YES, I do, and I was significantly more anxious than usual as I had new material that I was presenting for the first time. Although I was pleased with what I had added and how it complemented the other scenes in the show, I kept messing up my lines. Typically, when this happens, I simplify the text and tinker with specific words. On Friday evening, two days before my show, I concluded that my script needed more than tinkering. I needed a rewrite of several pages, which I did. But I was beside myself with worry that I would be able to remember this part of the script. Saturday was set aside for tech rehearsal, which is the time when the performer (and the director, if present) sort out appropriate lighting for each scene and make sure that the images and sounds that support the story are seamlessly incorporated into the flow of the show. The number of techs that are part of the behind-the-scenes of a solo show varies depending on the complexity of the set and the size/budget of a theater- sometimes, it is just one person. Other times, it is a team of several people. I had two experienced techs at the Kerr: David, responsible for stage lighting, and Mitchell, who handled sound and images. All started well enough, but I was not performing well when I got to the new part. We practiced the same material a couple of times. I told the techs we should move on, and fortunately, the rest of the show ran smoothly. Since it was just 3 pm Saturday, I decided I'd be okay with a few more hours of dedicated work. When I'm having trouble remembering my lines, I do the following: I re-record them on an App named LineLearner. I then hit the trails (or streets) and hike or walk around, listening and repeating the lines. The physical movement is essential to the learning process for me. I start with one sentence, then another, and in a matter of hours, I can remember bigger and bigger chunks of the script. Back home (or in a hotel room), I write out the vexing lines with multiple colors pens. Sometimes, I'll write the same line in longhand -- five, six, ten times over. I did his Saturday evening (before and after my dinner break with friends). I went to sleep, confident I was ready. Early Sunday morning, I set out on my walk and started reciting my lines. Soon, dread seeped in. YIKES, I didn't have my lines down. I was due at the theater at noon but decided to go earlier to warm up and get more practice. The house was set to open at 1:30 pm, with the show starting at 2 pm. The techs and I agreed to run the hour-long show at noon, allowing us enough time to fix any glitches before the doors opened. About 20 minutes into the show, I was still messing up repeatedly when I got to the new material. Freak out time. Let's forgo the rest of the rehearsal, I told the techs. I returned to the Green Room, heart pounding, palms sweating. Take a deep breath; now take another deep breath. Calm down. It will all be OK, I reminded myself. I pulled out my colorful pens and a piece of paper, wrote down several bullet points, and made a flow chart. I told myself I didn't need to know my specific lines; I just needed to remember the sequence. First, the 1963 Birmingham Church bombing, then the racially motivated killings this past decade: Mother Emmanuel Church, Tree of Life Synagogue, El Paso Walmart, Pulse Nightclub, the passage of historic Civil Rights Acts in the 60s, George Floyd, Rodney King, Jose Campos Torres, ethnic studies, the fight against CRT, Justice Ketanji Jackson's Senate Confirmation hearing. This random listing of events won't mean anything to you unless you saw the Scottsdale show. But this list guided the story I was sharing with the audience. I walked around the room (fortunately, it was a nice-sized room,) imagining the flow of the story. Then, repeating this sequence, I danced to my eclectic preshow playlist, including Little Joe, Etta James, Rolling Stones, and Donna Summers. Finally, there was a knock on the door, showtime. Without a doubt, I was more nervous than at other times. Within a few minutes, after getting some laughs from the audience, I felt at ease, at one with the universe. When I got to the portion that had vexed me for several days, the lines flowed as they were supposed to. What a relief; the rest of the show was smooth sailing. Thanks to my SF Bay Area friends who have seen my show and recommended it to their Phoenix peeps. (Maria, Ellen, Gilda, Bonnie, I'm looking at you, and I know there are others). It brought me such joy when Maria shared part of an email from her friend who had attended. “So glad to learn of Irma Herrera's work, which was very entertaining, funny, poignant, and educational. It gave me pause as I contemplated her journey and a deeper understanding of some of her and others in similar circumstances, experiences, and challenges. She has new fans in Arizona.” ~Janet If you saw my Kerr Theater performance, I'd be happy to get a testimonial from you, too. I welcome any leads to theaters in Phoenix, Tucson, or Flagstaff as I'd love to return to Arizona.

I have so many stories I want to share with you on my Stairwell Teatro and look forward to doing so in the new year. Travels in November and getting ready for my show in Arizona earlier this month kept me from recording new episodes. Here's one about an amusing exchange with a young barista. While visiting Scottsdale, I stayed at a hotel across the street from a Starbucks. Before heading out for my morning walk, I stopped in every morning. I had a wonderful time performing at the Kerr Center in Scottsdale, Arizona and have much more to share about that early next week. I hope that you and your loved ones are well as you gather to celebrate whatever traditions are followed in your homes. You can watch the previous twelve episodes of my Stairwell Teatro in just over a half-hour since individual stories are typically around two minutes. Click here for the playlist.

Just returned from 2+ weeks in Egypt, and the jet lag got to me at this end. In Egypt, we saw remarkable temples, tombs, pyramids, and obelisks dating back thousands of years. Seeing the quarries where they mined the limestone, sandstone, and marble to construct these grand structures was awe-inspiring. The testament to the human imagination and the desire to create beauty and leave one's mark. The need to be seen and remembered is universal. Pharaohs and royalty made sure they created the grandest of monuments to themselves (often seeking to erase those who preceded them and distorting the history of succession). Quarries were often hundreds of miles from these temples, and the colossal building blocks were transported on boats when the Nile flooded during the summer. In my mind’s eye, I can see the hundreds and thousands of highly skilled laborers and craftsmen chiseling away to create the beautiful carvings at these temples. Beyond the archeologic points of interest, I was equally eager to learn about people’s lives in Egypt today, especially women, with whom we rarely interacted. All of our guides were men, as was the crew of 12 people on the dahabeeyah (sailboat), where the 15 passengers spent five days on the Nile, stopping along the way to visit archeological sites. I had the opportunity to speak numerous times with crew members and guides and was curious about the lives of their wives and daughters. I will be sharing more about this trip in future blogs. For now, here is a Stairwell Episode about Nobuko, who was our guide last year for two weeks while we traveled in Japan. AND I’m super psyched about my trip to Phoenix next month to perform my last 2023 show at ASU’s Kerr Cultural Center. If you know people in Phoenix, I’d love to connect with them and tell them about my show. Tickets at this link. You can watch the previous eleven episodes of my Stairwell Teatro in about a half-hour since individual stories are typically around two minutes. Click here for the playlist.

I'm on a two-week trip to Egypt, and before leaving, I recorded several episodes of my Stairwell Teatro. Episode 11 is a story about someone reclaiming the pronunciation of the name their parents gave them. This is a recurrent theme of name stories that folks share with me. Posts about this topic appear regularly on LinkedIn and typically generate hundreds of comments. No matter where I travel, I always find name stories. On arrival in Cairo last week, we were met at the airport by Mohamed, whom I greeted like an old friend as I’d been communicating with Mohamed (at the Egyptian travel agency) for several months. He explained that he was a different Mohamed than the one I'd been emailing at the Nour el Nil agency. He added that Mohamed was a common name, and we would meet many Mohameds during our time in Egypt. And so it is. Almost every day, we meet a new Mohamed, who is likely to tell us his middle name -- Abdul, Ahmed, Hussein (just three examples). Mohameds lightheartedly joke that if you call out the name, more than half the men will respond. So best to use their middle names. One Month Away-- December 10 I'll perform the final 2023 show at ASU's Kerr Cultural Center on December 10th in Scottsdale, AZ. Spread the word to friends or family in the Phoenix area. I'm excited to see long-time Arizona friends and to meet new ones. You can watch the previous ten episodes of my Stairwell Teatro in a half-hour since individual stories are typically around two minutes. Click here for the playlist.

Felipe Jason’s story continues to pain me. His wife shared this with me after seeing one of my shows. To protect his privacy, I changed his names -- keeping a distinctly Latino first name and a typically white-sounding middle name. Felipe has done everything to set himself up for success in mainstream corporate America, finished college with distinction, got an MBA from an Ivy League School, and landed a job with an investment firm, he was ready. While some job seekers whitewash their resumes so that their ethnic/racial backgrounds are less salient (if at all noticeable), Felipe didn’t do this. This article in The Atlantic, about whitewashing, may be of interest. Click here to read. It reports on academic research that confirms that minority job seekers who whiten their resumes are likelier to be more successful at securing interviews and getting job offers. Although now several years old, this article is interesting and relevant at many levels, especially as conservative factions are seeking to eliminate programs that recruit employees from underrepresented groups. Even more surprising in this situation is that Felipe had worked with this firm the previous summer and colleagues had then used his first name. Only after they had hired him did his employer unilaterally decide to whiten Felipe for their clients by using his “more acceptable” (to them) middle name. True, it was his name, and he did include it in his resume, it just wasn’t the name he used. It’s hard for me to imagine that Felipe could thrive in this environment, although it is my great home that he succeeded and that his career did get off to a good start. I was reminded about a similar story two-name story that was shared by a woman lawyer, whom I’ll call Ann, who was waiting for her case to be called on the motion calendar at Alameda County courtroom in Oakland, California. The young male lawyer introduced himself (again, I’ve changed the names). Counsel: Good morning, Your Honor, David Levy-Jones, on behalf of the plaintiff, John Doe. Judge: Counsel, which is it Levy or Jones? Counsel: Your Honor, It’s Levy-Jones, a hyphenated last name. Judge: Not in my courtroom it isn’t. Which should I use? Ann said you could have heard a pin drop in the courtroom. Everyone’s eyes looked up from their papers and zeroed in on the rookie lawyer at the podium. She wondered if the judge didn’t like hyphenated last names because women typically used them but didn’t want to seem biased against women, so he picked on a man with a hyphenated last name. Ann, who is Jewish, said, I also wondered whether the judge was putting him through some loyalty test asking him to choose one name over the other. She added, “this exchange made me very uncomfortable. If he picks the Jewish last name will that be a bad or good thing?" Levy-Jones told him he could use Jones. That story made me equally uncomfortable. Hopefully, that Judge is now no longer on the bench. I am always amazed by the name stories that come my way. Heading to Phoenix in December Just five weeks to my ASU show. If you know folks in the Phoenix area, please let them know I’ll be on December 10th performing my final live show this year at Arizona State University’s Kerr Cultural Center in Scottsdale, AZ. Spread the word to friends or family in the Phoenix area. I promise you the best show I’ve got. Click here for tickets. You can watch the previous nine episodes of my Stairwell Teatro in a half-hour since individual stories are typically around two minutes. Click here for the playlist.

I love research studies, especially those examining bias and discrimination. This episode references the 2003 National Bureau of Economic Research study titled Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? This study sent out 5,000 identical resumes concerning education and experience for jobs advertised in the Boston and Chicago areas. The only difference in the resumes was the names of the applicants. Applicants with Black-sounding names were less likely to be invited to interview for jobs than applicants with White-sounding names. Read the study here. As I mentioned in this Stairwell Episode, these studies have also been done in other countries, reaching the same conclusion. Applicants are perceived as “more qualified” or are of greater interest to employers if their names suggest they are members of the dominant (ruling) group in that country. Name discrimination expands well beyond the employment arena. It could deny access to an apartment or home, or it may keep your child from being admitted into a preschool, as was reported in this article for Wired (UK), where British parents with Muslim-identified names were told there was no space in a preschool, but persons with White-sounding names who inquired about openings were offered spaces. The Wired (UK) article also references the GEMM Study (GEMM stands for Growth, Equal Opportunities, Migration, and Markets), which is a comparative analysis of hiring discrimination across 53 ethnic groups in five European countries: Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Norway, and the Netherlands. The data analyzes cultural differences, religion, phenotype, and soft and hard skills of job applicants. Read the GEMM study here. The results are consistent with studies from the United States, and the GEMM Study found that ethnic minorities needed to send 60 percent more applications to get as many callbacks as the white majority. Countries with a longer history of immigration from former colonies seemed to have higher rates of discrimination, according to this study. British employers were the most discriminatory compared to Norway, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands. “We were a bit surprised by that,” says Valentina di Stasio, an assistant professor at Utrecht University who worked on the research. “In Britain (name discrimination) is very high by international standards.” And if this topic interests you, and you share my nerdy tendencies, here is another interesting article here. Heading to Phoenix in December Know someone in the Phoenix area? Maybe you even live there yourself. If so, I hope to see you on December 10th when I perform my final live show this year at Arizona State University’s Kerr Cultural Center in Scottsdale, AZ. Spread the word to friends or family in the Phoenix area. I promise you the best show I’ve got. Click here for tickets. You can watch the previous eight episodes of my Stairwell Teatro in under 30 minutes since individual stories are typically around two minutes. Click here for the playlist.