Living a Dream The first time I came to Europe I was 30, and I had already been a lawyer for several years. I had dreamed of travel since I was a muchachita. I checked out books at the two-room public library in Alice, Texas and had travelled the world and through time -- thanks to the written word. On my first trip to Europe I visited Paris and Rome, and I fell in love with both, but I somehow felt more at home in Rome and two years later I quit my law job at MALDEF (Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund) and went to Rome for several months to study Italian and to . . . become Italian, which of course I did not. All this was made possible because I had met a young researcher from Rome, Michele (pron. Mi-ke-leh) who was at UC Berkeley’s Center for the Study of Social Change for one year. I became friends with this Italian writer/academic who told me his apartment in Rome was vacant for the year he was in the SF Bay Area and I was welcome to use it (free of charge) while he was at Berkeley. At that time, I lived in San Francisco, and for several weeks, Michele stayed at my apartment while he looked for a place to live. Note this Michele is a male name, although it is also the spelling of a woman’s name. I saved my money, quit my job, and went off to Rome. I studied Italian several months and my Italian was good enough to do a radio program on Chicanas in the US. Michele’s friends, including the one with a radio program on women’s rights, were activists interested in minority rights around the world. Michele wrote about African immigrants in Italy, and about genocide in Bosnia. Michele and I have remained friends for decades, and after Paris we are heading to Rome to visit him and his family -- his Japanese wife Rika (who has lived in Rome for decades) and their four children (now all young adults). We expect to make a stop in Torino to visit with other friends. After Rome back in the early 1980s, I decided to become a writer. I had published one piece at that point. When I was at MALDEF, I had penned an op-ed piece on bilingual education which the NY Times published. Actually, that was my second published piece, I had written an op-ed for The University of Notre Dame’s newspaper when I was in law school, in support of affirmative action. Great, I thought, I’ll become a writer. Foolish and ignorant, but that was just as well, as I just followed my heart and started writing about things I cared about. I did that for several years and thanks to Mary Jo McConahay, my first writing teacher, I was introduced to Sandy Close at Pacific News Services. Sandy hired me to do two pieces a month. I am forever grateful to both these amazing women. Check out Mary Jo's website, and if you've not read any of her books or newspaper pieces, learn more about her here. Studying French But I digress. Another dream of mine was to live in Paris and study French. One month here this summer is getting my feet wet. My spouse Mark and I are in Paris for a month, although he is not here the entire time. He is headed for a European conference on Energy Efficiency most of this week. I enrolled last week at The Alliance Française for four weeks of French classes. I’m not a true beginner, but it has been decades since I formally studied French. It is so humbling to write like a 3rd grader. Still, I am enjoying my classes, and start a slightly more advanced level on Monday. The students at Alliance Français are from all over the world. Ismael I thought might be Latinx given his name and physical appearance but he’s Pakistani. This middle-aged man comes to school in a suit so I surmise he is a businessman. Madonna from London tells me she was born in Ghana. An Asian-American woman from San Francisco is a project manager in technology and her husband, a programmer. They have moved to Paris and are looking for jobs. A young woman, originally from Peru, is a graduate of San Diego State and has lived in the US since she was a girl. Her husband has a job in Paris. Others in the class include a psychologist from Buenos Aires, an architect from Venice, and an MBA student from Shanghai. It’s definitely an interesting group, and EVERYONE speaks excellent English. I joined a gym not far from my place to continue my HIIT classes (Hi Intensity Interval Training). It seems like everyone speaks around me speaks good English when they realize my French is, shall we say, weak. No question English is the language of the world of business and technology and everyday life for many. Yet, here we are, hundreds of folks enrolled in various levels of French study. French continues to be an important language for commerce and within international organizations. I just completed my first week of school and it is both exhilarating and challenging to spend four hours in class (one 15-minute break half-way) learning a language. The hard part of being a student is offset by being in Paris, where there’s always something interesting going on in public, whether it’s just observing people enjoying a picnic at Champs de Mars by the Eiffel Tower or demonstrators bringing attention to their issues. Although I haven’t sees the Yellow Vests, the previous weekend, I did saw hundreds of police officers in full-riot gear storming and getting in formation blocking the entrance to The Opera at the Place de la Bastille, a few blocks from our house. At that time I did not know what occasioned the heavy police presence, and it was frightening to see hundreds of police cars, buses, and motorcycles. Many of the police covered their faces with black baklavas, only their eyes showing. They were equipped with full riot gear, sticks, machine guns, and shields. Only later did I learn the police presence was in response to the Yellow Vests marching towards the Bastille. Two other demonstrations last weekend, one I couldn’t determine what it was about. The other was to celebrate and thank the French people for lending a hand to the people of Biafra. Beauty Everywhere and Keeping Memories Alive My friend Leonard Pitt, from Berkeley, who lived in Paris many years and who has written several books about Paris, www.leonardpitt.com, (do check out his website) says the best time to see Notre Dame is in the early morning when the light is so beautiful. So today at 6 am I headed out the door and walked there. Police officers with machine guns are posted at every entrance for worker crews restoring the Cathedral since the terrible fire several weeks ago. Even behind the scaffolding Notre Dame Cathedral is a site to behold. Paris inspires awe. At this time of day, few are around–some joggers and of course the municipal workers cleaning the streets. (All the ones I saw were men and one woman of African ancestry). Like in the US, dark skinned people doing the work of cleaning and caring. Brown women pushing carriages with light skinned children, and brown men cleaning streets and delivering Uber eats. I am struck by the sheer number of beautifully maintained parks tucked away in the various neighborhoods. Many a park is named after a writer, or philosopher. Some honor children from that neighborhood, deported and killed at Nazi death camps with the complicity of the Vichy government. I read their names: Albert Fefer, 3, Lejzer Fefer, 2, Paulette Fefer, 2 months. I imagine their parents were killed too. The word deported so heavy and ominous, and my thoughts turn to the thousands of children separated from their parents at the Mexico-US border. What a terrible thing to do to these families. I meander at random and a see a plaque in a large building where Arnaud Marty-Lavauzelle, an AIDS activist, had resided during his life. So important to remember, and pay tribute. I am so lucky to have the opportunity to take several weeks from my day to day life and pluck myself away from the Bay Area and to experience something totally new. Someday, if and when your life circumstances permit, give yourself this gift. A bientôt!

Identity Definition Merriam-Webster 1. a: The distinguishing character or personality of an individual b: The relation established by psychological identification 2. The condition of being the same with something described or asserted Cambridge Dictionary Who a person is, or the qualities of a person or group that make them different from others. Collins Dictionary Your identity is who you are. What are you? Your race, ethnicity? Gender/Sex? Where do you live? Religious preference, if any? What do you do for a living? Level of education? Where did you grow up? Where did you go to school? These are some of the questions we are asked when completing forms, or that come up in chit chat when we first meet people. Our identities are tied up with all this and so much more. Who Am I and Who Are YOU? When I think of my identity, the list of descriptors is long: Chicana (which of course also identifies me by gender), feminista, madre, writer, activista, Tejana, Californian, malcriada, spouse, sister, tia, multilingual, hard-worker, lawyer, lifelong learner, helper, friend, storyteller, hiker, adventurer, world citizen . . . and I can list many more characteristics that are part of my identity. The above, to my mind are positives, I didn't list the negative traits, like criticona, that are also part of my identity, but they are there as well. And who are YOU? Take a few minutes and jot down the characteristics that are the key to your identity. What might these tell you about the influences that shaped you? How has your identity changed over the years? I have several friends who were raised in one faith, who now embrace a different religion, how does that happen? Others whose gender is different from that assigned at birth. I am glad to be living at a time and place where we can express our true identities, where we have more freedom to find our place in the world. Sadly, we also live in a world of intolerance where those threatened by differences and by change can and do act violently toward others. Trans women experience high levels of violence, and of course, we have read about the large number of missing and murdered Native American women. We hear the word “identity politics” uttered with disdain as if there is something wrong with people, who have been historically excluded from opportunities, to band together to press for changes that would allow us the chance to be our best selves and to fulfill our potential and our dreams. These are some of the things that are front and center on my mind. I read about these topics in books, scholarly journals, popular press, social media. I discuss them with friends and colleagues. I often read and hear things that give me pause, “hmmm, I want to understand more about this.” These are the themes in my one-woman show, Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? and in presentations I make to lawyers about being more aware of our biases and thoughts about how to reduce them. And it is what I blog about. Prejudice and Bias I bet you’ve heard people say I don’t have a prejudiced bone in my body, I treat everyone equally, I don’t see race, I don’t judge people by their backgrounds. Right . . . Donald Trump has repeatedly said, “I am the least racist person you have ever met.” Well, we all have biases and if you want to learn more about how we get them and what we can do about not acting on these implicit or “unconscious” biases, I highly recommend Jennifer Eberhardt’s book, Biased. Dr. Eberhardt, a professor at Stanford is a MacArthur Genius Award recipient. The book is an enjoyable and very accessible read with valuable information about stereotyping and how it works and the devastating consequences it is having on our lives and in our communities. Check out her talk to the National Academy of Sciences, by clicking here. Podcast Conversation at Attorney Heart I recently spoke with Fernando Flores on his podcast Attorney Heart. Our wide-ranging conversation touches upon issues of identity, community, and how we can make the world a better place. You can listen to the podcast by clicking here. I’m heading off to Europe for six weeks. I never had a semester abroad in college, so I’m giving one to myself. I'll be studying French in Paris, and I look forward to sharing some of my adventures with you over the next few weeks. I'm already bracing myself for the “you don’t look like an American” comment, which annoys me, no matter where I hear it. Thanks so much for reading my blog, and if this is the first time you receive it, welcome. #Bias #Prejudice #SocialJustice #Identity

Many communities of faith have days of celebration, reflection, atonement, and forgiveness in the Spring. Christians observe Easter and Jews gather for Passover. There are also important dates for followers of Jainism, Islam, Hinduism, and Native Americans, to name but a few. A very interesting list of these important days is available here. As a Catholic kid who went to parochial school, I dreaded Lent. After mass on Ash Wednesday the sisters would ask each of us “what are you giving up for Lent?” Talk about pressure. Some kids gave up movies, others candy, or watching tv. Each year I gave up Coca-Cola, a drink that I detested and never drank, but the nuns didn’t know that. I wasn’t exactly the model parochial school student. Easter was a joyous occasion, my mother would make me and my sisters pastel colored dresses we would wear to Easter Mass. And after Mass there was a picnic with family and friends where we kids searched for the Easter eggs the grownups had hidden. We had so much fun at that picnic, chasing each other with our arsenal of cascarones, which are colorful eggshells filled with confetti, and painted with the same dye we colored Easter eggs. Throughout Lent we kids begged our mothers to make eggs (anytime possible) requiring that they carefully remove the contents thought a 50-cent piece sized hole on top of the egg, leaving the shell intact. The shell was washed and put back in the egg carton. On Saturday before Easter we painted the eggshells along with the Easter eggs. We then filled them with confetti and covered the hole with tissue paper and put our beautiful cascarones back in the egg cartons, just as you see in the picture. Geez, while searching for images of cascarones, I learned that you can buy them on Amazon. Will wonders never cease. Easter always brought fond memories, but an exchange with a friend around her Annual Easter Brunch and Egg Hunt 25 years ago, was so unpleasant that the memory still stings. I recently recounted the experience by telling this Easter Story, Have You Ever Wanted to Un-read or Un-know Something? on stage at San Francisco’s Solo Sunday. It’s a 20 minute video, have a look. Easter is a time of celebration and renewal and as we celebrate all that is good and hopeful in our lives, let us remember those whose life circumstances are bleak especially the migrant families in detention or separated from their children. Give generously to causes that assist individuals and communities in need. Wishing all a wonderful weekend ahead, whatever you may celebrate or observe. #bigotry #lgbtq #Easter

March is my birthday month, and I recently came upon this photo of last year's b'day cake with a line from my show -- you can remember my name isn’t UR-ma by thinking of “Ear-muff.” My one-woman show, Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? completed a successful 5-month run and closed last weekend at The Berkeley Marsh Theater. Thank you to all who attended. I was so pleased with the full houses both Saturday evening and on Sunday’s final matinee. An absolute thrill to receive standing ovations from both these audiences that were undoubtedly feeling extra generous given that it was my closing weekend. If only, every performance could be on a closing weekend! When my show opened in San Francisco in late October 2018 for a seven-week run, I was a bit nervous about whether folks would come. True, I had drawn strong attendance at earlier shows when I performed two weekends in a row, or on a single evening, and during the SF Fringe Festival. Would my work appeal to folks beyond my network of friends and Marsh Theater regulars? But came they did, and people told their friends and colleagues, and folks kept showing up, some coming to the play more than once. These audiences garnered me a six-week extension through the year-end holiday season. Again, I wondered if holiday parties would minimize attendance. But audiences did not disappoint, and folks showed up. I performed 12 weeks in San Francisco and then my play migrated across the bay to The Marsh in Berkeley. The Berkeley Run opened on Super Bowl Sunday, and naysayers (including my spouse) thought that attendance would be low. Since I know lots of people who don’t watch football, my play offered an alternative to Super Bowl Sunday. Plus . . . I had the good fortune of having Betty Reid Soskin, one of the Bay Area luminaries as my inaugural talkback speaker. Betty’s fan base did not disappoint, and my Berkeley run got off to a great start. Big shout out to my friend LaNon Gillins who brought Betty to my show in San Francisco and introduced me to her. If you don't know who this amazing woman is, click here to read why Glamour Magazine named her one of 2018 Glamour's Women Of The Year. Wonderful story and beautiful photos and videos of Betty. You can now watch the low-tech iPhone video of the 35-minute conversation Betty and I had about her remarkable life when she was one of my talkback speakers. It resides on my website, just click here. Betty is beloved and respected well beyond the Bay Area. Here’s a picture of Betty with singer, songwriter, producer, actor and all-around amazing human being, John Legend, (can you tell I’m a fan) and the former Mayor of New Orleans. When Legend and Mitch Landrieu found themselves in the same venue with Betty, they marched right over to get their picture with her. It was an honor to perform Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? 19 times in San Francisco and an additional 15 in Berkeley. The issues addressed in my play remain as relevant today as they were when the events recounted in the play were unfolding decades earlier. Recently Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was mocked on Fox News for pronouncing her name correctly, accused of exaggerating how she says it, doing that “Latino Thing.” She promptly hit back hard on twitter schooling Fox on what the Latina Thing really is. More here. This past week an elected official in Houston, Judge Lina Hidalgo, was criticized by Mike Tice, an elected official from a neighboring county for speaking Spanish at a news conference. Judge Hidalgo used her bilingual skills when addressing English and Spanish news media covering a massive chemical leak that presented a public health emergency to the residents of Houston, Texas. The Commissioner called Judge Hidalgo “a joke. English, this is not Mexico," Tice wrote. He further added in an interview, “it’s real simple. This is the United States. Speak English. If you come to this country, learn the language or get an interpreter.” For the record, Judge Hidalgo was speaking fluent English and Spanish in the press briefing, she did not need an interpreter to communicate with the press. More info here. My play is not going away, it is just on hiatus for several months, as I work on other projects and pursue performance opportunities at several universities and some theater venues outside of the Bay Area. I will keep you posted. I am also taking some time off and traveling in Europe, and brushing up my French in language school in Paris for a few weeks, something I have wanted to do for decades. Seize the day. Profite de l’instant present. Carpe Diem. All those reminders about not waiting for tomorrow are really speaking loudly to me. Upcoming Bay Area Performances of Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? If you missed my play, or if you want to tell others who might be interested in seeing it, I will be one of the featured performers in Brian Copeland’s The Best of SF Solo Series, with one show in San Rafael on October 12, 2019. Next spring, as The Best of SF Solo Series continues, I will perform in San Leandro on March 6, 7 & 8th. Info and tickets will be available here. A Special One-Off Mini Show Excited to be performing at Solo Sundays on Sunday, April 17, a new stand-alone 15- minute piece called Have You Ever Wanted to Un-See or Un-Know Something? This show has nothing to do with names, it’s about the disappointment and anger that comes with learning that someone isn’t as fair-minded and accepting of others as you believed them to be. It’s also got a lot of humor. I’ll be sharing the stage with three other performers, Kelly R. Kelly, Steve Budd, and Evelyn Jean Pine. If you’ve never been to Solo Sundays at StageWerx on Valencia Street in San Francisco, you are in for a treat. I’m looking forward to seeing what my fellow performers are bringing to the stage. More info and tickets at solosundays.com. New to My Newsletter? For those of you who are receiving my newsletter for the first time, thanks for reading this, and if you enjoy what you read, share it with friends. I look forward to staying in touch. Now that my run is over, I’ll soon be turning my attention to writing on issues of social justice. So stay tuned for upcoming blogs. #activism #socialjustice #MispronounceMyOwnName #AOC #LatinaThing #respect

March 8 -- it's International Women's Day, and women are leading and have been leading the way in so many arenas, too often without recognition. So pleased that my talkback guests this weekend are two women leaders. Saturday, March 9 (5 pm showtime) Navigating Disability: Trump Era’s Clarion Call for Advocates and Activists to Come Out of the (Inaccessible) Closet with Ingrid Tischer The Disability Rights Movement is an important part of this nation’s civil rights history. And Berkeley has always been a hot-bed of activism. Ingrid Tischer is a disability rights activist, writer, and blogger at Tales from The Crip, https://talesfromthecrip.org/author/ingridtischer/ (yes, that’s what she titled her blog). She is the Development Director of Disability Rights Education Defense Fund (DREDF). I had the pleasure of working with Ingrid when she and I were both at Equal Rights Advocates. A talented writer and thought leader Ingrid brings lots of heart and passion to her work. Read more about Ingrid here. Sunday, March 10 (2 pm showtime) The 50th Anniversary of Ethnic Studies: Its Influence beyond Campus, with Juanita Tamayo Lott The debate over ethnic studies is still alive and well. Some propose that ethnic studies be part of all school districts’ K-12 curriculum. Others take the position that ethnic studies create antipathy towards whites and should be abolished. Fifty years ago, Juanita Tamayo was among the leaders of the student strike at San Francisco State University. This movement, started by The Black Student Union and The Third World Liberation Front, led to the creation of ethnic studies departments. Juanita Tamayo Lott went on to a distinguished career as a demographer and statistician and has written extensively about identity and race. Juanita will be signing copies of her memoir, Golden Children: Legacy of Ethnic Studies, SF State, following the talkback. Read this interesting article about Juanita here. One of the biggest rewards of doing my one-woman show Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? is what happens right after most shows. These talkbacks are on-stage conversations with civil rights leaders who share the important work they are doing with the audience. These 30-minute conversations have been videotaped, and once the run is over, I’ll have time to see them and to reflect on the conversations. I will be sharing these videos on my website over the next few weeks. A few are already available at https://www.irmaherrera.com/video Looking forward to this weekend’s shows and to hearing from Ingrid and Juanita. And what have audiences been saying about Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? Here's some of the buzz: “Humorous, clever, poignant, and very revelatory of the social experiences and interactions of many Mexican-Americans with American institutions and non-Hispanic whites. I would say it is a must see: very enjoyable yet so informative.” ~Norma "Irma Herrera's exploration of confronting racism on her path as a first-generation professional is moving and revealing. Herrera's decision to give up a career as a leading civil rights lawyer to become a performance artist turns out to have been a shift in method, not message or calling. SEE THIS SHOW! ~ David Oppenheimer, UC Berkeley, Clinical Professor of Law Irma’s thoughtful, humorous, challenging, personal presentation, reminded us how racism can creep into daily crevices of life. It was an hour well-spent . . . though her thought-provoking, live memoir sticks with you long after the lights go down.” ~Steve Thrush Here's the 411: The Marsh Theater Berkeley 2120 Allston Way (between Shattuck & Oxford, ½ block from Downtown Berkeley BART) Student Discount: $10 for ALL shows with use of discount code: “law”. Tickets start at $20 at http://bit.ly/BklyMarsh #civilrights #ethnicstudies #disabilityrights #MispronounceMyOwnName #activism #womenleaders

It has been such an honor and joy to present my one-woman show, Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? in the San Francisco Bay Area these past four months. I am now entering the homestretch with two performances weekly: Saturday at 5 pm and Sunday at 2 pm at The Berkeley Marsh Theater. Although the show previously had two extensions, I have other commitments including travel plans, so it is definitely closing on Sunday, March 24th. The Marsh Theater describes my show this way: “What’s in a name? A minefield of misplaced notions – comical, sad, demeaning. Irma’s observations from the front-lines, notes from American history, and laugh out-loud humor allow us to consider what it will take for all of us to get along.” I have been very gratified by the positive reactions from audience members and the press: “Put @irmadherrera's theater piece, "Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name?" on your to-do list . . . Personal and deeply thought-provoking on issues of identity important for us to think about today." ~Prof. Marsha Cohen, Hastings College of the Law (tweet) “Irma’s stories mix truth with humor, sadness with joy . . . heartfelt and spreads the understanding we sorely need today." ~Theatrius Review "You hear people say "Art is Resistance". . . well this definitely fits that bill! You are taken on a journey with Irma from childhood, adolescence to adulthood. Her experiences navigating sexism and racism pull you in because they are so relatable. Your memory is provoked regarding your own personal story about power dynamics and how they relate to your name, identity, culture, gender, ethnicity, immigration status and/or profession.” ~Vicky Castro (Facebook Post) “Speaks volumes about the ingrained power structures in American society.” ~Mercury News Yep, it’s all that and more. Here's a clip from an earlier show: Talkbacks During the run in San Francisco, I had 30-minute talkbacks on various social justice themes with invited guests. For these last shows, I am mixing it up a bit. After some shows, I look forward to hearing any name stories you wish to offer. It’s always interesting to hear your experiences with respect to your name and identity. I am also happy to answer any questions or hear your comments about the play. March 2: No invited talkback guest March 3: Environmental Justice and Civil Rights with Yana Garcia Yana Garcia was appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in June 2017, to serve as Assistant Secretary for Environmental Justice and Tribal Affairs at the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA). She has spent her legal career working on environmental justice. Click here for more info. March 9: Navigating Disability: Trump Era’s Clarion Call for Advocates and Activists to Come Out of the (Inaccessible) Closet with Ingrid Tischer Ingrid Tischer is a Bay Area–based fundraiser and non–profit manager at Disability Rights Educational Defense Fund (DREDF). She is also a fiction and non-fiction writer and hosts the website, Tales From The Crip. Click here for more info. March 10: The 50th Anniversary of Ethnic Studies: Its Influence Beyond Campus with Juanita Tamayo Lott Juanita Tamayo Lott was one of the student strikers at the historic 1968 SF State BSU/TWLF strike. The distinguished demographer and statistician is a thought leader and has written extensively about ethnic and racial identity. Click here for more info. March 16: No invited talkback guest March 17: No invited talkback guest March 23: Lawyers Writers: People of Color Making an Impact Through Fiction, Non-Fiction and Poetry with Sara Campos & Adam Smyer Sara and Adam are recognized not just for their legal skills, but also for their writing chops, and they participated in two previous post-show talkbacks in San Francisco. The conversations were so interesting and engaging that I invited them a third time and they accepted. Click here for more info. March 24: No invited talkback guest on closing night Best of SF Solo Series – Coming in October 2019 The only other Bay Area performance in 2019 of Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? will be on Sunday, October 13, 2019 at 7 pm at The Marin Center in San Rafael. My play is one of the five featured shows in Brian Copeland’s Best of SF Solo Series. For more information about the Best of SF Solo and to buy tickets visit http://bestofsfsolo.com/marin-19-20.html. Delighted to be part of this series along with solo performers Diane Barnes, Marga Gomez, Brian Copeland, and Steve Budd. The 411 for the Berkeley Marsh Run Two shows a week: Saturday 5 pm and Sunday 2 pm. Ends March 24th. The Marsh Theater 2120 Allston Way (between Shattuck and Oxford Streets) ½ block from Downtown Berkeley BART $10 Student Discount with use of discount code: “law” for all shows Tickets start at $20 + $2 service fee Purchase at http://bit.ly/IrmaHerrera_Berkeley #respect #MispronounceMyOwnName #socialjustice #ImmigrantRights #discrimination #equality

Topping the list of the many things I am grateful for is being a bilingual Spanish speaker. This was the language of our home and there was never any question that we would speak it. We lived in a segregated Mexican-American community and attended a segregated parochial school. Everyone around us spoke Spanish. AND we kids were also fluent English speakers. Efforts by the nuns at St. Joseph’s to punish the Spanish out of us were unsuccessful. “Es-panish not allowed, you will be pined one knee-kol.” The nuns, who were from the Philippines, treated us like colonial subjects and they were hell-bent on turning us into monolingual English speakers. In their minds, real Americans were people who spoke only English. You know the old joke. What do you call a person who speaks two languages? Bilingual. A person who speaks three language? Trilingual. And a person who speaks only one language: American. Many an afternoon I’d report back home to my mother that I had been fined (a penny or nickel) or otherwise punished for speaking Spanish. Her response: “diles que el que habla dos idiomas cuenta por dos.” Tell the sisters that someone who speaks two languages has the value of two persons. That was not a persuasive argument to the nuns and they offered no explanation as to why we should speak ONLY English. Still we persisted and we grew up bilingual as did every single person who went to St. Joseph’s. My first encounter with Mexican-Americans kids who did not speak Spanish came when our family travelled to Austin (three+ hours north of Alice, our hometown of 18,000, in South Central Texas) to visit friends of our parents who had moved there. That was such a weird experience -- being with kids who looked just like us but only spoke English. Wha???? It blew my mind. In college and beyond I met other Latinx who were monolingual English speakers and typically they had grown up in urban areas and in more racially integrated environments. Some parents wanted to shield their kids from the discrimination they had encountered and enforced an English-only rule in their homes. They hoped that if their kids spoke “perfect” English they would be more acceptable and treated better. There was also plenty of shaming done by fellow classmates. “This is America, stop talking Mexican!” I meet plenty of Latinx folks who do not speak Spanish. “Hey Rodriguez, what do you mean you don’t speak Spanish?” Some bristle at these encounters and a few have shared with me that they harbor resentment toward their parents for not teaching them Spanish. Blame a racist society, I say, not your parents. “If it’s important to you,” I tell them, “it is totally within your power to learn Spanish. And if it isn’t, then make peace with it. Your parents were doing what they thought would give you the greatest opportunity. Don’t fault them for that.” I love knowing Spanish and I speak it frequently with friends. Some are NOT native speakers but learned it at school and speak it beautifully (tip of the hat, you know who you are). But lately I confess the following. I become anxious when I am in public places (especially on BART, the Bay Area’s subway system) and I overhear people speaking Spanish (or Arabic). I’m on guard, waiting for someone to make some nasty comment directed at these folks. I was reminded of this when reading the news story about the ACLU lawsuit on behalf of two United States citizens detained by a US Customs and Border Enforcement agent in a small town in Montana, who overheard the women chatting with each other in Spanish in a convenience store. https://www.aclu.org/news/aclu-files-lawsuit-behalf-us-citizens-detained-speaking-spanish After showing their valid Montana driver’s licenses, they were not allowed to leave the store’s parking lot. Other agents were called to the scene to further investigate them. They asked the agent whether he was racially profiling them. “Ma’am the reason I asked you for your ID is I came in here and I saw you guys are speaking Spanish, which is very unheard of up here,” the agent said, looking into the camera. The women videotaped the encounter with the officer. Ana Suda, who was born in Texas, inquired of the officer’s supervisor, who had come to the scene, whether they would have been detained had they been speaking French. The suit alleges that his reply was, “No,” we don’t do that.” So friends, parlez-vous away. Do you worry that speaking Spanish in public spaces might bring negative attention toward you? Let me hear from you on this point. My one-woman show, Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? explores these and other issues of living while brown in the US. If you live in the SF Bay Area, I hope you’ll come see it. NOW in BERKELEY Sundays 2 pm The Marsh Arts Center 2021 Allston Way (between Oxford and Shattuck) 1/2 block from Downtown Berkeley BART Tickets: https://themarsh.org/irma_herrera/irma-herrera-berkeley/ #respect #bilingual #Latinx #MispronounceMyOwnName #immigration #ACLU

“The final line is spoken, the audience applauds, the actors take their bows. But at an increasing number of theaters, the night isn’t over. Audiences often settle back into their seats. It’s time for the talkback, a chance to discuss the play with the actors, the director or sometimes the playwright.” These are the opening lines in an article in the LA Times, “The theater talkback: Why they're popular, and why playwrights aren't always pleased:. Click here to read article. When the Marsh offered me the opportunity to present Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? at their San Francisco Theater for the initial seven-week run, I knew that I wanted to have talkbacks, although I had a different idea in mind. It wasn’t to discuss my play, it was to engage the audience with the work of thought leaders from the Bay Area’s social justice community. I wanted audiences hear about the wide-ranging activities that are addressing the many forms of discrimination that (unfortunately) have been flourishing in the past several years. My intuition was correct, folks have loved the talkbacks. I personally knew the majority of talkback speakers I wanted to invite. And I also reached out to folks I had never met. I had heard them speak at conferences or seminars or I had read something they had written. Almost every person I invited accepted my invitation, and they gave me permission to tape and disseminate videos of these conversations. The talkback speakers were gracious, entertaining, and had so much to say. I’m so pleased to finally share these videos with you over the next few weeks, each is between 25-35 minutes. When my play was extended in SF for six weeks, I invited additional folks. I am also having talkback speaker in Berkeley. However, there will be some performances where there is no invited guest. I will use these opportunities for the audience to share their name stories, and to ask or comment about the issues raised in my play. I'm so pleased to provide videos and bios of five of those speakers (not in the order of their appearances, except for Rinku Sen). Stay tuned for the rest of the videos, they will appear in future blogs. For now I introduce you to the following: Rinku Sen is a writer and a political strategist. She is currently Senior Strategist at Race Forward, having formerly served as Executive Director and as Publisher of their award-winning news site Colorlines. Under Sen’s leadership, Race Forward has generated some of the most impactful racial justice successes of recent years, including Drop the I-Word, a campaign for media outlets to stop referring to immigrants as “illegal,” resulting in the Associated Press, USA Today, LA Times, and many more outlets changing their practice. Her books Stir it Up and The Accidental American theorize a model of community organizing that integrates a political analysis of race, gender, class, poverty, sexuality, and other systems. She is also a James O. Gibson Innovation Fellow at PolicyLink. Rinku Sen writes and curates the news at rinkusen.com. Click here to watch. Carlton F.W. Larson is a Professor of Law at the UC Davis School of Law, where he has taught American constitutional law and Anglo-American legal history since 2004. Before joining the UC Davis faculty, Professor Larson was a litigation associate at the Washington, D.C. law firm of Covington & Burling, and a law clerk to Judge Michael Daly Hawkins of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He earned his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, in History from Harvard College and his law degree from Yale Law School, where he was an Articles Editor of The Yale Law Journal and Executive Editor of The Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities. He is the author of the law review article, “Naming Baby: The Constitutional Dimensions of Parental Naming Rights.” Click here to watch. Victoria Plaut and Christopher Bridges appeared together. Victoria Plaut is Professor of Law and Social Science at UC Berkeley, School of Law, where she also serves as Director of the Culture, Diversity, and Intergroup Relations Lab. She teaches courses on implicit bias, law and psychology, and the psychology of diversity and discrimination. A social psychologist by training, Dr. Plaut has conducted extensive empirical research on diversity and inclusion, published in her field’s top journals, and co-edited a book, Diversity Ideologies in Organizations. She has also written articles for other audiences, including “Inviting Everyone In,” in Scientific American’s 2014 State of the World’s Science issue. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and private organizations. She has worked with Fortune 10 companies, nonprofits, law firms, courts, schools, and universities as well as with global business and science leaders on addressing biases and creating more inclusive work and educational environments. Learn more about Culture, Diversity, and Intergroup Relations Lab at www.law.berkeley.edu/culture-diversity-intergroup-relations-lab/ Christopher Bridges is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law. He also holds an MS in Criminal Justice from Michigan State University and a BS in Political Science and BA in Criminal Justice, both from North Carolina Central University. Chris began his legal career in 2012 with the ACLU of Northern California as the Racial Justice Project Fellow, where he worked on school to prison pipeline issues as a member of the Education Equity team. Chris began his work at the Equal Justice Society in Oakland as the Butler Koshland Fellow and was later hired full time to focus his advocacy on school discipline and education issues as well as inequities within the criminal justice system. To aid in these efforts, Chris is using social science, structural analysis, and real life experiences to help broaden conceptions of present-day discrimination to include implicit bias.Learn more about Equal Justice Society at www.equaljusticesociety.org/ Click here to watch video of talkback with Victoria and Chris. Tom Saenz is the President and General Counsel of MALDEF and leads the organization in pursuing litigation, policy advocacy, and community education to promote the civil rights of all Latinos living in the United States in the areas of education, employment, immigrants’ rights, and voting rights. Saenz rejoined MALDEF in August 2009, after four years on Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's executive team. He previously spent 12 years at MALDEF practicing civil rights law, including four years as litigation director. He has served as lead counsel for MALDEF in numerous cases including challenges to California Proposition 187, California Proposition 227, and California congressional redistricting. In 2016, Saenz argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Texas, representing intervenors defending Obama Administration deferred action initiatives. Saenz graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School; he clerked for two federal judges before initially joining MALDEF in 1993. Learn more about MALDEF at maldef.org. Unfortunately, due to a technical glitch (OK, my human error), only a few minutes of my conversation with Tom Saenz is available. Click here to watch. THIS Sunday 2/10 If you live in the SF Bay Area come to this Sunday’s show at the Berkeley Marsh where I have another wonderful talkback speaker. Michael Nava is the author of an acclaimed series of eight novels featuring gay, Latino criminal defense lawyer Henry Rios who The New Yorker, called “a detective unlike any previous protagonist in American noir.” The New York Times Book Review has called Nava “one of our best” writers. His 2016 novel Lay Your Sleeping Head, a reimagining of the first Henry Rios novel published 30 years ago, was named by the Lambda Literary Review “one of the literary events of the year.” In January 2019, Michael launched the Henry Rios Mysteries Podcast, which adapts Lay Your Sleeping Head into an 18-episode podcast inspired by classic radio theater. His new Rios novel, Carved in Bone, will be published in spring, 2019 by Persigo Press, Michael Nava’s fledgling publishing company. He is also the author of an award-winning historical novel, The City of Palaces, set at the beginning of the 1910 Mexican revolution. His website is www.michaelnavawriter.com For tickets and more info about this and future shows visit: https://themarsh.org/irma_herrera/irma-herrera-berkeley/​ #fairness #equality #MispronounceMyOwnName #MALDEF #justice #prejudice

After a 13-week run at San Francisco’s Marsh Theater, Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? is going to Berkeley for eight-weeks starting Sunday, February 3, 2019, with a 2 pm matinee. YES, first show kicks off on Super Bowl Sunday. I’ll be performing every Sunday in February and through March 24th. Beginning March 2nd, we are adding a second weekly show on Saturday evenings at 5 pm. This means there are 12 additional opportunities to see this production. “Speaks volumes about the ingrained power structures in American society.” ~Mercury News It has been gratifying to hear from audience members in post-show conversations, emails, and comments on social media. “Put @irmadherrera's theater piece, "Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name?" on your to-do list . . . Personal and deeply thought-provoking on issues of identity important for us to think about today.” ~Professor Marsha Cohen (twitter) “[O]rchestrated our understanding of what's been happening to people who were here long before we honkies were and who cannot pronounce her or others’ names. It was brilliant! And Irma is so charming, and such an actress, that the whole performance was entrancing . . . Thanks so much; the Marsh never disappoints, and most often overwhelms!” ~Claire Risley (Goldstar) Please note that the person who wrote this Goldstar mini-review chose the word “honkies." Perhaps this was in response to a scene where I share a litany of ethnic slurs I heard growing up. It is always interesting to hear audience reactions as I say these ugly words: sometimes people laugh (nervously, it seems) at the first two words, beaners, cucarachas, but by the end of the recitation, you can hear a pin drop. Following presentation of my hour-long show (no intermission), I will have a half-hour on-stage conversation with leaders in the Bay Area's social justice community. Both my website and the Marsh will list the talkback speakers for upcoming shows. The talkbacks in San Francisco were both informative and inspiring. SF audiences loved them, as did I. To Recap: February 3-March 24, 2019 Every Sunday 2 pm matinee during the eight week run, and Saturdays at 5 pm, from March 2nd - March 23, 2019. Berkeley Marsh Theater (pictured below) 2120 Allston Way (one block from Downtown Berkeley BART station) Tickets, starting at $20, https://themarsh.org/irma_herrera/irma-herrera-berkeley/ For decades, people of color (POC) have been protesting the absence of our stories on stage, and on the screen, big and small. Before and after every major awards ceremony: Tonys, Golden Globes, Oscars, Academy Awards, hastags abound: #tonyssowhite, #oscarssowhite . . . We are making inroads, but oh so slowly. POC need to be everywhere in order for our stories to see the light of day. We don't just need to write them, we've got to be in all other spaces: producing, acting, directing, financing, and reviewing this work. Made my heart sing to learn there are Latinx reviewers, like David John Chavez, at Bay Area Plays, whose professional work is to see and review plays. Ajúa. Check out what he has to say at: https://bayareaplays.com/2018/12/20/the-marshs-irma-herrera-would-like-to-share-with-you-how-to-pronounce-her-name/ “The shortest distance between two people is a story.” ~Patti Digh This is one of my favorite quotes and when I came upon it there was no attribution, so I set about to find the person I should credit. Thanks to google, I learned of Patti Digh and her work. Her website, https://www.pattidigh.com, describes her as an “author. speaker. educator. philosopher. social justice advocate. community-builder. And posted prominently in her website is: “How do you Pronounce Digh, Anyway? It sounds just like the word “dye.” Or like “sigh,” with a D.” Everybody has a name story, whether it's how we say it, how we got it, or what it means to us and to the people who named us. Props to all the folks around the country who toil tirelessly to promote fairness and justice, and who dedicate themselves to creating a society where we treat all individuals with respect. We've got much ground to travel to achieve equality, but we never give up. "If the cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. Because the goal of America is freedom, abused and scorned tho' we may be, our destiny is tied up with America's destiny." ~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Everyday, we make a difference by bearing witness and taking a stand when we see injustices. And today as we celebrate the life of Dr. King, it's important to reflect on what more each of us can do. Telling our stories matters: we are hard-wired to connect with each other through stories. It's how we make sense of our lives and of what happens in the world around us. Following one show, a middle-aged white man came right up to me and said, "you and I probably don't agree on anything politically." Okay. I wondered what was coming next. "But, I'm leaving with lots of things to think about, so thank you for that." I thanked him also and said, "my hope is that people who are here, watch and listen with an open mind and an open heart. That's it." If you live in the Bay Area and haven’t yet seen Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? please come on down to The Marsh Theater in Berkeley. And if you can’t come to the Bay Area, get on my mailing list so I can let you know if my play is coming to your community. One last comment that really touched me. “Everyone please go see this show! Why Would I Mispronounce My Name? is a magnificent piece of art! You hear people say "Art is Resistance". . . well this definitely fits that bill! You are taken on a journey with Irma from childhood, adolescence to adulthood. Her experiences navigating through sexism and racism pull you in because they are so relatable. Your memory is provoked regarding your own personal story about power dynamics and how they relate to your name, identity, culture, gender, ethnicity, immigration status and/or profession. I kept nodding my head at each scene because Irma was bringing truth to power. I felt seen and heard! This play really spoke to me deeply . . . The best part was seeing it with mi gente! Nothing better than getting together with beautiful folks! ~Vicky Castro (Facebook) If you have a story about names, I’d love to hear it. You can reach me either through my website, irmaherrera.com or by sending me an email at irmadherrera@gmail.com. You can also connect with me on twitter or Instagram @irmadherrera (please note the initial “d” between my first and last names). Muchismas gracias to all of you who have supported me as I took a leap of faith and transitioned from lawyer to playwright and performer. #respect #socialjustice #BayAreaSoloTheater #inclusion

So many cities in the United States have names from languages other than English. Native American languages gave us Chicago, Milwaukee, Omaha. Plenty of cities, big and small, with Spanish names -- San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tornillo. And the French graced us with Lafayette, Des Moines, Baton Rouge. Most newscasters anglicize these names, which I find slightly annoying but doesn’t beget any action beyond a few moments of ranting. But. There. Are. Limits. Lately I can’t stop yelling at my radio about the mispronunciation of the Mexican border town of Tia-Wanna, Aaarrghhhhh, it's like nails on chalkboard. It’s Ti-Juana, Ti-Juana, there is no “UH” between Ti and Juana! With 24/7 news coverage about the “fake” border crisis, I hear Tia-Wanna countless times a day. I suppose we can blame Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass for making this city a household name back in the 1960s. Those of us “d’un certain âge,” remember Herb Alpert and his band fondly. Never heard of him? Well here you go, taken from his website: http://www.herbalpert.com/ Creator and innovator, musician and producer, artist, and philanthropist, Herb Alpert is a man with a profound passion. Born in Los Angeles, the future trumpeter came of age in a house filled with music. At the age of eight, he was drawn to the trumpet in a music appreciation class in his elementary school. “I was very fortunate that I had that exposure to music and was encouraged to stick with it. Years ago, when the arts programs were cut out of our public schools, so many kids stopped having that kind of opportunity.” A legendary trumpet player, Alpert’s extraordinary musicianship has earned him five #1 hits, nine GRAMMY® Awards, fifteen Gold albums, fourteen Platinum albums and has sold over 72 million records. Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass propelled his sound into the pop music limelight, at one point outselling the Beatles two to one. In 1966, they achieved the since-unmatched feat of simultaneously having four albums in the Top 10 and five in the Top 20. Herb Alpert also has the distinction of being the only artist who has had a #1 instrumental and vocal single. Beyond his musical talents, Alpert is also a respected abstract expressionist painter and sculptor. There’s a whole separate website just for his visual art, click here. His wife, Lani Hall Alpert (herself a Grammy-winning vocalist) is a published author of fiction and non-fiction. More about her interesting work here. Dayenu, I say to myself as I read about this power couple’s accomplishments. But on top of all this, they shine in another front: as philanthropists. Their foundation has donated upwards of $160 million, including $10 million to LA Community Colleges for music education. It made my heart soar to read about their talents and generosity. Time permitting, you’ll be inspired by this interview in Forbes with Alpert about their philanthropic work. What an antidote to people in the current news, particularly those associated with the Trump Administration, whose wealth has been used to beget more personal wealth by whatever means necessary, including mendacity of breathtaking proportions. But back to my original rant about the mispronunciation of Tia-Wanna. So after yelling at my car radio, yesterday morning, I decided that newscasters would definitely continue saying Tia-Wanna unless someone brings this problem to their attention. I emailed the editors of California Report as the most recent offender was a reporter from KQED’s California desk, and informed them of the issue, and requested reporters to get the name right. I haven’t yet heard back from them (it's only been a day). I would encourage anyone who find this annoying to put in your .02 worth and ask that more attention be paid to pronunciation of Spanish names, like Tijuana. You can reach them at calreport@kqed.org. It takes just a couple of minutes to send off an email, or make a call to California Report's senior staff: Ingrid Becker, Senior Producer 415.553.2404 and Senior Editor, Victoria Mauleon 415.553.2477. I am well aware that there are many folks who really don't care, or even if you do, why bother? I get that we are all plenty busy . . . but me . . . I just can't stay quiet. Ps: My one-woman show, Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? is still on stage, Saturdays at 5 pm, only through January 26 at the San Francisco Marsh Theater. Hope to see you there if you live in the SF Bay Area. Tickets and information about post-show speakers at themarsh.org/mispronounce-my-name/irma-herrera/. #MispronounceMyOwnName #respect #Tijuana

Since 2003 Merriam Webster, America's leading dictionary publisher, compiles a list of its top words of the year. It selects ONE word and ten runners-up. In an on-line video, Peter Sokolowski, Editor at Large, explains the process. “Merriam-Webster’s word of the year is determined by our on-line dictionary look-up data: the word must show both high volume of traffic and show significant year over year increase in lookups at merriam-webster.com. Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2018 is justice. It was a top lookup throughout the year, 74% more than in 2017. We see spikes in our data that correspond to certain news events and stories reported in the media that help us to understand what drove many people to look up justice so much more frequently this year. The word and the concept of justice has been at the center of so many of our national debates in the past year: racial justice, social justice, criminal justice, economic justice. Any conversation about these topics can naturally lead to seeking a clearer idea of what we mean when we speak of justice.“ Click here for the back story on how justice and ten other words worked their way into our collective consciousness, and to find out what exactly these words mean. These words provide a window as to what’s on our mind. The top ten runners up to justice were: nationalist, pansexual, lodestar, epiphany, feckless, laurel, pissant, respect, maverick, and excelsior. In many of the cases the lookup was occasioned by a prominent person's use of the word, or when words are used with reference to some important individual. John McCain was often described as a maverick, and when Samantha Bee called Ivanka Trump a feckless c**t, many looked up feckless, wondering what exactly she meant. I spend a lot of time thinking about justice and fairness, and what I, as an individual, can do to fight injustice. And looking over my shoulder as I write at my stand-up desk is one of my favorite paintings. Several years ago, my friend Teresa, penned a short email to me “send me your snail mail address, I’m sending you something.” Nice, I thought, looking forward to receiving a book or some magazine she thought would interest me. Some weeks later a large package arrived at my front door. Inside was a meticulously wrapped 46” x 51” painting with a note saying she thought this belonged with me. Teresa and her spouse, John, were downsizing and planning to travel and eventually moved to Mexico. She had received this as a gift when she retired from an illustrious career creating sustainable communities, and building affordable housing. La Justica was painted by Phoenix artist, Emily Costelo. Learn more about Emily and her beautiful work here. I consider myself the entrusted steward of La Justicia, and I will gladly return her to Teresa whenever she may want it. It is a honor to have her in our home. I find myself looking, really looking, at La Justice several times a day, when I need inspiration or am simply taking a break. I wonder if there’s something she needs to tell me. La Justicia is one of the best gifts I have ever received. I was interested in knowing what Merriam-Webster's words of the year had been in previous years. Here is a complete listing since they started tracking them. 2018 justice 2017 feminism 2016 surreal 2015 -ism (“ism” is a suffix rather than a word, still made it to word of the year. We read and hear it often: ageism, fascism, terrorism, racism, feminism, communism, capitalism . . . 2014 culture 2013 science 2012 socialism 2011 pragmatic 2010 austerity 2009 admonish 2008 bailout 2007 woot 2006 truthiness 2005 integrity 2004 blog 2003 democracy As we move into the New Year, I wish you and your loved ones good health, and great success in achieving your goals. Take a stand for justice in your day to day lives. When you see or hear an injustice: a racial slur, homophobic jokes, bullying of persons who are disabled, harassment of women and girls, say something. The “See Something, Say Something” national campaign applies not just to Homeland Security, but to everyday acts that belittle and diminish us as individuals. When we witness something that’s not fair, we feel it in our gut. Take the time to say: “that is not OK.” It’s the just thing to do. Gran exito en 2019 y Adelante. #equality #justice #civilrights #fairness #merriamwebster

When I planned a vacation to visit friends in Guanajuato, with a three-day stopover in CDMX, I did not know that our short stay in Mexico City would coincide with the massive pilgrimage to honor La Virgen de Guadalupe, Mexico's Patron Saint on her Feast Day, December 12. Last year over 7 million people participated in the annual pilgrimage. The major gathering starts the day before and the highlight is the Midnight Mass at the Basilica in which a large troupe of Marachis serenade her with the traditional Mexican birthday song, Las Mañanitas. Earlier in the day on December 11, the streets throughout CDMX were gridlocked with the millions of people who came to Mexico City to pay tribute. At Plaza de La Constitution, (el Zocalo) across the street from our hotel, hundreds of people turned into thousands by late afternoon as they gathered there or stopped enroute to the Basilica: they travelled on foot, bicycles, pedi-cabs, motorcyles, and of course cars, buses and trucks, many of them ornately decorated. They carried framed pictures, wooden and ceramic statues of the Virgin in all imaginable sizes, banners, and specially-designed altars. You can learn more about the importance of La Guadalupana, in this interesting article from the Yucatan Times: https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2018/12/tonantzin-the-deity-behind-the-virgen-of-guadalupe-cult Her recognizable image is found in contemporary and modern works of art as well as everyday items such as socks, jeans jackets, t'shirts, and mugs. An adventuresome taxi driver was able to get me to within two blocks of the back of the Basilica where I saw thousands of people participating in the procession. “Rivers of people,” as someone described it had been waiting for hours to enter the Basilica to participate in services. I was not among the fortunate. On the flight from San Francisco to Mexico City, I sat next to a Filipino-American woman who was traveling to Mexico with family and friends to visit the shrine. I did not then know that they were coming to participate in one of the largest gatherings of people in Mexico. I was told that the only other events that draw these many people are visits of the Pope. It was moving to witness the devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe.