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One month from today, October 25th, Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? opens for a seven-week run at San Francisco's Marsh Theater. I am so excited. Folks ask me, don’t you get nervous? You bet I do. Before each show, I’m back stage and this voice inside my head yells at me, “what the heck were you thinking? You’re gonna go out there in front of all those people?” I take a few deep breaths, put on my ear buds and start dancing. I especially love the Rolling Stones’ Dancing in the Street, Donna Summers’ Last Dance, and many songs from the Buena Vista Social Club. Dancing calms me down. Believe me, I’ve given plenty of thought to all the things that can go wrong. What if I forget some lines? Well I have . . . and the audience never knows. What if for some reason technology fails and the sound cues don’t work? I had pondered that question and had told myself -- you just keep going. While the lighting at a theater and sound cues enhance a production enormously, at the end, it’s your story, and how you tell it, that wins audiences. Last year when I was performing at the San Francisco Fringe Festival, the house manager announced the show, and left the stage. Audience applause, I’m in the wings, waiting for the music that opens my show to walk onto the stage. And . . . nada, nothing happens. Complete silence for a minute, and then the crowd starts to stir. I walk out on stage and say, “I don’t know what’s going on either.” The audience laughs nervously. The tech up in the booth calls out that there was a glitch, now fixed, and tells me to go backstage and she’ll start the cue. I go back stage and nothing happens. I come back out again and shrug my shoulders. The tech motions me to start the show, without my opening song. I say to the audience, “imagine the song Maria from West Side Story playing right now.” The audience starts singing. “Maria, I just met a girl named Maria. And suddenly that name will never be the same to me.” “OK, this is where the song stops and I start my lines.” The audience laughs and the show is off to a great start. This is live theater, anything can happen. This turned out to be one of the best shows I’ve ever performed. Audiences are so open as they enter your world for the hour-long show. It is a beautiful experience to feel your audience so present. So I’m super excited to be performing for seven weeks in San Francisco, and I am so very grateful to all the folks who have supported me as I’ve developed this play over the past three plus years. It really does take a village. Every time we’re in a theater, we are always reminded to silence, or better yet “turn off our phones.” Please heed that advice, as you’ll note in the attached clip, a phone that goes off during the performance is distracting to the performer and to the audience, and it’s horrifying if it happens to be your phone. So here’s my PSA. Don’t be that person whose phone goes off during a show. I look forward to welcoming you and your silent phones at the San Francisco Marsh Theater between October 25th and December 8th, shows on Thursdays at 8 pm and Saturdays at 5 pm. And if you aren’t a Bay Area resident, please pass the word on to friends and family in this area. Gracias. To purchase tickets click here. #SFSoloShow #Latinx #solotheater #socialjustice #MispronounceMyOwnName #BayAreaSoloTheater #Chicanxartist

Six years ago, I was co-directing the Women Immigrants Project at New America Media in San Francisco. I called a state legislator in Alabama to interview her about the state's anti-immigrant law -- HB 56. After the notorious Sheriff Joe Arpaio pushed Arizona's "show me your papers" law, other states began proposing similar measures. Before I tell you about that phone call with a staff member of the Alabama House of Representatives, let me say a bit more about what was going on in Alabama. Alabama's Anti-Immigrant Law HB 56 sought to make the state so inhospitable to undocumented immigrants that they would self deport. It shared the usual characteristics of similar state laws. It had a “show me your papers,” provision and police parked themselves near Latino neighborhoods and stopped people as they drove to or from their homes. If you couldn’t immediately prove your lawful status, off you went to jail and you were held there until ICE decided what it would do with you. The law prohibited undocumented folks from accessing any government services including registering their cars or applying for a marriage license. It also was unlawful for undocumented immigrants to enter into any contracts: it was against the law for them to rent an apartment, have cell phone service, buy a car, have a bank account. How exactly was this going to be enforced? Some utility companies thought it required them to cut off water, electricity, and gas for customers with names like Garcia and Rodriguez unless they could prove they were here lawfully. The law threw the state into a tailspin because determining someone's immigration status is complicated, and assumptions based on a person's name or appearance will surely mean violating the constitutional rights of large numbers of Latinos. In fact this was the basis of numerous court rulings around the country, issuing injunctions against these state anti-immigrant laws. The Alabama law required schools to inquire about the legal status of parents and their children; and fearful parents quit sending their kids to school. The law did not go as far as to deny them admission. It couldn’t, as it is settled US Supreme Court law that all children residing in the US are entitled to a free K-12 public education. I worked on that case, when I was a young lawyer, at MALDEF. There was an exodus of Latinos, including US citizens and lawful residents -- fleeing the climate of fear thousands left, in spite of federal courts stopping most of the law from going into effect while the lawsuits challenging the law worked their way through the legal system. The law was very unpopular with the business community. The agricultural lobby was up in arms about the millions of dollars farmers were losing as crops rotted in the fields. The coup de grâce was the arrest of two foreign nationals employed by Honda and Mercedes-Benz. Both companies have manufacturing plants in Alabama, and employees from Japan and Germany either lived there or traveled to Alabama for business reasons on a regular basis. First, a German executive with Mercedes Benz was arrested, and detained with an immigration hold after being pulled over at a checkpoint. A traffic stop led to the arrest of a Honda employee, a Japanese man, who was held in jail for three days, until he could be cleared by ICE. Lots of national and international news coverage back then, here's one story. The Phone Call So back to my phone call. According to the person on the other end of the phone, no one answered at the office I was calling, so my call went to the main switchboard of the Alabama House of Representatives. I identified myself as a journalist from San Francisco giving my name its correct Spanish pronunciation. “That is a foreign name, and I am not talking to you.” Click. She hung up on me. I can only conclude that she assumed I was undocumented. I was 2000+ miles from Alabama and that state’s anti-immigrant climate was affecting me. So when I saw Sergio Romo at the 2012 World Series Victory Parade wearing the “I Just Look Illegal” t-shirt, in protest of all these anti-immigrant laws that were sprouting up throughout the country, I could relate. This Alabama story is one of many in my play that explore how people judge us based on our names or appearance. Check out this promotional video -- a snippet of my performance from an earlier show. This vignette is no longer in my play, material comes and goes to make room for new stories. My goal is to keep the performance under 65 minutes. Post Show Talkbacks Following each of the two Las Cruces shows there will be half-hour Talkbacks with local guests. After the 2 pm show, Johana Bencomo, Director of Community Organizing at NM CAFé, will join me on stage. NM CAFé is "a faith-based organization that aspires to create a culture of support that empowers New Mexicans to act on their own behalf towards a better quality of life. Since it’s inception CAFé has been a crucial actor in the political landscape in southern New Mexico creating a “land of opportunity” by challenging our elected leaders to put the needs of families and the common good of New Mexico first. At the helm of CAFé’s efforts are strong spiritual leaders who have played a pivitol role in healing the state and restoring people’s confidence in a responsive government that promotes opportunity for all." Click here to visit CAFé’s website. Johana and I will likely be joined by a representative of the ACLU or from one of the organizations that collaborated with the ACLU’s Border Rights Center on a report released this past week. The facts presented in the ACLU’s Border Wall Report “reveal the increased danger, environmental impact, and economic toll suffered by local economies because of these barriers. The report also evaluates and analyzes the ineffectiveness of border walls to avert unauthorized crossings, prevent criminal activity such as drug smuggling and human trafficking, and safeguard our national security.” Read full report here. Following the 7 pm show, my guest will be Dr. Christine Marie Sierra, Professor Emerita of Political Science at the University of New Mexico. Her expertise is in American politics with a focus on race, ethnicity, and gender. Her most recent publication is a co-authored national study of elected officials of color -- Contested Transformation: Race, Gender, and Political Leadership in Twenty-First Century America. Click here for more info on the book. Dr. Sierra, a pioneer in her field, was the third Mexican American woman to receive a Ph.D. in political science. She has written extensively on Mexican American activism, on immigration policy, Hispanic politics in New Mexico, and the politics of Latinas in the United States. She is a frequent commentator on news programs and is the recipient of numerous honors. I look forward to a very spirited conversation with Dr. Sierra about the upcoming elections and the many important issues affecting the Latino community. Thank you for helping to spread the word about the October 7 performances in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Tickets $12-15, available here. #MispronounceMyOwnName #solotheater #StarbucksNames #LasCruces #BlackBoxTheater #immigration #ACLU

My one-woman show gets an extended run at The Marsh Theater in San Francisco starting two months from today. I am very honored to have a chance to present my play to Bay Area audiences. Following each show, I will be joined by various talkback guests (listed below). These thought leaders -- activists, lawyers, professors, writers -- will be discussing various subjects related to social justice, and answering questions. Grateful to live in a community where folks from all racial and ethnic backgrounds work side by side to tackle the most intractable problems that disproportionately affect marginalized communities. Together. United. We are changing the world. Closer to the dates of their appearances, I'll post more info about these guests. Click here to purchase tickets. Talkback Topics and Speakers The Role of Art In Promoting Social Justice Thursday, October 25, 2018 Showtime 8 pm Rinku Sen, Maven, Author, Activist, Thinker and Doer (former Executive Director and Publisher of Colorlines) How Technology Can Help Us Learn ‘Difficult’ Names Saturday, October 27, 2018 Showtime 5 pm Praveen Shanbhag, Founder of Name Coach (name-coach.com) software that enables individuals to record their names and append digital links to social media, email. Widely used by educational institutions. Implicit (Unconscious) Bias, What It Is and How We Reduce the Impact of Our Biases Thursday, November 1, 2018 Showtime 8 pm Christopher Bridges, Attorney, Equal Justice Society and Victoria Plaut, Director, Culture, Diversity & Intergroup Relations Lab and Professor of Law and Social Science, UC Berkeley Naming Your Baby: What’s the Law Got To Say About It? Saturday, November 3, 2018 Showtime 5 pm Carlton Larson, UC Davis Law Professor, and author of Naming Baby: The Constitutional Dimensions of Parental Naming Rights Wherever There’s A Fight: How Runaway Slaves, Suffragists, Immigrants, Strikers & Poets Shaped Civil Liberties in California (Heyday Books, winner of a Gold Medal in the 2010 California Book Awards) Thursday, November 8, 2018 Showtime 8 pm Elaine Elinson and Stan Yogi, authors of Wherever There’s A Fight National Origin and Race Discrimination in Employment Saturday, November 10, 2018 Showtime 5 pm Bill Tamayo, District Director, (appearing in his individual capacity) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) MALDEF: 50 Years Fighting for the Civil Rights of the Latino Community Thursday, November 15, 2018 Showtime 8 pm Tom Saenz, President & General Counsel MALDEF The Lawyer as Storyteller: Lawyers and Solo Performers Saturday, November 17, 2018 Showtime 5 pm Mark McGoldrick, a public defender, reflects on his life and the lives of his clients in his acclaimed solo play, The Golden Hammer The School to Prison Pipeline: How to End It Saturday, November 24, 2018 Showtime 5 pm Jason Okonofua, Professor, Psychology Department UC Berkeley Michael Harris, National Center for Youth Law Gender Identity, Name Changes, and Preferred Pronoun Use Thursday, November 29, 2018 Showtime 8 pm Margarita Sánchez, National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), immigrant rights activist Stevie Campos-Seligman, college student and activist Both guests prefer use of the pronouns they/them Navigating Disability: Trump Era's Clarion Call for Advocates and Activists to Come Out of the (Inaccessible) Closet Saturday, December 1, 2018 Showtime 5 pm Ingrid Tischer, writer and disability rights activist, Development Director, DREDEF Immigrant Rights in The Trump Era Thursday, December 6, 2018 Showtime 8 pm Bill Ong Hing, Founder, Immigrant Legal Resource Center and Law Professor USF Karen Musalo, Executive Director, Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, Hastings Law School Lawyer Writers: People of Color Making An Impact Through Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Poetry Saturday, December 8, 2016 Showtime 5 pm Sara Campos, poetry, short stories Adam Smyer, author of novel, Knucklehead #socialjustice #Latinx #solotheater #soloperformance #immigrantrights #civilrights #discrimination #genderequality #lgbt #MALDEF #LanguageStatus #humanrights #prejudice

Taking My Show to the Land of Enchantment My big news is that I'll be performing Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? in Las Cruces, New Mexico, at The Black Box Theater on Sunday, October 7th: 2 pm and 7 pm. If you have friends, family, or colleagues, in either Las Cruces or El Paso, please let them know by forwarding on this email. I’d be most grateful. They can learn more about my show and watch what folks are saying about it by visiting my website: irmadherrera.com. I'm interested in connecting with social justice activists in Las Cruces as I'd like to invite some to participate in talkbacks after each of the two shows. So do point me in that direction if you know folks doing this important work. Gracias. Working on Two Different Shows It’s been a really busy and productive summer. I’ve been working on two separate shows: my one-woman show, Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? and a second solo play, titled I Want To Sell Democracy, that is part of the Times Unseen Project, a group effort described in a pervious blog. In the Democracy show, I portray a first-year social studies HS teacher from Corpus Christi, Texas, that I have been interviewing over the past 18-months as she was launching a new career. Prior to getting her teacher credential she had spent a decade working in the world of social justice and political activism. I'll be doing the next performances of the Democracy show at the Times Unseen Theater Festival, at The SF Marsh Theater, the weekend of October 19-21, 2018, along with some 20 other performers who will bring a variety of stories to the stage that are based on interviews we've been doing with everyday Americans around the country. San Francisco Run -- October 25 - December 8, 2018 Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? opens on October 25th at The Marsh Theater in San Francisco, for a seven-week run. Tickets are now on sale at: https://themarsh.org/mispronounce-my-name/irma-herrera/ There will be two shows each week, Thursdays at 8 pm and Saturdays at 5 pm. I have already lined up an exciting list of Talkback speakers after each show, among them prominent civil rights lawyers, law professors, social justice activists and artists, who will speak on topics related to the assault on civil rights in the Trump Era. I will be highlighting the speakers and topics in future blogs. Stay tuned.

Please come see my new show (in development) as part of The Marsh Theater’s Times Unseen Initiative. This Wednesday, July 11, 2018 at 7:30 pm at The San Francisco Marsh Theater. Tickets $15 at the door or $17 online ($2 service charge). More info and tickets at: https://themarsh.org/times_unseen/times-unseen-initiative-prepared-pieces/ There are two performers that night presenting for a combined 90 minutes (no intermission). Here are the descriptions of our stories from the The Marsh website: “I WANT TO SELL DEMOCRACY” by Irma Herrera How do we get fair and representative government? By making sure we have well-educated voters. Stacey Barrera, a social justice activist with a master’s degree, and a decade of work under her belt, returns to school to get a teaching credential. As a social studies teacher in an overwhelming Mexican-American public high school in Corpus Christi, Texas, Miss Barrera’s mission is to sell democracy. “ON THE BRINK” by Linda Joy “On the Brink” introduces audiences to people living in “the other California” and contrasts their concerns with that of professional people in the Bay Area. As part of the Times Unseen initiative, for the past two years Linda Joy has been listening to people living in Red Colusa County, the second poorest county in California with an economy based on agriculture. Living at the Stony Creek Apartments for adults over 55, she experiences the challenges of living in a remote affordable housing complex, helping her understand her neighbors to some extent. But unlike the other residents, she brings a sociologist’s eye and ear to her observations of the area. In listening to what people repeatedly talk about without prompting from her, she discovers their preoccupations and worldviews and then brings these characters to life onstage. Artist Biographies IRMA HERRERA is a playwright and solo performer. Her one-woman show, Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name?, explores themes of identity and the importance of valuing cultural differences. Herrera spent five years as a journalist and three decades as a public-interest lawyer promoting gender equality and advocating on behalf of ethnic and racial minorities. LINDA JOY – While spending 16 years as a university professor and researcher with a PhD in Sociology and another in Language, Culture and Cognition, Linda Joy yearned to exercise her spontaneity, imagination and creativity through the arts. So while her academic peers were readying their promotion files and cranking out publications, she spent summers making up scripts for solo shows at obscure venues, doing improv, writing poetry for public readings, and experimenting with video and mixed media. Then she leapt into the unknown. She now brings attention to social issues through solo performance, written commentaries, and lectures for life-long learning programs. She created and leads The Imagination Playshop for Adults with its motto: “Question, Imagine, Improvise, Create.” The Times Unseen Initiative Several performers were invited by The Marsh Theater to participate in the Times Unseen Initiative. This project is the brainchild of David Ford, the award winning veteran creator of stories for over 30 years. He serves as the Times Unseen Initiative Director, with Rebecca Fisher as the Associate Director. It was launched shortly after the 2016 elections ushered in the largest political reversal our country has experienced in the post-World War II era. The following are David Ford’s thoughts on the project, as shared on The Marsh website. Since the election, the news is filled with who is winning, who is losing, and what attention-getting statement a politician has made today. Highly polarized, citizens are passionate about their particular fraction of the political rainbow, regardless of the hue. Beyond the news, Americans fall in love, work, get sick, die . . . experience the drama of daily life. We have decided to take our cue from Russian author Svetlana Alexievich, who proved the power of exploring history through personal stories in her magnificent book Secondhand Time. In what ways are political turmoils affecting the personal life of Americans? This project will chronicle the effect of political change on individuals. One of the stark lessons of the recent election is the ideological divide between regions in America. We have a team of Marsh artists who have personal connections to the disparate social, geographical, and political regions of America. We are asking them to interview people – Americans talking to Americans about family, love, safety, health, finances etc., in a time of political change. And our artists will bring what they hear back to the Marsh and make theater of it. Times Unseen: because we are in new territory politically, and because politics, for better or for worse, are about promises of a changed future, times as yet unseen. Times Unseen will culminate in a Festival of New Work the weekend of October 19-21, in time for the 2018 mid-term elections, with workshop performances along the way (end of David Ford’s thoughts on the Times Unseen Initiative). I am very excited to share the stage with Linda Joy and to introduce you to her work, if you haven’t already seen her perform. I've watched as she has developed and shaped this material over the past year plus. You will reflect long and hard on the themes we cover. Money back guarantee if you decide it wasn’t worth your time. Really. The San Francisco Marsh 1062 Valencia St. (24th Street BART) Wednesday, July 11, 2018 @7:30 pm #solotheater #civilrights #discrimination #socialjustice #immigrantrights #incomeinequality

I steeled myself before playing the audio of the distraught immigrant children separated from their parents and shipped off to detention centers. I avoid movies with cruelty and violence. It felt important to hear the children’s voices. A few seconds was all that I could bear. I pressed the space bar. It was too painful to listen. I was immediately transported to the first night our son spent with us. He was inconsolable when it was time to fall asleep. We are parents through adoption and Tony was 11 months old when he joined our family. He had been in foster care in the home of an elderly Anglo couple for five months before we adopted him. Herb and June were a caring and loving couple. Tony was the only child in their care. They had a granddaughter close to Tony's age who lived a few miles down the road, they were very comfortable with a baby in their home. The first time I spoke with June her Texas drawl became even softer. “We don’t know anything about the situation that led to this baby being relinquished for adoption, but I think he was really well cared for because he is so open and trusting and loving. He’s a very affectionate little boy. He’s just delightful.” Our future son was 10 months old when we met him, it was four weeks before he was placed in our care. In that month I made two trips to San Antonio to see him. He was not quite yet walking, and busily cruised the living room at June and Herb’s home holding on to furniture. I played with Tony on the floor. He entertained himself with the top part of the shiny silver foil Nordstrom box that had clothes I had bought for him. A game of peek-a-boo had Baby Tony laughing with much gusto. At times he lifted his arms to me so I could carry him. He snuggled up against me as I read to him. June encouraged me to help him feed himself wedges of watermelon; a fruit he loved and consumed greedily; the perfect food to eat on San Antonio's hot and humid summer days. Tony relaxed and giggled in the kitchen sink as I helped bathe him. June and Herb had placed pictures of Mark and me on the wall at eye level on the side of his crib, and several times a day she would tell him, “Tony, this will be your mommy and daddy; you are moving to California to live with them. Under Texas adoption laws, we were required to remain in the state for a week after the date of placement. That first night we were together, I got our son ready for bed, and was holding him quietly when he started crying. Then the crying turned to wailing and he was inconsolable. All I could do was hold him and tell him that we would always take care of him, we would always love him and make sure he was safe and that I was sorry he was scared. He cried and cried and cried. Nothing comforted him. I imagined that he missed June and Herb who had been in his life every day for several months. He was in a strange place, This was not his crib. The smells and sounds were not the same as the home where he lived. He was in a strange new place, and all I could do was to softly repeat these words: you are safe, we will always love you and care for you, and we will always be there when you need us. Everything will be OK for you. But it was obvious that it wasn’t OK for him, at that time. This must have reminded him of being separated from his birth parents several months earlier. How I wished I could turn back the clock and and wave a wand that erased all the experiences that had clearly caused him pain. I stroked his hair and back, I held him tight and offered these words of reassurance. It was a long and painful night for all of us. Eventually he fell asleep. He adjusted well to his new situation and a week later Tony took his first plane ride from San Antonio to Oakland. Several months later we took a short vacation to the Monterey Peninsula, and once again, he had two nights of inconsolable crying. We cut short our mini-vacation; it was just too hard for our muchachito to be in a new place. Hearing the children’s plaintive cries took me back to those nights when there was nothing I did that comforted our son. The few seconds I listened to the audiotape, had me weeping. I cannot imagine the pain these children are enduring, or the pain of the parents who do not know their children’s whereabouts. We must keep up the pressure and the demand that these families are reunited. Using these people as political pawns is a violation of their human rights. It is cruel and harmful and heartless. Photo credit: John Moore, Getty Images #immigrantchildren #humanrights #racism #socialjustice #adoption

When we were young lawyers, a Chicana friend working as a public defender shared this story with me. She needed to interview a psychiatrist -- a potential expert witness on a case. His name was Dr. Fuchs. And unsure of the name’s pronunciation she asked around and was told it was “fee-youks (pronounced as ONE syllable).” Nervous about getting it right and wanting to make a good impression she practiced, but when she introduced herself she called him Dr. F-word. He took it in good humor. I was reminded of this story when I recently heard Allan Fuks on NPR’s Story Corps, recounting the bullying he encountered because of his last name when he growing up. "Even the kids on the lowest social rung didn't want me sitting at their lunch table," he says. "So I would go to the library because I didn't want to sit alone and I remember I read the entire Holocaust encyclopedia. I recognize now that's kind of dark. But I was just such a lonely kid." When he was 12 years old, Allan said he'd call the Nintendo hotline, "to have someone to talk to me. I remember trying to painfully segue from a conversation about video games into just like, 'So how's it going in your life?' And he's like, 'What?' That's basically my childhood," he says. Fuks, the son of Russian immigrants recalls that when he was 16, his parents decided to change their last name to save their kids the endless teasing. Given their light skin color they opted for an Irish last name. They threw a bunch of Irish surnames into a hat, and drew the last name Finn. But, says Allen, it was too late for him. None of the kids would let go of the teasing and continued using his last name. His younger sister did get the benefit of the name change. I read somewhere that the shortest distance between two people is a story: it is the door to understanding and compassion. I love listening to the recorded interviews of Story Corp and find it equally gratifying to read the collection of stories that have been put into print. Do take a listen to Allan’s painful and still wonderful story as told to a friend from his childhood. https://www.npr.org/2018/06/08/617691679/he-grew-up-with-an-unfortunate-name-he-hated-now-hes-owning-it Several generations back, the changing of last names among immigrants was much more common. “The rationale was straightforward: adopting names that sounded more American might help immigrants speed assimilation, avoid detection, deter discrimination or just be better for the businesses they hoped to start in their new homeland.” This according to a New York Times story from 2010. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/nyregion/26names.html The NYT reviewed 500 petitions for name changes filed in New York City courts and found that only a half dozen of the applications were filed by immigrants from Asia and Latin America with the intention of Anglicizing or adopting some abbreviated version of their last name. In fact there were more petitions to revert back to an original last name (like Allan Finn going back to Allan Fuks) than taking an Anglicized name. Today, most experts agree, that traditional immigrant gambit has all but disappeared. “The vast majority of people with clearly ethnic surnames who applied to change them did so as a result of marriage (belatedly adopting a spouse’s surname or creating a new hyphenated one) or childbirth (because they were legally identified when they were born only as a male or female child or were adopting a parent’s name).” NYT article. We are all familiar with famous actors who changed their “ethnic” names. Tony Curtis (Bernard Schwartz), Lauren Bacall (Betty Joan Perske), Alan Alda (Alphonso Joseph D’Abruzzo), Natalie Wood (Maria in West Side Story was born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko). In a three-minute You Tube clip, Martin Sheen (Ramon Antonio Gerard Estevez), shares his name story. His son Emilio Estevez chimes in with his experience of agents telling him he should not use his identifiable Hispanic names. Encouraged by his Dad, he kept his names. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_oMkQY2ico). According to the NY Times article. “Sociologists say the United States is simply a more multicultural country today (think the Kardashian sisters or Renée Zellweger, for instance, who decades ago might have been encouraged to Anglicize their names), and they add that blending in by changing a name is not as effective for Asians and Latin Americans who, arguably, may be more easily identified by physical characteristics than some Europeans were in the 19th century and early 20th century.” I am gearing up for a seven-week run of my one-woman show (October 25-December 8), Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? and am starting to use social media more often. If you are on instagram please follow me: irmadherrera, and I’ll follow you back. I’ll be using instagram, twitter @irmadherrera, and of course my facebook account to keep you informed of my theatrical goings on. As y’all know I am a storyteller and love hearing your stories about names, so please do share them. #discrimination #prejudice #racism #Latinx #soloperformance #storytelling

My one-woman show, Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? will have a 7-week run at The San Francisco Marsh Theatre, the Bay Area’s premier showcase for solo performances. Two shows per week: Thursday 8 pm and Saturday 5 pm from October 25 to December 8. I am so excited, and am already giving lots of thought to the guests I want to invite for post-show talkbacks on a variety of social justice issues, so topical in these challenging times. Many of you may have seen the obnoxious tirade directed at customers and staff that were speaking Spanish in a NYC restaurant. The complainant, caught on video, threatens to call ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) on these folks. It went viral, and twitter users identified the racist culprit as NYC lawyer Aaron Schlossberg. Hundreds of folks, offended by his tirade, showed up for a festive street party featuring Mariachis and tacos in front of Schlossberg’s home. It was heartwarming to watch the outpouring of support. And I love Mariachis. https://tinyurl.com/ychkjtyy Schlossberg's law firm website notes that they can serve clients in several languages, including Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese, Hebrew, and of course English. The racist barrister, who has now issued a lame apology (hell no, we don't believe you) may find himself subjected to disciplinary action from the New York State Bar. Here's hoping. https://tinyurl.com/ycxrrmfs All this reminds me of growing up in segregated South Texas, where it was not unusual to hear white kids telling us “this is America, speak English,” or “if you can’t speak English go back to Mexico.” Well duhhh . . . we spoke perfectly good English and our families had been in S. Texas for generations, since before Davey Crockett ever laid eyes on the Alamo. This is ground that I cover in my one-woman show. Seen my play already? First, thank you, and second, please come again. Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? is always evolving, and has already undergone big changes from last year's performances. I am certain that new material will find it's way to my play between now and opening night. If you live outside the Bay Area, how about making that visit to San Francisco you’ve been thinking about? The temperatures in late October through early December are quite nice and range from the low 50s to mid-60s. There’s so much to see and do: San Francisco, Berkeley, Marin, the Wine Country -- all beautiful this time of year. Look forward to seeing you at The San Francisco Marsh Theatre sometime between October 25 and December 8, 2018. Tickets not yet on sale, and you'll be the first to know when sales go live. I have been enormously gratified by the sold out houses and the warm reception my play has gotten. Muchismas gracias. #racism #immigrantbashing #discrimination

A newspaper headline catches my eye; allegations that the mayor of Driscoll, Texas, is under investigation for racial slurs and sexual harassment. Driscoll is a small town in the Corpus Christi, TX metropolitan area. I am spending this week in South Texas, doing interviews and research for some theater pieces. The mayor of Driscoll, Marcos Zavala, is charged with making sexually suggestive comments to female employees and openly commenting about his sexual encounters with various women (not his wife, the newspaper notes). Several female employees have complained that his comments made them uncomfortable. The women also complained of Zavala's use of a racial slur for black people while at City Hall. The story goes on to note that one of the women has biracial children, and the other was raised by a black man. According to one complaint, when the women confronted the mayor after an incident earlier this year, he told them it was "no big deal" because he had relatives who used the word "often." The article goes on to report that the city’s governing body voted to permit “Zavala to come to City Hall to fulfill mayoral obligations . . . but must notify city staff when he is coming to City Hall in order to allow female employees an opportunity to be somewhere else.” I read and then re-read the lines, "allow female employees an opportunity to be somewhere else," presumably unable to do their jobs while the mayor is at City Hall. All I can do is shake my head. I'm offended on ALL counts reading about this pinche idota, and I know there is work to be done to check racism within communities of color. Being on the receiving end of racial slurs, as I am certain Zavala has been, did not sensitize him and create a sense of kinship or protectiveness toward other people of color. A brown man in a position of authority is an enforcer of white supremacy and misogyny. Hijole. Offensive comments and behavior of the sexual nature described are usually the exclusive domain of men. To be clear, I am not saying ALL men act this way, many men do not, but when you read about this behavior you can bet a man's name is attached to it. Within nanoseconds my fingers tap the keys on my computer and the following names appear on my screen: Harvey Weinstein, Donald Trump, Silvio Berlusconi, Clarence Thomas, Charlie Rose, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Bill Cosby, Brock Turner, Roy Moore, Tony Mendoza, Bill Clinton, Eric Schneidermann, Alex Kozinski, Sherman Alexie, Junot Diaz. I know why some of these seemingly random names found their way to my computer screen, I've been listening to Rebecca Solnit's The Mother of All Questions (audiobooks are great company when I'm out hiking alone). Men abusing their power in entertainment, judiciary, journalism, public office. A notorious college student's name crops up often and these are authors whose work I admire who have been named in the firestorm phenomena, #MeToo. The acts of some of the above men went far beyond sexual harassment: assault, rape, strangulation, death threats. Stories about men abusing their power are everywhere, and right now many women are emboldened to come forth, but sadly most women still stay silent, knowing they could lose their jobs, that opportunities they deserve may be withheld, or worried that they will be blamed and publicly excoriated and ostracized for daring to complain about mistreatment. Worse yet, that threats against their lives could well be carried out. Thank you sisters for coming forth with the stories that have led to the downfall of so many prominent men. This is some serious stuff, we must continue to speak up, take action. How do we clean up the mess these guys have made in so many sectors? Would the nasty, crass, creepy, and perhaps even unlawful activities taking place in boardrooms, courtrooms, the White House and the United States Congress be happening if we had a fair representation of women in all these places where great power is wielded? Me thinks not. A great place where we can make change is via the ballot box. Given that most people begin their political careers at the local level, what can we do to increase the pool of women candidates for city council, school board, district attorney, mayors, state representatives? Why has the number of women elected to the California Legislature declined rather than increased in recent years? Come hear about the important work of close the gap CA (CTGCA), a campaign to recruit progressive women to run for the California Legislature. Honored that CTGCA asked me to join Ayelet Waldman for a conversation on the way that gender, power, and culture collide and what this could mean in a year of extraordinary political opportunity for women. Ayelet Waldman is the author of A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life, the novels Love and Treasure, Red Hook Road, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, and Daughter's Keeper, as well as of the essay collection Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace and the Mommy-Track Mystery series. She is the editor of Inside This Place, Not of It: Narratives from Women's Prisons, and Kingdom of Olives and Ash: Writers Confront the Occupation. She was a Federal Public Defender and an Adjunct Professor at the UC Berkeley Law School where she developed and taught a course on the legal implications of the War on Drugs. She lives in Berkeley, California, with her husband, Michael Chabon, and their four children. Please join us. When: Thursday, May 31, 2018, 6:00 – 7:30 pm Where: The Berkeley Mills Showroom 2830 Seventh Street, Berkeley (between Grayson and Heinz Streets) Tix: https://tinyurl.com/yc3se98p For additional information contact Cynthia Brantly Pierce, cynthia@closethegapca.org or 510-704-1657. Your presence supports a really good cause. #racism #sexism #sexualharassment #MeToo #closethegapCA

“You have a moral obligation, a mission and a mandate, to speak up, speak out, and get in good trouble. — Congressman John Lewis Last month, one Saturday afternoon, we celebrated the life of an amazingly talented civil rights lawyer and all around good human being, Joaquin Avila. This was in Watsonville, California, at a community center located in a Mexican-American neighborhood, The next morning I boarded a flight to San Antonio, Texas and that evening I was at a funeral home paying tribute to another remarkable friend, Roy Robbins, whom I’d known even longer than Joaquin. A common thread emerged: these were men who made good trouble, and as we mourned their passing we celebrated two lives well lived. Joaquin Avila I met Joaquin Avila in 1980 when I was hired to work at the National Office of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) then located in San Francisco. Thirty years ago, Joaquin was already a renowned leader in the voting rights field. As a young attorney I was to split my time between voting rights and education cases; eventually my focus turned to education law but my relationship with Joaquin as colleague and friend continued. Speakers recounted the many ways their own lives, and those of their communities, were shaped by Joaquin’s work as one of the nation’s top voting rights lawyers. Lawyers and activists came to Watsonville from the agricultural valleys of the Golden State, the Bay Area, the Pacific Northwest, and as far away as Mississippi. Speakers reminded us of the many ways and in the many places (Utah, yes Utah) where Joaquin’s work had shaped the political landscape of this country. Joaquin was the recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship (known to the world as the MacArthur Genius Award) in 1996. He had served as President and General Counsel of MALDEF. His cases had been argued (by him) in highest court in the land, the United States Supreme Court. Beyond those notable accomplishment, we also heard about his engagement and support of Mexican-American small business owners, farmworkers, union organizers, school teachers, and members of LULAC chapters. These people knew that without political representation in every governing entity (school boards, city councils, and state and federal legislatures) our communities would continue to be denied the opportunities to develop to our fullest potential. Many of the speakers, most of them Latinxs, are the products of the successes recounted on the yellowed newspaper clippings on the community center’s bulletin board’s about Joaquin’s legal victories in the Salinas Valley and elsewhere. We recalled Joaquin’s humility, kindness, patience, and persistent unwillingness to give up, even as the US Supreme Court guts the protections afforded disenfranchised communities. The warm remembrances, and the smiling photographs of Joaquin helped me recall his infectious laugh, and gave us the chance to give thanks for this mighty champion. Joaquin did all this work at great financial sacrifice to himself and his family. The legal battles he pursued are expensive to investigate, cue up, bring to trial, and to sustain as they wend their way through lengthy appeals. But the fruits of his labors are everywhere. Remember him next time you go to the polls. Joaquin Avila, PRESENTE. Roy Robbins The following day I flew to San Antonio to attend funeral services for Roy Robbins, married 40+ years to Margaret Guzman Robbins, a good friend since our college days. I sat quietly and peacefully on a wooden pew in a funeral home’s chapel, as people of varying ages (many millennials) offered condolences, then approached the open casket, knelt, and paid their respects. The evening ended with the recitation of the Holy Rosary. All this was so familiar, the ritual of funerals I attended during my childhood in South Texas. Still there was some cognitive dissonance: the person we were mourning in this very Mexican-American ritual was an Anglo. Roy Robbins was born and raised in The Rio Grande Valley of South Texas where throughout his (and my) childhood Anglos ruled and Mexican-Americans were considered inferior. Back then, kids from these two groups rarely interacted with each other. But Roy made friends with Mexican-American kids and rejected these messages of white supremacy. He cared deeply about fairness and justice, and responding to his first calling he became a Methodist Minister. As a Minister he was active in making good trouble by participating in the integration of white churches in the Deep South. But he left the ministry and began working on economic development programs established during President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, which eventually led him to pursue a degree in economics and to his career as a Professor of Economics at St. Mary’s University. It took Roy several decades to earn his PhD, as working full-time teaching, mentoring students, illness, and life events, made it difficult to get that dissertation completed. On my trips to South Texas, Roy and Margaret were the friends who always picked me up at the San Antonio Airport and immediately delivered me to a favorite Tex-Mex restaurant before dropping me off at the home of a family member. Last year they called with great excitement to tell me that one of his brightest students had been accepted into UC Berkeley’s PhD Program in Economics. As Monica knew no one in the Bay Area, they wanted to connect the young Latina to someone with Bay Area roots. They knew I'd be interested in meeting her, and it’s been an absolute pleasure to know this exceptional young woman. I met several of Professor Robbins’ students, as they called themselves, the evening of the Visitation and Rosary and the next day at the Reception that followed the Funeral Mass. These former students came from Dallas, Michigan, Houston (and places in between) to express their gratitude for the support they had gotten over the years from both Roy and Margaret. Their stories of Roy’s generosity towards his students were unknown to me, but they did not surprise me: paid DACA fees for young Dreamers, bought textbooks to students in need, and gave most generously of his time and attention. The only speaker at the Funeral Mass was their daughter Jenny, who knew firsthand her father’s love for teaching and his students and his steadfast belief in equality even when it meant bucking tradition. “He raised me to know that he would never give me away at my wedding. But it wasn’t because of sentimental or protective reasons; it was because he wouldn’t participate in anything that made it look like I was his property to give away.” Near and dear to my heart, Roy was always encouraging students to be proud of their ethnic heritage, and stressing the importance of pronouncing their names correctly and including accents and tildes or whatever other diacritical marks their names might have. Roy Robbins made good trouble challenging students, taking them outside of their comfort zone and helped shape the lives of many young people, the vast majority of them first generation Latinx college students whom he would see graduate and begin careers doing meaningful work, and in some instances pursuing advanced degrees. Last year, two of those grateful students -- who met at St. Mary’s and later married -- endowed the Roy Robbins Professorship in Economics with a one million dollar gift to the University. The couple, who went on to earn advanced degrees, returned to Mexico where they are successful entrepreneurs. In establishing the fellowship, one of the donors, Marisol Arteaga Gonzalez, echoed the words of other students I met. “Dr. Robbins has left a mark both in my personal life and in my professional career. He has been a mentor who motivates me to believe in myself and to strive for what is right. I think the most important thing I have learned from him is to love the subject of economics – a great instrument that can be used to help achieve a better society.” Roy Robbins, PRESENTE. The picture above is a tapestry in The Guadalupe Chapel at St. Mary's University in San Antonio. My alma mater has an undergraduate student body that is 85% people of color, 70% Latinx. #socialjustice #votingrights #discrimination #Latinx #MALDEF #StMarysUniversity

The process of revising my one-woman show for a run this fall at the San Francisco Marsh Theater is both exciting and challenging. (I'll announce dates as soon as they get finalized). It’s hard to let go of a scene or even a small part of a scene; I do become attached to my lines. Still, as I put the material on its feet and rehearse with my director, I can feel when something no longer works. I look at her and she looks at me. “But I really like this, Rebecca, and it’s important.” “Yes, it is both those things, but it doesn’t work here.” Darn. This can happen for any number of reasons: when the sequence of scenes is rearranged or new vignettes introduced the flow of the story may becomes awkward, the material tangential, and sometimes it feels like I’m beating a dead horse. (Jeez, I’m struck at how awful this expression is, who would beat a horse to death and then keep beating it? The origin of that expression requires some research, but speaking of tangents, I’ll let this go for now). The consolation prize for taking out this material is that I can share snippets of script and provide some backstory in blogs. Here’s a now deleted scene. Scene Outtake I’m watching the news one evening. News Anchor: Today in Sacramento, California Attorney General Ex-avier Becerra announced . . . Me: (yelling at the TV) EX-avier Becerra! That is NOT his name. It’s HA-vier. How can you NOT know how to say the name of California’s Attorney General? Dude’s in the news all the time, suing the Trump Administration. And where the hell are the news editors? They would never let someone mispronounce a French name. But Spanish names, doesn’t matter. Would this happen if they were Latinxs in the newsroom? Annoyed with the news anchor’s pronunciation, I google the station’s website, and find her email address. I write a snarky email, and then delete it. Take Two. Dear Ms. Anchor, please note that the California Attorney General pronounces his name Ha-vier. I spell it phonetically, it’s Ha-vier not EX-avier. Please call me if you need assistance with this pronunciation. Think of me as your personal Name Whisperer. Sincerely, Irma Herrera. I attach a digital name card that allows the anchor to hear the correct pronunciation of my name (should she choose to do so) by simply clicking on a link. An hour later I receive a very nice email from the anchor thanking me for bringing this to her attention. She wants to get it right. End Scene Outtake I am really annoyed when I hear newscasters mispronounce Spanish names, because I know they take great attention to pronounce French names correctly. Aren't we entitled to the same level of respect? In fact, EVERYone is. As to the Attorney General's name perhaps I feel protective because I first met Xavier when he was a Stanford Law Student and he spent the summer working as a law clerk at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund's National Office in San Francisco where I worked as a lawyer. I have followed his career with interest from afar: after law school he worked as a legal aid lawyer and then public service, eventually serving in the United States Congress representing the people of Central Los Angeles for 20+ years. I have great respect for his intellect, his decency, and his humanity so I was very pleased when Governor Jerry Brown’s nominated Becerra to serve the remaining term vacated by Kamala Harris' election to the United States Senate. Attorney General Becerra is running for the post he currently holds in the upcoming election. The lesson in this exchange with the news anchor was simple, the incorrect pronunciation of his name was nothing more than she just didn’t know, and she willingly and gladly accepted the information I provided her. Yes, we could argue that she or someone at the station SHOULD have known the correct pronunciation, but you don’t know what you don’t know. You know the motto See Something, Say Something, well it’s equally applicable to our names. Unless we speak up when folks get it wrong it will never be corrected. Unfortunately it is not uncommon that people will avoid saying your name if they fear mispronouncing it. Those of us with “challenging” names appreciate that folks make the effort and we also understand that folks aren’t always going to get someone’s name exactly right. After all we too struggle with names that are difficult. My mother had a very hard time with Jennifer, always reverting to Yen-i-fer. And I kept prodding her. It used to bug me when the news media referred to Tom Perez, former Secretary of Labor, now Chair of the Democratic National Committee, as Tom Purr-es. The correct Spanish pronunciation of the last name Pérez is pretty similar in sounds to the English last name, Pettus. So if you can say Pettus you can say Perez. But then I learned that this is how Tom Perez pronounces his name Purr-es, so I defer to his preferred pronunciation. I admit that it still irks me a bit, and as to anyone else with that last name, unless I know otherwise, I opt for the Spanish pronunciation. So I get how confusing it can be. The best guide to the pronunciation of someone’s name is to ask the person to tell you (yes sometimes repeatedly) and ask for their help if you find it difficult to say their name. A friend whose first name is Paven is often called Pave-en, Pah-VEN, Pah-VON. He offers a simple and memorable tip -- it’s like “oven” with a “p” in front, Poven. Easy peasy. Today technology allows us to tell the world how we pronounce our names. I’m partial to Name-Coach (https://cloud.name-coach.com/) which allows you to record your own name and to include it as part of your closing signature or in social media. I’m looking forward to interviewing the founder of this company, Praveen Shanbhag, for a future blog. He created the software after attending his sister’s college graduation and hearing her name mispronounced so badly as to make it unrecognizable. This software is now being widely used by K-12 schools and universities to help teachers with the names of their students, and at commencement ceremonies. Of course it has many more uses than that. Check it out. In closing, my thanks to all of you for reading my blog, and for sending me stories, articles, quotes about names. A name is a reminder of where you’re from; it’s also a reminder of your parents’ hopes for you in this world. — Francisco Cantu, author, The Line Becomes a River More about Francisco Cantu and his writing at: https://franciscocantu.us/ “Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone give your daughters difficult names. give your daughters names that command the full use of tongue. my name makes you want to tell me the truth. my name doesn’t allow me to trust anyone that cannot pronounce it right. — Warsen Shire, Named in 2013 as London’s First Young Poet Laureate Read more about Warsen Shire at: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-24375551 #LanguageStatus #TellMeYourName #civilrights

Welcome to The Cancer Café: A Journey From Diagnosis Through Stem Cell Transplant, written and performed by Judith Dambowic. At age 58, Judith Dambowic was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, an incurable blood cancer with no clear and accepted treatment path and a limited life expectancy. Judith who worked in the medical field as a physical therapist is no longer the medical provider. She is now the patient and enters a community shared only by others faced with similar dilemmas and choices. I met Judith some years back on a four-day whale-watching trip in Baja California organized by mutual friends. A group of 20 nature-loving women with backgrounds in law, medicine, education, and the non-profit sector, camped at an eco-lodge along the shores of San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja California. Although our ages ranged from 20s to 70s we greatly enjoyed getting to know each other and playing some spirited games of Scrabble, Bananagram, and Quiddler. Both the kinship and the whales were magnificent. Through our mutual friends, I heard of Judith’s multiple myeloma diagnosis and subsequent stem-cell transplant. A reminder of life’s fragility. I don’t know a single family who hasn’t been personally affected by cancer. I was pleased to learn that Judith was doing well and studying with David Ford, the esteemed dean of the Bay Area solo performance scene (so named by the SF Chronicle’s Theatre Critic). I too got my start in the world of solo performance by taking classes with David Ford and he directed my first one-woman show, Tell Me Your Name. I saw an early installment of The Cancer Café and I was so moved by Judith’s story. Her perspective and experiences (besides being good theater) are educational tools which have much to teach us about illness, wellness, and the importance of community and faith, when we in crisis in the face of illness and loss. Don’t miss it. Both performances are fundraisers to support worth causes. Following each show, Judith will have an on-stage discussion with her partner Rabbi Chaya Gusfield, Palliative Care Chaplain. Saturday, May 12, 7 pm Beth Chaim Congregation 1800 Holbrook Drive Danville, CA Suggested donation of $18, cash or check. Thursday, May 17, 7:30 pm Kehilla Community Synagogue 1300 Grand Avenue Piedmont, CA Suggested donation of $20, cash or check. Tickets available at the door. I've worked for 30 years with people who are writing and performing their own stories. In that time I've heard a lot of people give witness to the trials of having a life threatening disease. Judith Dambowic goes further than anyone I've encountered. She gets the awful contrasts of fear and courage, agency and impotence, armor and vulnerability.” -- David Ford, the "dean of solo performance” More information about Judith's show at https://www.facebook.com/events/362320200938278/