00054: WHY WOULD I MISPRONOUNCE MY OWN NAME?

Let’s start with the obvious. Irma Herrera is not an actor, and I don’t mean this in a negative way. She’s a “writer, solo performer, social justice activista, lawyer, and world traveler.” That’s how she introduces and identifies herself on her website, irmaherreradotcom. But more than a “solo performer,” I would say Irma is a storyteller and she proves that in her one-woman show: “Why Would I Mispronounce my Own Name?” presented at Central Stage in Richmond CA.

The original production was directed by Rebecca Fisher and while I don’t know the exact date of the show’s original opening, information from Irma’s website makes me believe the show first happened around the year 2021. The production I saw last September 2024 still credits Rebecca Fisher as the director. 

The show tells the story of Irma herself, who talks about the fact that her name is pronounce IRMa or, in my better phonetic English assimilation: ear-ma but never ur-ma or ERma. Not only does Irma talks about the importance of standing up to people who mispronounce your name but also about the courage it takes to stand up and correct them when mispronouncing it. I connected with this bit of the show, mainly because my name is Carlos-Manuel and back in high school some teachers called me Karlos-Manual… and I never corrected them.

In her show, Irma also addressed the issue of colorism within our own community and how her mother always told her she was “como una mosca en la leche-like a fly in the milk,” referring to the fact that her skin was darker when compared to other family members. This section of the show made me laugh because, when I was young, while we never say anything related to flies and milk, we always use the word “prieto” when trying to remind someone that they were not as “white as they should be” or worse, as “white as we were.” For the record, we are brown people, darker than our European American neighbors. We have never, ever been white. 

Irma’s show does not just revolved on her personal experiences growing up but also addresses national issues such as politics and the danger of using and/or making fun of names which are different than those used by European Americans. She also highlights the irony about being a person of color and serving in the military but then, when done from your military duties, being ignored, mistreated, and worse, killed in the country you defended. The irony is, if it escapes you, fighting and surviving a war only to comeback to the country you were born and then be shot by racist people, who demand you go “back to your country” because of the color of your skin. Sad but very much a reality in the “greatest country of the world.”

As a storyteller, Irma carries herself with ease, and her soft voice forces the audience to closely pay attention to her words and narrative. And while her show is already written, it is easy to note, at least to me, where new information was inserted in order to keep some of the discussed subjects as current as possible, which works fine because the one-hour show is full of insight, educational tidbits, jokes, personal moments, connections with the audience, and a few surprises that make “Why Would I Mispronounce my Own Name?” a must see theatrical experience.