For the first time ever, the one-man show known as The Trouble With My Name performed by Javier Ávila was performed at Lake Nona High School on July 26. The purpose of his show is to highlight the struggles Puerto Ricans face as a minority in the U.S. The inspiration of starting his show came from his realization as a college professor that Puerto Ricans were not represented in the U.S as they should be.
Ávila teaches literature at Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania. When he asked his students about well-known Puerto Rican speakers and authors, his students had no idea who he was talking about. He found himself explaining Puerto Rico to students through story and humor. Students responded well to his method, and he became a popular professor.
Later in his teaching career, he was named Pennsylvania’s Professor of the Year in 2015 by Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, according to Mepeslconference.center-school.org. He was the first Latino to win this award. Ávila said he was honored by the award, but at the same time he was a bit heartbroken that it had taken this long for a Latino to win the award. He was sure that other Latinos before him were worthy of the recognition but were never brought to anyone’s attention.
After winning Professor of the Year and popularity with his students, Ávila decided to expand his outreach. His first show was at Penn State. “It went so well. We were not expecting to do so many [shows]. We thought, okay, maybe five or 10 shows and that’s it and then we’ll go back to our regular lives, and we’re up to 70. We have 28 planned for the fall, and we already have shows planned for 2019. So, it’s a whole different animal,” explained Ávila.
I had the opportunity to attend the show and see for myself the refreshing perspective Ávila’s show gives his audience on the Puerto Rican community. Lake Nona High School’s auditorium had a good turnout of people. He spoke about his family origins and what it was like coming over to America. He said growing up in Puerto Rico, he never knew he was a minority anywhere else. As he got older and moved to America, he learned that his Spanish came across as having an accent and that his people were considered outnumbered by “the white man.” The Trouble With My Name not only points these topics out by using humor, but it also addresses how we need to embrace all cultures in our nation and treat everyone as their own person.
Victoria Delahaye, 19, came to see the show. “I feel like there’s a lot of history I don’t know about. Hearing him speak about it, I feel like I want to know more. I’m not as knowledgeable as I should be about Puerto Rican history and culture,” stated Delahaye.
The next show is expected to be in Georgia at Marietta’s New Theatre in the Square on Sept. 15. To follow all the showtimes and learn more about Javier Ávila, follow his Facebook page, Javier Ávila: The Trouble With My Name or follow him on Instagram: @thetroublewithmyname.
