Puerto Rican Writer and Performer Javier Ávila will bring his one-man show to Marywood this week when he performs “The Trouble With My Name” on Oct. 22.

According to Ávila’s website, the show “is a tour-de-force that will make audiences laugh, cry, and embrace the autobiographical journey of a man who moves between cultures to provide a fascinating perspective of American Latinos who struggle to dispel misconceptions about their identity and place in the world.”

Ávila said that for the last three years he has traveled all over the United States and Puerto Rico putting on shows to demonstrate that minorities are just like the majority of people and to tell his own story.

“[The show is] a blend of comedy and poetry [that] sheds light on what it means to be latino in the U.S,” said Ávila. He further explained that the show will not focus on what makes people different but what they have in common.

The performance was arranged by Modern Languages Assistant Professor of Practice Paola Marrero-Hernandez. She said she believes the performance can demonstrate the importance of thinking about how life might be for someone else.

“It’s important for people, even if it’s just for an hour, to try to walk in someone else’s shoes and see how the experience is from the other side,” said Marrero-Hernandez.

Ávila said he believes Marywood is a good place to perform his show because it can help its large population of non-Latino people see what life is like from a different perspective.

“If you’re going there to have a good time, you will have a really good time, you will laugh a lot. If you’re going there to learn, you will learn a lot,” said Ávila. “Both things are going to happen simultaneously, so it’s a blend of comedy and the classroom experience.”

“The Trouble With My Name” will be performed on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. in the Sette LaVerghetta Center for Performing Arts.

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