Javier Ávila's One Man Show The Perfect Latino: A Response

Foremost, on Monday the 19th of September, I attended Javier Ávila’s presentation in Edmunds. Javier Ávila called it the one-man show. One of the main points of Ávila’s presentation that I found to be uplifting is how he grew up with a lot of prejudice. For example, he took the prejudice that he faced on a day-to-day basis and used it to write books and perform around the world. He went on to add that he still faces prejudice in the work environment. He is an English professor, but someone asked if he was the new Spanish professor on his first day. He went on to add that he replied in Spanish, then came back to inform the person who made that assumption that he was the English professor. I think it is an interesting take that everything negative that happened to him, he has made something positive or used for comedic purposes. Likewise, he explained how his son does not see people through a prejudiced lens. His son sees people for who they are no matter what. For example, Ávila took his son to a museum on his birthday, and at that moment, they were a minority and asked his son what he saw around him; his son replied, “everyone seems excited.” I thought this aspect of Ávila’s performance was so pure and sweet. Not to mention, Ávila added how he had inspired one of his students. He bases his class on who is in the class. I think this is very innovative since most types already have a standard syllabus that has been reused in most cases. He said that he gives his students readings based on who his students are. Further, one of his students came up to him in tears, saying that he had never related to a piece of literature as much as the one he had read. Ávila added that most Latino students had never read literature from Latino authors, which shocks him, so he gives a mix of all kinds of literature that students can relate to in his classes. Overall, this instance is very inspiring because it takes a lot to inspire a student, let alone make them be in tears through a piece of literature. Furthermore, Ávila’s presentation was comedic, engaging, and uplifting.