In this article, the author shares his transformative experiences of teaching in Puerto Rico. Specifically, he reflects on why and how his transactions with his first class caused him to adopt themes and strategies from the relatively new field of "critical performative pedagogy." He begins by explaining three concepts that ground critical performative pedagogy: (1) performance studies; (2) performatives; and (3) performativity. He continues by examining the nature of critical performative pedagogy. He ends with some descriptions of their teaching-learning processes that illustrate how he and his students engaged in critical performative pedagogy. (Contains 8 notes.)