It’s not very often that I find Univision content particularly entertaining or interesting. But a showcase of bilingual Latino stand up comedians this week was a pleasant, refreshing surprise coming from a network that is not particularly known for innovating. During over one hour, five of the nation’s finest Hispanic stand-up comedians brought out the best of their repertoire to mock not only themselves but the whole U.S. Hispanic world as you know it.
But don’t get too excited. Univision has not revamped its prime-time line up or added Spanglish comedy routines to its programming. The show I’m talking about was a live event on Tuesday Sept. 25 as part of Advertising Week, which Univision is partly sponsoring this year. During the “Hispanic Insights Through Comedy” event, media and advertising executives laughed their heads off with the smart remarks of a talented group of Latino entertainers –Andrew Kennedy, Gina Brillon, Eric Nieves, Arnold Acevedo and Bill Santiago.
Besides the obvious sales pitch (here and there the entertainers will praise novelas and other Univision shows) the event did something rarely seen in this growingly PC media environment: make fun of Hispanics and gringos alike, switching easily from English to Spanish and then Spanglish, engaging a presumably smart audience.
I wonder if Univision can take a cue from its own event to replicate it over the air. That would be fun!
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No kidding! I love Bill Santiago… and Arnold! How come we can’t see them on Univision? … Is it because they speak English?
Some show … wondering why we, the humble Hispanics, don’t get that kind of treatment on prime time. I don’t watch novelas. I turn to Comedy Central hoping to see these guys perform!
The George Lopez Show, Mind of Mencia, and “Si TV” are the closest we get to this type of entertainment. Unfortunately, George Lopez is now on syndication and Si TV is not available everywhere. Mind of Mencia is hit or miss. Univision should have taped the performances and offered it as a late-night special. Isn’t Spanglish a legitimate language yet?
Adrian
http://www.calmagazine.com
Wasn’t there a show a couple of years back named “Que Loco” where they did the same thing? I can’t remember the name of the network but I do remember the many talented comedians.
I think the younger Hispanic generation embraces more the Spanglish language with Mun 2 and MTV Tres and could go for a show like this but not on Univision. They seem to be more geared to the “stay with your roots demographic” then the other two shows. It would be nice to run a program with strictly Spanish comedians, we can only wait and see.