Not too long ago, in an interview with BTV, I was asked, “Who are your favorite Barcelona comedians?”
What?? Bitch, you serious? My favorite Barcelona comedians? Like, are there any?
That’s when I realized I had to get off my ass and start talking about my favorite comedians. And no, they’re not from Barcelona. For fuck’s sake.
There are many comedians I admire. Some are famous and some are not. Some of them were colleagues of mine in NY or LA that I often got to see play live, and even share a stage with them. So here’s my first favorite comedian of this blog: Dave Chappelle.
Years before I met Dave Chappelle, I knew Dave’s sister and brother, Felicia and Sidar (now known as William Abdullah), because we all went to the same school: Antioch College. I was a little intimidated around Felicia because she was in the Theater Department, and everybody in the Theater Department intimidated me. I was very insecure, and I felt stupid around this quiet, intense girl with loud, theatrical, chain-smoking friends and who seemed so sure of herself. I did become friends with her brother Sidar, who was a Muslim. I remember sitting with him once in my kitchen and talking about religion, race, relationships, Islam — you know, light coffee talk.
At that time, Dave was busy getting his stand-up career off the ground in another part of the country, so I never got to meet him until I moved to New York in 1996. Besides Sidar and Felicia, Dave’s father, Bill Chappelle, was also at Antioch College, working as a voice teacher in the music department. I did take voice lessons, but from his assistant, so unfortunately I didn’t have much interaction with Mr. Chappelle, who passed away a few years ago. I just remember him as a handsome, elegant man with a warm smile and beautiful, peaceful eyes.
In 1996, with a few years of experience as a comedian under my belt, I moved from Austin, TX to New York City. The hip, hot comedy club at the time, Luna Lounge on Ludlow Street, was not a comedy club at all, in the traditional sense of the word. This was the moment of “alternative comedy”, which, depending on how you look at it, was either a groundbreaking movement towards authenticity in stand-up comedy, or a clever and cynical marketing trick by certain comedy managers. It was one of the first places where I was lucky enough to perform among the pros — much better comedians than myself.
It was at Luna Lounge where I first met Dave Chappelle, as well as Sarah Silverman, Louis C.K., Marc Maron, Todd Barry, Zach Galafianakis, the Sklar Brothers, and many others. I remember approaching Dave — with awe, because he was already a highly respected comedian, a “comic’s comic”, as they say — and introducing myself. I told him I’d gone to Antioch and known his sister and brother.
He was friendly and down-to-earth, and very encouraging to this new, “green” comedian who’d just come out from Texas. A few years after that, he had his own Comedy Central Series, “The Dave Chappelle Show”. After that, he turned his back on it all and left for South Africa. I would love to talk to him about that some day.
Dave Chappelle is one of the finest comedians today: intelligent, critical, and brutally funny. To truly appreciate much of his humor, you need to understand U.S. culture and the racist dynamic that underlies it, so some of his material might not translate well if you live outside the U.S., but give it a try.
Wow, it is a small world!
Thanks for sharing the links, they were really funny. Following a suggested video trail I saw a racist ad from this mockumentary “CSA: The Confederate States of America” you may find interesting. I haven’t seen it yet, just want to save the link for later.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypIbTpnuNgg&feature=related
http://www.megavideo.com/?v=1QKB1ACB
You got me stuck to YouTube-Dave Chappelle now… Months ago it was Billy Connolly and Margaret Cho, passing with “A Bit of Fry and Laurie” and “The Armstrong and Miller Show”.
I think you’re my favourite Barcelona comedian ^_^. Don’t know many either, I like Polònia though.
I know Andreu Buenafuente was born in Tarragona, but isn’t he working in Barcelona? Don’t you like him?
I approved your comment for one reason: I was curious about how the name “Buenafuente” would look on the same page as “Dave Chappelle”.
I don’t know much about comedians, Spanish or not. In fact, I don’t even have a TV at home, so the chances I have to know about Spanish shows or comedians (like that “Buenafuente” one) are few. But still, I don’t understand why a Spanish comedian cannot be as good as a comedian from anywhere else, including the US. I mean, surely there are as many funny Spanish men/women as funny yankees or funny wherever-from.
Comedians make jokes about things that most people connect with, related to social events, politics or celebrities, I suppose. If they were not funny, people would not laugh at their jokes, and would not watch their shows. Comedians need to own brilliant minds, as well as funny and open personalities (excuse my lack of proper vocabulary!!)
I had the opportunity to know about your comedy shows via Popular 1, and I found them really funny, provocative and exciting. And the same thing happened with the recommendations you’ve made several times about other comedians from the US: all great and intelligent. But I’m always surprised about the way you insist on disapproving the work of Spanish comedians. There must be some fail in connection here. Maybe, the same way that sometimes you warn us about the possibility of not getting the jokes of US comedians for being too “local”, you are not really getting the point of the ones from here for the same reason. I insist on my ingorance about their work, but you probably miss details like imitations of regional accents or behaviors, moral habits and things like that.
I just wonder: Is it possible that people cannot make a good joke just because they are from Spain? I’d love to know your point of view as a comedian. And I apologize if you have already talked about this subject before.
Saludos.
First of all, thank you for your comment, and for your thought-provoking questions.
But why do you assume from this post I wrote, about ONE of my favorite comedians, Dave Chappelle, that I am dissing Spanish comedians?
You are putting words into my mouth. I never said that a Spanish comedian can’t be as funny as an American comedian. If you read that somewhere (and I suspect you have, because you say I “insist on disapproving Spanish comedians”), it’s not true.
But even if I didn’t like Spanish comedians: who cares? It’s just my opinion. Why should it affect you or anyone else what I like or don’t like? Everyone has their own tastes and opinions. Why do mine need to coincide with anyone else’s?
What I HAVE said is this: the Spanish “comedians” I’ve seen on Spanish TeeVee – and I certainly haven’t seen all of them, but among those I’ve seen — are not funny to me.
We have to also clarify the definition of the word “comedian”, because maybe what passes for a “comedian” on Spanish Tee Vee isn’t so for me. To me, a “comedian” is someone who’s developed and works as a comedian. Not an ACTOR or a PRESENTER who happens to recite monologues written or re-written by other people, or some guy who wrote a monologue and sent it to a TeeVee program and now has the opportunity to perform it before the cameras. (Good for him, though.) I’m not saying they can’t be successful doing it, but an ACTOR or PRESENTER who recites monologues doesn’t automatically become a COMEDIAN. Just like picking up a guitar and strumming it doesn’t automatically make me a musician. Stand-up comedy is an ART and a TRADE that takes years of practice… at least, it is where I come from.
Have I seen all the comedians there are in Spain? Of course not. Is it possible that I might have missed some funny people who are working as comedians? Absolutely. In fact, I’d love to find them. Are there cultural and language references that I miss when I watch Spanish comedians? Of course. That’s one of my constant frustrations of speaking Spanish as a second language.
There are many reasons why I’ve never found the comedians I’ve seen on Spanish TeeVee funny, but I’ll refrain from mentioning them here so that this reply to your comment doesn’t end up as long as Don Quixote.
Do I think people can’t be funny just ’cause they’re from Spain? What, are you nuts? What ever gave you that idea? Of COURSE there are funny people in Spain — hilarious people! But there is an absence of cultural infrastructure to help funny people develop into real artists — i.e., COMEDY CLUBS. OPEN MICS. Small spaces — bars, theaters, art spaces — to develop this talent.
Of course, the physical spaces exist. But there’s nobody developing standup comedy in these spaces. Why? Because stand-up comedy is not indigenous to the culture here. It’s an American invention that hasn’t made the jump over the pond yet, except on an artificial level, with TeeVee. Generally, in Spain, stand-up comedy — meaning, one person, telling jokes into a microphone — is something created on TeeVee. From there, it goes no further, and dies on the vine.
The funniest person I’ve seen in Spain performed stand-up in my now defunct “Festival Open Mic” (my short-lived attempt at creating the begininngs of a stand-up comedy culture within Barcelona) in the Llantiol Theater. He was a freaky fellow from a very small town in Catalunya who worked as a garbage collector. AND he’d taken the trouble to write and master a very bizarre, very funny monologue attacking society. So of course there are funny people here.
If you’re content with the comedians out there on Spanish TeeVee: fine. Good for you. Then there’s no problem with the way things are in this country as far as comedy goes. But don’t expect an American or British comedian to be very impressed by the comedy offerings of Spanish TeeVee.
In your comment, you said, “If they were not funny, people would not laugh at their jokes, and would not watch their shows.” Really? Funny to whom? Apply that logic to other forms of entertainment. “If Beyoncé wasn’t a great artist, people wouldn’t enjoy her performances and wouldn’t go to her shows.” Because millions of people buy Beyoncé’s records and go to her shows, then anyone who doesn’t like Beyoncé is wrong? There are comedians I can’t even watch, such as Robin Williams, who have millions of fans. So what? Millions of people also pile into discotheques and listen to “music” that goes DOONG, dooka-DOONG, dooka-DOONG, dooka-DOONG. Does that mean they have great taste in music?
Finally, if your comment was in part inspired by my response to Palindrome, read what I said carefully. To me, Buenafuente is a TeeVee presenter who does monologues. The topic is favorite COMEDIANS of mine. David Letterman is my favorite TeeVee presenter — who, by the way, prepared for the job by working for many years as a stand-up comedian, which, I believe, Buenafuente did not. Just because a presenter does monologues doesn’t make them a comedian. They’re still a presenter. Now back to David Letterman. I ADORE David Letterman and think he’s the funniest, most original TeeVee presenter alive today. But I don’t rank even the great DAVID LETTERMAN as one of my FAVORITE COMEDIANS.
So I maintain: asking an American comedian who their favorite BARCELONA comedians are is like asking a flamenco dancer from Andalucía to name their favorite flamenco dancers… from WISCONSIN.
Well, it is obvious that I didn’t express myself properly. The last thing I was trying to do was to attack you; not even to provoke you or to judge your tastes. Judging someone else’s tastes goes nowhere. What I meant was to get your point of view about the comedians in Spain, that you have mentioned not to find funny. I just wondered why. I din’t mean to criticize it. Just wondered about your reasons as a comedian.
You are right: I put words into your mouth. I was probably mixing up things you’ve said with things I’ve read in Popular 1 and my own imagination. Sorry. But, c’mon, there’s no need to get so “a la defensiva”, because the truth is that you actually don’t like any Spanish comedian you’ve seen so far.
I thought I was very clear: I don’t know about Spanish comedians or TV presenters; I don’t have an opinion about them and I’m not trying to defend them.
The sort of answer I was expecting from you was something very much like the answer you have given me, but excluding the parts in which you make me look like some kind of dumb-ass (OK, probably my fault)
For fuck’s sake. Do you really think that when I ask if there’s funny people here I’m expecting a YES or a NO from you? Do you think I’m really asking you that? My question assumed that THERE ARE and then I just expected some explanation about your point of view. Actually, you perfectly answered my question and you gave an interesting explanation of everything; it is just that you seemed very “escandalizada” with my post.
One thing I totally disagree with you is all “rollo” about Beyonce, added to your lesson about distinguishing success from talent. A singer can sell millions of records just because he is good-looking or easy-to-listen. People who buy their records are not really interested in music, they’re more interested in fashion or celebrities. Music is just an excuse there. But I don’t think anyone would ever laugh at somebody’s jokes if he didn’t find them funny. It would be really stupid going at someone who’s laughing at a joke and tell him: “No. You don’t think it is funny. You are faking.” A Beyonce’s fan would say that her music is NICE or that SHE IS BEAUTIFUL. That’s all. That fan would never talk or discuss about the quality of the music because, as I said, that doesn’t interest him.
Well. Enough. Thanks for your long and explained answer. Good luck.
Ha ha— I didn’t know I was being defensive! I guess it came out that way because it’s something I’ve been forced to think about a lot, naturally, since I live here, and “defend” my point of view. I appreciated all your questions and points, de verdad. I didn’t think you were a “dumbass”! And I wasn’t “escandalizada” with your comments — that’s way too Catalan for me. You have to think of it this way: I was ENTHUSED.
I did elaborate on what I DON’T find funny, but then chose not to publish it. I’d rather post things I do find funny, I guess.
I take your point about Beyoncé. But there are as many differences in taste in humor as in music. Many people laugh at things that I would never laugh at, and vice versa. Humor is a totally subjective thing. That’s what I was trying to say.
the spanish jokes are like this: En la secta de mi mujer le han prohibido practicar sexo, pero el otro día la vi agachada comprobando la fecha de caducidad de los yogures y no pude aguantar mas,-¿os habran expulsado de la comunidad?-Le dice uno.- Si, y también del Caprabo- contesta.
WTF?
I know Buenafuente is not a good example, for you, as a comedian, I should have asked about Pepe Rubianes, who’s been, unfortunately, dead for a year now. But perhaps I should have asked about El sobrino del diablo o Martí Piñol (whom I dislike), or Faemino y Cansado.
Poor Rubianes. Yeah, he was the real deal.