From Broadway stages to nationwide theaters– Latino actors and comics dominating with unforgettable performances! Oh, and Paul Rodriguez talks shop and politics!
By Dale Reynolds
While growing in size, the number of Latino actors who are stage-stars are not yet plentiful. Although Lin-Manuel Miranda is singlehandedly taking care of that with the roles he has given Latinos in his two Tony-winning Broadway shows In The Heights and Hamilton. One of those young actors is Anthony Ramos, who appeared in both of Lin-Miranda’s Broadway production. He recently starred in A Star is Born, and recently cast as the lead in the film adaptation of In The Heights.
Among the other Latinos to grace the Broadway stage are: Colombian-born John Leguizamo, Spanish-born Antonio Banderas, Mexican-born Diego Luna, Eugenio Derbez, and Gael Garcia Bernal, Guatemalan-born Oscar Isaacs (Hernández Estrada), and Cuban-born William Levy and Andy Garcia. USA-born includes Ruben Santiago-Hudson (upstate New York), San Diego-born Mario Lopez, Los Angeles-born Edward James Olmos, Brooklyn-born Jimmy Smits and Puertoricaño Hector Elizando, who originated the role of God-The-Bathhouse-Attendant in the original off Broadway production of Steambath.
And let us not forget the comics: Mexican-born Cristobal Franco and Felipe Esparza, Honduran-born Carlos Mencia, as well as Los Angeles-born George Lopez and Cheech Marin, among dozens of others.
Paul Rodriguez and Jeff LeBeau Photo Credits: Odyssey Theater
But one who permanently stands out is Mexican-born Paul Rodriguez, 64, who is currently starring in a revival of that same Steambath (by Bruce Jay Friedman), at the Odyssey Theatre in West Los Angeles, until December 16th).
For Rodriguez, acting in comedies is a major strength of his, even in a play that hasn’t held up very well. To the comic, “It’s an anachronism, very sexist and misogynistic, but funny.”
However, he’s a big one on doing research, including in this case, developing a Puerto Rican accent. “Theater is a must for actors. I studied with Luis Valdez in L.A., and one summer in San Juan Bautista, California. I’ve performed off-Broadway, in San Diego, at the L.A. Theatre Center last year in The Pitch, as well as other spaces. Even doing films and stand-up, I didn’t consider myself an actor until I concentrated on doing theater.”
Here, his acting strengths come through with impeccable timing and a wry sense of humor. Friedman’s play is about a NYC bathhouse in which a group of dead folk, mostly men, await their final placement. Intermittently funny, it does allow strong comic acting from the ensemble.
Paul Rodriguez
In addition to acting, Rodriguez volunteers for a variety of charity groups, including the Diabetes Foundation and Junior Diabetes. “I try to find where I’m most effective, which has included working for the Latino Water Coalition, a water conservation initiative recently passed by the California legislature, which guarantees needed water in Central California. My roots are in Fresno, where I worked for the grape-strike initiated by the United Farm Workers and Cesar Chavez.”
Ironically, he feels he is now disliked by the UFW, an organization he condemns for being “too corporate.”
“They take money from the Gallo Bros. I’m pro-farmer.”
This from a supporter of President Trump, is a card-carrying Republican. “Every day is a struggle as I’ve become a pariah to my friends. But I’ve always believed in the American Dream: live well, raise your children right. Too many [Anglo] Americans don’t see us Latinx peoples as intellectuals. They see us as not very successful as a culture. We’ve almost disappeared from the media, but if you look around you’ll see us everywhere from Bangor, Maine, to Alaska, where hard jobs with low wages exist. And blaming illegal aliens [undocumented immigrants] for our troubles is dumb… there aren’t enough buses to deport us all.”
Fired up, he continues.
“It’s the squeaky wheel that creates the grease. Politically, we need a Jessie Jackson. Too many people here want to [borrow] our culture without taking us along. I’m an old guy, knowing the future of Latinos because we do have children who go to college, and we are everywhere in business, politics and in religion. Our numbers are too big to ignore. We’re still waiting for Moses, from some tiny place in America who will help us to stay true to the ideals of the Culture. The children of enchiladas will take us to the end of the Universe. I mean, look at how white people want to be us. They put oil on their children to be more brown. But we are America. I expect to be a footnote in the history of America, [but] in the wall, as a solid brick.”
The irony of his political affiliation while bemoaning racism does seem odd, however.
“No, I’m working from within the system to change things. We need an influx of Hispanic-Americans who believe in family and being our own self-starters, who don’t believe the State should take care of us.
When I was young, I was a revolutionist who wanted to change the world – at this age I’m lucky to change my pants.” So being a political Conservative is part of his roots.
“What doesn’t work in society becomes clearer as we age. As a young comedian I knew Donald Trump. I worked in his casinos, so I have a perspective on him. There are a lot of us who are Republican, but most Latinos don’t have the balls to come over to my side. Trump is coarse; the media rips him a new asshole [for it]. But he is right on immigration, we have to protect our borders. I’m an immigrant who was in the American Air Force – not the Mexican Air Force. I’ve been to the Middle East, Iraq, and Afghanistan during my tours of duty. As a veteran, I’ve the right to speak my mind. I wore the uniform. I was born in Mexico, but been in America since age four. I believe in the ideals of my upbringing and I believe the promise behind correcting them.”
If he sounds defensive, he isn’t. “I’m a clown, but not wishy-washy, even though it has cost me dearly. I have compassion and can see others’ points-of-view. I’ve been rich and poor – several times. I come from humble beginnings, so I don’t care where you’re from, but where you are at. I marched with Cesar Chavez, I had dinner with [Nelson] Mandela; have met kings, queens, middle-class, and poor. I have a rich background, so I know what I talk about.
“Look, we inherit our politics from family. Both parties have positive things to offer, but I believe in smaller government and supporting small business people. No handouts. We have to earn it by sweat of our brows. The trouble now is that Republicans don’t speak to or for Latinx peoples. There’s racism in our party, and much of that is personal, which is nonsense. Facts show us who we are and truth will out.
“America has a hate/love relationship with [Latinos]. Our people make their living, some of them, by picking lettuce and tomatoes. America knows it needs cheap labor. So, one solution: we need a new Bracero program, where men would come from Mexico and Central America and work, and then return to their families with dinero. Most folk come here for survival – the politics of hunger. I voted for Obama first term, but his was a government of smoke and mirrors – the worst eight years in modern America. We thought the color of his skin meant trust, but Obama was not good for blacks or for Latinos.”
Rodriguez is now on an upwards trajectory in his career, following a checkered past. A sitcom, a.k.a Pablo on NBC lasted for only six episodes. Then one season as the last host of The Newlywed Game, as well as hosting a Friday night television show, El Show de Paul Rodriguez that was broadcast on Univision for two years in the early ‘90s. A decade later, he hosted two seasons of the MTV’s comedy home video series, Mis Videos Locos, a reality show featuring video footage of Latinx people from various countries filmed by devices such as surveillance cameras and mobile phones.
Rodriguez had also been featured in several feature films, such as Blood Work with Clint Eastwood, D.C. Cab, Born in East L.A., Tortilla Soup, Rat Race, and Ali, and has performed voiceover roles for King of the Hill, Dora the Explorer, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua. He has also directed and starred in the film A Million to Juan, and produced and appeared in the 2002 comedy film The Original Latin Kings of Comedy. In 2009, the Paul Rodriguez: Comedy Rehab movie featured a night of Latino comedy and two years later, Paul Rodriguez: Just for the Record, a live performance by him, released in 2011.
Paul Rodriguez
As for awards, in 2004 Comedy Central ranked him at #74 on its list of the “100 Greatest Stand-ups of all Time,” and later was awarded “Humanitarian of the Year” by the City of Fresno for his work in the area of water conservation.[6]
Rodriguez has two children, Paul Rodriguez Jr. (known as “P-Rod”), a professional skateboarder , and another son, Lucas, now 18 with Nely Galan (fomer President of Entertainment for Telemundo).
Well-liked in the Industry, he still owns a couple of comedy clubs, where he performs occasionally. Comic Cris Franco, specifically, understands the arc of his career. “He came onto the screen just after the Freddie Prinze’s suicide, and inherited the mantle by becoming the face of Latino comedy until George Lopez. It appears, sadly, that the American media only allows x-number of named Latino talent,” he said.
“There are certain categories in which America doesn’t want to know more than one or two to be giants. There seems to be a concept of only allowing a certain amount of talent, which is very true for comedy. And the internet today allows anybody to post their acts the night after. In the old days, you’d do the material at plenty of places. Today, the audience and timing is different. Has it helped or hurt comedy, this over-exposure?” Franco asked.
“Possibly. I’ve read that mass consciousness is shallow and Hollywood likes to brand things and people. But Paul’s comedic vocabulary is very broad – you’ll find all styles of comedy in his act: a stupid joke next to a smart joke. For instance, ‘Samoans are so large that when they die, they’re thrown into the ocean to create new islands,’ or ‘Latinos are black, white, brown, beige. What does that say about our ancestors? We’ll sleep with anybody!’ And, my favorite: ‘Mom, Oscar is here – Oscar being a code name for the landlord – ‘which Oscar’ she asks? And he replies: ‘Oscar de la Renta!’”
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