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Gabriel Iglesias: Getting Gigantic? By
NATALIE CAMPOS, Latino comedian Gabriel “Picachu” Iglesias’ favorite pre-show meal has become something of a routine. “Anything consisting of a lot of cheese and meat,” said the California native from a diner in San Francisco. “Chicken quesadillas, burritos with a lot of cheese. Grilled cheese sandwiches. Cheeseburgers. As long as it has cheese, I’m happy.” Iglesias, the rising star of a recent boom in Latino comics, needs the sustenance. After five years on Galavisión, the comedy hour “¡Qué Locos!” hit the road in 2001 and sold out in venues across the country. Alum Iglesias benefited enormously from being associated with the tour, which is credited with creating a long-over due platform for Latino comedians. For Iglesias, the experience not only helped to create an incredibly loyal fan base, but also helped him to develop a strong sense of social responsibility. “Especially when we would go to places where there weren’t as many (Latinos), it was amazing,” he said. “We would be in a place like Indianapolis, and the (Latinos) would make it a point to come up to me after the show and say, ‘Wow! I can’t believe you are here!’ It was like the second coming of Cesar Chavez. It was like I performed an amazing feat or a magic act. I was just there to make people laugh. It was incredible.” Now the headliner for his own show, Iglesias has been making a lot of people laugh lately. He’s also performed on notable venues such as “The Tonight Show,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Showtime’s “Latino Laugh Festival,” “Good Morning America” and “Showtime at the Apollo.” He’s guest starred on ABC’s “My Wife & Kids” and was involved in the WB pilot for “Deez Nuts.” Fans use words like “huge” and “gigantic” – but they aren’t speaking of the 27-year-old’s generous frame, which Iglesias refers to as “fluffy.” “He’s so huge,” said 28-year-old Tina Herrera. “He’s becoming such a big name. I like to tell people that I was his fan before any of this began.” It’s a claim made by many El Pasoans, who Iglesias said are among his most loyal and long-term fans. “El Paso was my first time on the road,” he said. “I was going crazy. I still had my day job, so I took the week off. I was too excited to be there. I had just gotten a cell phone and I didn’t know the concept of roaming. So all during that trip, I kept calling everyone I knew yelling, ‘Hey! I’m on the road!’ When the cell phone bill came back, it was twice what I had made that week. I had the time of my life. I couldn’t believe it. El Paso welcomed me with open arms.” So much so that Iglesias thanked El Paso in his new CD “Picachu… I see you” for giving him a start. “I love El Paso,” Iglesias said. “It’s my home away from home. That’s where everything took off for me. The radio stations, TV stations there have been so great. I was able to do the El Paso Water Utilities commercials. No other city has given me that much support. You would think (El Pasoans) are family the way they show up for me.” Among his influences, Iglesias counts comedy legends Eddie Murphy (“I must have watched ‘Raw’ 100 times!”) and Paul Rodriguez, who was something of a partner-in-crime as well as mentor. “Last time I was in El Paso, (Paul) kidnapped me,” he said. “He came out to (Bart Reed’s Comic Strip) and said, ‘I’m taking you out for tacos.’ So we crossed the border and, on the way back, the minivan we were in gets stopped. The Border Patrol agent looks at me and says, ‘I know you! You’re hilarious!’ I asked him, ‘What do you think of the guy sitting next to me?’ He looks at Paul, and almost had a heart attack. Next thing you know, we’re outside taking pictures. ” It was the kind of moment that seemed long in the making for Iglesias. “I was always the quiet, chubby kid walking around the school campus,” he said. “But when I was (in high school), I took a speech class. We got extra credit for speaking. By the end of the school year, I could have passed that class three times. I ended up loving it. I didn’t write anything down beforehand. I just performed. I loved the feeling of attention and acceptance I got. I made fun of whatever. It was a good feeling. Speech was a vehicle where I could be heard. ”It was there in high school that Iglesias’ signature style of telling stories, creating characters and using sound effects rather than spouting off jokes began to be formed. “I get my material from things that happen every day,” he said, using his 10-year high school reunion as an example. “I had too much to drink and I made an ass of myself. When they asked ‘Who has been on TV?,’ one of the girls handed me a mike. I said, ‘I see three or four girls who turned me down in high school. But you know what? You girls got fat and now I drive a Hummer.’ One of the girls tells me, ‘You’re fat, too!’ And I said, ‘I was always fat. I kept my figure, why couldn’t you?’ It was the conversation of the night. I don’t use writers. I use real life.” Real life will also be the inspiration for his next project, a television show that will be about – what else? – a struggling comedian who works at the concessions booth at Los Angeles Staples Center and lives with his mother and sister. Iglesias and the producers plan to begin shopping around for networks soon. “It’s not going to be a ‘Latino show,’” Iglesias said. “It’s just going to be a funny show. It won’t have an all-Latino show. It’s going to be modern. I want to show people that (Latinos) are here, but we don’t have to be stereotypical.” And if it doesn’t work out? “My heart won’t be crushed, as long as I’m doing what I love,” Iglesias said. “I love standup.” Iglesias is currently on the road with other rising Latino comedic stars – Felipe Esparza, Armando Cosio and Martin Moreno. Iglesias takes his job of breaking new acts into the business seriously. “There are so many people trying to get into this, and they want and need as much help as possible,” said Iglesias, who credits his roommate for paying the bills when he couldn’t make rent. “I try to help as much as I possible. I couldn’t have done this without (my roommate). He drove me to the shows. He pushed me onto the stage at my first gig.” For the El Paso trip, Iglesias is already planning his excursions. “I HAVE to go to Chicos,” he said. “It’s tradition. I was there on my 21st birthday. The cooks all know me now.”
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