Latin laughs with a woman’s name: the four female comedians who are conquering the American stage

Latina comedians have a lot to say and they know how to do it and how to reach the American public with increasing force. In addition, irony becomes their best ally: when they denounce with humor, the interlocutors are more receptive. They talk about almost any issue with aplomb and without restraint, and the freshness of the topics they address, going beyond the politically correct, has made them gain popularity. Something that the big platforms have quickly noticed, which have dedicated special programs to them. Among them, names such as Joanna Haussmann, Melissa Villaseñor, Sofía Niño de Rivera and Cristela Alonzo stand out. But how have these women captivated the American public with their jokes?

Joanna Hausmann

Venezuelan-American Joanna Hausmann, 35, began to find success thanks to both the Internet and a strong connection to her identity, that of a Jewish Venezuelan who speaks English and Spanish and lives in the United States. When she began uploading videos to Youtube By making humor about his identity crisis, he realized that the situations he was experiencing also happened to many other people. That’s how his career began to grow. An example of this is the video 5 Misconceptions About Latinos (Five Misconceptions About Latinos) went viral, receiving 1.7 million views. “The Internet has changed everything,” Haussman says over the phone while being made up before a Show“Anyone can become a creator, producer, editor and get on stage without anyone’s approval.”

Hausmann went from working as an assistant on Univision’s bilingual digital platform, Flameto become one of its main stars with his own digital series: Joanna Rants. When she announced in her last episode that she was leaving, more than 2,700 people mourned her departure in the comments. Many predicted that Flame would die without her. And indeed, she did. Hausmann now lives in Los Angeles, California, where she is the main screenwriter for Hamster and Gretelthe first Disney series starring for the first time a married couple made up of a Venezuelan woman and an American man. At the same time, he co-directs with comedian Jenny Lorenzo Hyphenated, a hilarious podcast in English about the experience of being a Latina immigrant in the United States.

Melissa Villaseñor

Born in California to Mexican parents, this 36-year-old comedian has become the first Latina to be part of the main cast of the legendary Saturday night Livethe most popular comedy show in the United States and one of the most powerful catapults to fame for any comedian worth his salt. She was part of the main cast for six seasons, from 2018 to 2022. Known for being one of the best impersonators in the world, she was a semi-finalist on the show America’s Got Talent in 2011, imitating fellow comedian Sarah Silverman. But she could also impersonate Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus or Lady Gaga.

She has no shortage of talent: she is also an actress, illustrator and singer. You can keep track of her by listening to her podcast Laughing with myself (Laughing to myself) or reading the book she published in 2022, Whoops . . . I’m Awesome. And although their sketches They are always in English, precisely on February 1st This year she laughed at herself for not having practiced her Spanish and not being able to communicate with her grandmother. Something she seems to be remedying.

Sofia Nino de Rivera

Sofía Niño de Rivera (Mexico, 42 years old) is causing a sensation inside and outside her country: on TikTok she is followed by 2.4 million people; Instagram, 1.5. In his recent shows Tickets were sold out in Chicago and New York, and before continuing his successful tour of Latin America (he has previously toured much of the United States and Canada) he will visit other American cities such as San Antonio, Texas (on June 28) and Miami, Florida (on June 29).

The public loves her. She was the first Mexican woman to have a Spanish-language comedy special on Netflix and in 2022 Amazon Prime published an intimate documentary called I would do it again where she reflects on her rise to fame, as well as other issues ranging from death, marriage, motherhood or life in Mexico. Her speech escapes mere entertainment; from her social networks and her performances invites its followers to get involved in political life, for example by voting.

Cristela Alonzo

Cristela Alonzo (born in Texas, 45 years old, to Mexican parents) has already made history twice. The first time for being the first Latina to write, produce and star in her own sitcom in United States, Cristelawhich premiered on the ABC network in 2014, producing and broadcasting 22 episodes. And the second, by becoming the first Latina to lend a voice to one of the protagonists of an animated film by the giant Pixar. She did it in Cars 3which premiered in 2017, where he played Cruz Ramírez (the yellow car, in honor of Colombia).

Her life, however, has not been easy. During her childhood she lived in extreme poverty, sleeping in abandoned places with her family, without being able to afford her education. The loss of her mother, who died when she was 22 and to whom she was very close, was what prompted her to launch herself into the stand-upLike many other people, humor helped her cope with pain and reality. The surprise was that, since then, her success has been unstoppable.

Now, in addition to a podcast called To be continued, which began its journey in 2016, two specials on Netflix (Middle classy) and a very busy schedule of performances around the United States (Upper classywhich will take her across the country from April to November and where tickets are already sold out in some cities), even has a store on-line with its own merchandising. “I made TV history, no big deal” (“I have made television history, it’s not that big of a deal”) he jokes on his account Instagramwith more than half a million followers.