By Tyler Davidson
By Tyler Davidson
With over a quarter of a century in the entertainment business under his belt, legendary comedian Paul Rodriguez shows no signs of stopping with the latest incarnation of his “Latin Kings of Comedy” tour hitting the road this spring.
Headlining the five-year-old tour, Rodriguez is backed by a group of relatively unknown comics, in the form of Frank Lucero, Dennis Gaxiola, and Manny Maldonado.
“I predict (that Manny) will be probably the most famous of all of us,” Rodriguez said in a telephone interview with Viewpoints. “He’s original, he’s insane… remember Manny Maldonado, by this time next year, he will be the stuff, man.”
Rodriguez is happy with the lineup put together for the comedy tour.
“I selected (the line-up,)” Rodriguez said. “This group that I’m travelling with is probably the tightest, most talented group I’ve traveled with. And that’s saying something, considering that Carlos (Mencia), George (Lopez), and I traveled together and did the ‘Three Amigos’ tour.”
Rodriguez also wants to be sure that comedy fans of all ethnicities will enjoy the “Latin Kings of Comedy” tour.
“This is not the ‘Beat Up the White People’ tour…I wanted to make sure that if you’re part of an interracial couple, you’re not gonna get beat up, you know? It has a lot more to do with your condition in life than (with) your complexion.”
Citing comedian Joe Rogan’s personal mission to expose “joke thieves” like Carlos Mencia and Dane Cook, Rodriguez thinks that comedy is beginning to be taken a bit too seriously.
“We’re not talking about nuclear secrets here…we’re talking about a joke! Whoever beats who to the airwaves is who the audience is going to remember,” Rodriguez said.
“This doesn’t make it right, but I think it just screws up your own career. I think [he would be better off] if Joe would concentrate on quitting making people eat crap on that ‘Fear Factor’ and concentrate on the very talented, very great stand-up that he is.”
On the same hand, however, he thinks that the blatant plagiarism that Carlos Mencia has become known for isn’t the way to go.
“I said ‘You’re a talented performer, man, there’s plenty of material out there, you don’t have to do that.’ But, he didn’t listen,” he said.
Having been on the forefront of the comedy scene for a number of years, as well as being known as one of the most legendary Latin comics in history, Paul Rodriguez is sure to deliver the performance of a lifetime, accompanied by his “royal court of Latin comics” on the tour.
The “Crown Royal Latin Kings of Comedy” comes to the Municipal Auditorium in downtown Riverside on Thursday, May 17.
To read the complete with comedian Paul Rodriguez click here