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Felipe Esparza Raw-Challenges the World – Y Que!
Gabriel: Welcome back to the nonprofit network I’m Gabriel Buelna and this is our show
“I have something to say” were lucky we’re going to be doing two segments with someone
that some of you seen recently or have seen over the years
I was extremely proud that on August 9th Felipe Esparza who I have here today won The Last
Comic Standing and I can say he won two hundred fifty thousand dollars and I hopefully you’ll
give me at least one percent of that, Felipe can I have one percent of the two hundred
and fifty thousand?
Felipe: How much is that?
Gabriel: How much? That’s Twenty five thousand dollars
Felipe: Well you have to fight with my agent over that
Gabriel: Alright! Alright! I’ll do that
Gabriel: Felipe I watched the show and I have to say part of it is that you were on at first
thought and I really think they were funny, a lot of the comments were funny
I would ask you a comment “the other day on another channel they were doing a show
on food trucks if you’re in LA you call them taco trucks and I found that there wasn’t
one Latino in those taco trucks that were doing a movie on food trucks. Then I see a
Mexican/American on the last comic standing and first I have to say and I apologize for
this and I thought “is he going to win?” you know and I thought to myself you know
the judges didn’t seem to really like you “did you get a sense that they didn’t
like you?”
Felipe: I don’t know I wasn’t really paying attention to what they were saying because
there vote really didn’t count.
Gabriel: So you really paid attention to the fact that you weren’t focusing on
Felipe: No I’m Greg Geraldo I can tell right away he love me right away; and Andy Kindler
– I won him over and the girl in the middle which I’ve known for ever I wasn’t even
listen to her “What was her Nancy”?
Gabriel: No idea she was aggressive
Felipe: Natasha Legero. Yea!
Gabriel: Yea! And she was like “Felipe the way you dressed” and I tough to myself “wow
she’s pretty mean to our guy.
Felipe: But it help to my advantage because it showed America how this guy is really an
underdog and the more she pressed on the more people will come into Felipe’s world.
Gabriel: Now in terms into Felipe’s World the day you won last comic standing “were
you” “how shocked were you on the minute that you won”? In fact we will show the
picture, I have the picture here that you know of the second that you won. “Well what
were you thinking that second that you won”
Felipe: I don’t know I was just shocked that I won. It was finally over and I couldn’t
believe it “I mean I’m old – it was all out-of-body experience
Gabriel: Was it? How long did it take you to maybe get the truly believe the fact that
you really won.
Felipe: I don’t know! When I was standing there I could feel Roy Woods Jr. the other
comedian tap me in my shoulder “congratulations” and Tommy tap me in my back but I didn’t
feel it but finally when I saw the confetti that kind of woke me up. “It was like a
canon!”.
Gabriel: You know let go back you recently you had Ms. Mexico win the Miss Universe pageant
and we as Latinos we don’t see a lot of others. I think George Lopes said “Oh there’s
two percent of Latinos on TV and once I’m not here that two percent is gone”. You
know did you know did you had a sense that -I hear other Latinos I remember when you
that “WOW Felipe is funny, but he is not going to win”.
I think sometime you get Latinos who sense of “wow we are not going to be allowed to
win”. Did you have a sense that you could win going in?
Felipe: Well, I knew going in that I was funny and that really has a lot to do with it. And
I knew that once the crowd of America would finally see my stand up comedy they would
embrace it and like it
Gabriel: So, you would say you went in with the fighting attitude of “you know what
either you like me or not accept me” and it means that’s the attitude you went in
with?
Felipe: Yea! I went in with the attitude that my jokes are funny enough for all of America
to laugh not just my neighborhood.
Gabriel: Now let’s get into edginess of your jokes “did you hold back on the edge”
I’ve seen you live and when I saw you on last comic standing I thought to myself “He
is not using some of his edging material” was it for the censors?
Felipe: Um I think because the show will start at 9 o’clock and I was kind of keeping it
like real clean and finally when the show went to 10 o’clock, that’s when I could
be more edgy like my last show was more edgier that the other shows.
Gabriel: So I mean what was it how did you choose some of the jokes before going in there?
Felipe: I don’t know like
Gabriel: What would of when in?
Felipe: What would of went in?
Gabriel: What would of went in that you can tell us right now?
Felipe: What would of when in?
Gabriel: Yea!! What might have went in but you kept out
Felipe: Um I had a joke, actually every joke that I would write, I would write three minutes
of material on paper and I would turn it in to NBC for approval and then they had to approve
it.
Gabriel: Ok so you went through some censors?
Felipe: Yea!! A lot of them. Only one song, one joke that didn’t get accepted was “Um
I play someone’s Guitar Hero I forgot the words to the songs, so now when I hear my
song I don’t hear the words I just know what colors to press so I couldn’t say Iron
Man from Black Sabbath and I couldn’t sing the song. Normally I say that’s my song
“green, green, yellow, blue and red together orange” I couldn’t sing like that I had
to say “red, green, orange together” and that’s it.
Gabriel: Oohh Ok. So that would permit. The profession of comedy is difficult like a lot
of other professions if you a doctor, an attorney. How long did it take you to reach the success
you been experiencing?
Felipe: Sixteen years
Gabriel: Sixteen years, At what age did you start?
Felipe: I started when I was twenty four or twenty five years old.
Gabriel: Now did anyone you know during or while you in comedy you know you always hear
about comedians taking each other jokes. Has anyone taken your jokes?
Felipe: I don’t know. I’m pretty sure after winning last comic standing someone
is doing my jokes somewhere. I’m pretty sure one taking it or changing it around.
Like some people changing the jokes around like some comedians; like I know a comedian
that had a television show that a lot of his jokes were taken from other comedians; He
thought the no one is going to find out but the internet, made everything is possible.
Gabriel: Right!! Right!! How are you using the internet?
Felipe: Um I met my daughter on my space.
Gabriel: Ok
Felipe: I add her as a friend, she leaves comments. We didn’t get a chat, I send her
a message “I love you but I’m going to block you.
Gabriel: Ok
Felipe: I use the internet for social networking.
Gabriel: What’s your website?
Felipe: www.felipesworld.com You know speaking edgy, you know I have a couple of jokes on
last comic standing that the stuff I talk about on stage on television was “I’m
the only one (you heard it here first) I was the only comedian to make jokes about Arizona,
during the Arizona Immigration Law.
Gabriel: Right
Felipe: I did it on NBC. No one else did it. I’m the only one. I said “the Arizona
Law is scary but if I get deported” (which would be my mistake) I would say the same
thing I say when I get kick out of a club “but Sir. I was already in there! My friends
are already in there! They still have my credit cards.
Gabriel: Now let me ask you on a serious note after “I have to recover, that was pretty
good”. What is your thought on the Arizona Law?
Felipe: Well its tough to say that, because I live in California the safety zone.
Gabriel: Ok; Now let me ask you, I was going to ask you later but I’ll ask you know “Any
thoughts on the Mosque that’s been building in New York City?
Felipe: You know if you going to start complaining about a Mosque being buillt next to the Twin
Towers were they used to be; why stop there why not complain about a McDonalds been build
across the street from gym or there is a, they selling marijuana next to the rehab;
you know what I mean. Why not focus on those things. Everybody talks about the first amendment
but only when it affects you.
Gabriel: Ok
Felipe: “If it’s not affecting me, I don’t care about the first amendment”
Gabriel: Right, Part of success is that you’re not afraid about bringing up the issue of
being Mexican and being poor. Many will shy away from that. Why have you not shied away
from happily identifying yourself with the roots of growing up poor? You grew up, were
did you grew up?
Felipe: I grew up in the Housing projects of Pico Gardens, Aliso Village and Pico Aliso.
The only reason I don’t shy of been Mexican cause look at me! I’m not a guero; I’m
not light skinned like you! It will be hard for me to say that I’m not Mexican. I don’t
have hold a tamal on my hand, people know when they see me. They know a Mexican
Gabriel/Felipe: cause of the “NOPAL”.
Felipe: They know when they see me check out their lady when they are holding her hand
that I’m Mexican.
Gabriel: Growing up in the projects “it’s a tuff neighborhood” I am correct?
Felipe: Tuff neighborhood one time buglers broke in our house and they couldn’t find
anything to steal, so they woke us up to make fun of us. The police showed up and make fun
of us two, they said “look they took everything here”
Gabriel: Ok (laugh)
Felipe: Yea!! And they got my sister pregnant again look at her she’s five months!
Gabriel: So (laugh)
Felipe: They took my dad too!
Gabriel: Now comedy in the neighborhood, were you funny growing up?
Felipe: If you don’t know how to fight in my neighborhood, you better be funny or know
how to hang out with thieves. I used make fun of peoples moms’ that’s my thing.
Gabriel: How you do that?
Felipe: That’s easily man there’s so many people laughing at you – what do you do
“start crying”
Gabriel: Ok now let’s talk about the (laughs); you need to come up with a book Felipe! When
is the book coming out?
Felipe: I don’t know man. I’m waiting for Oprah to give me a deal.
Gabriel: Now, growing up, you grew up in what’s probably called the – you have Pico Aliso,
Pico Gardens; the concentration probably the biggest housing projects in the City of Los
Angeles.
Felipe: Its huge Man.
Gabriel: Was it growing up in that environment, those that play a part in the core of your
comedy?
Felipe: Yea It does a lot! Because I have so many things to pick from; my environment
was so “vast” the new word. We had Vietnamese people in my neighborhood; we had two white
people in the neighborhood, just two, Mr. West and Lou Hessen and there were somebody
in the other side too but there were so many things to pick from because when we got there
they were mostly black and when we left there were more Latinos
Gabriel: What High School did you go to?
Felipe: I went to Roosevelt High School.
Gabriel: Have you gone back there and interacted with people there
Felipe I went back to Roosevelt High School to pick up my sister from school. But I did
show there once, I don’t remember for what it was but it was at that High School at the
school gym. Also, when I started doing comedy, two years into comedy I did Red Ribbon in
Coachella.
Gabriel: So, in the next episode Felipe which hopefully you will stick around, don’t go
anywhere. We will have immigration out there. Janet Brewer from Arizona is going to be here
if you leave.
In the next episode we’re going to ask Felipe “What is his responsibility? Does he feels
he has a responsibility as a Latino comic in promoting and assisting others in that
environment
Thank you very much we’ll see you next time.