Thursday, July 12, 2007

Top Humourists of Latin America

So as you all know my research was about Political Humour and Social Transformation in Latin America and I spent my year meeting several artists, cartoonists and comedians. Here are a list of my favourite humourists whom I met and interviewed. I have included a lot of womyn because I am actually drawn to them but also because since there are so few female comedians, it is necessary to give them as much publicity as possible:

Nicaragua
Manuel Guillen
Guillen is a cartoonist who produces a very popular show entitled 'Los Hulosos.' His critique has shifted in recent years because he has become a born-again Christian but he is one of the most successful comedians/cartoonists in Central America.

Luis Enrique Calderon
He is Nicaragua's only stand-up comedian who imitates several politicians, news-broadcasters and presidents. His ability to sound exactly like politicians is what has made him so famous and loved by the Nicaraguan public.

Els Van Poppel
She is the director of a popular theatre group entitled MOVITEP_SF (Movimiento de Teatro Popular Sin Fronteras) and does a lot of street theatre that has to do with HIV/AIDS, womyn's rights and sexual exploitation of children.

Honduras
Bey Avendano and Miguel Angel Montoya are some of the most radical cartoonists in Honduras. They pride themselves in speaking for poor people and try to reach out to the most marginalised groups in Honduras. Miguel Angel Montoya also published under authoritarian regimes in Honduras and was recently honoured for his work and his courage to dare be a voice of dissent during Honduras most difficult periods.

Napoleon Ham
He is a cartoonist working towards producing new comedians and cartoonists. He has recently opened a cartoon school for children and supports development of all young artists-both male and female.

Argentina
Martin Rocco
A self-trained stand-up comedian, he was the first to bring stand-up comedy to Buenos Aires. He learnt the art of stand-up comedy by watching videos of comedians all over the world but particularly those in the United States. He started performing in local clubs and later taught stand-up comedy at one of the local universities in Buenos Aires.

Gabriela Acher
One of Argentina's most famous and loved comedians, Acher brought issues of gender and sexuality through her writing and her performances on various television programs. A self-proclaimed feminist, her humour traces the experiences of middle-class womyn and the difficulties of motherhood, childrearing etc.

Andres Cascioli
One of Argentina's finest cartoonists, he is the founder of groundbreaking magazine HUMOR which critiqued the military junta in the 1970s. The legacy of HUMOR lives on today and is recognised as one of the greatest comic magazines in South America.

Patricia Ianigro
One of the directors of Teatro Por La Identidad, Ianigro works with the Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo towards reuniting families by finding children and relatives of the people who disappeared under the military junta in Argentina. She uses theatre to take her work to the people and to tell the stories of those who died or who survived Argentina's authoritarian regimes.

Peru
Sergio Paris
One of the founders of the Improv Group Keto, this Argentian actor and director moved to Lima, Peru and has contributed to the art of improvisation in Peru's capital.

Nazira
As an actress she trains young people to become great actors and improvisers at the Keto school. It is her belief that improvisation is essential to creative growth for any artist and the building of one's self confidence.

This is a small list of my favourite comedians but only a small reflection of many artists and comedians I met throughout my time in the region. I am confident that the humourists I mentioned will add to the legacy and tradition of producing deeply political humour in South America that lead toward social change.

2 comments:

jacquelina said...

you list a lot of women --is that because there are actually a lot of female humorists or you just happen to have been drawn to them and sought them out? maybe you've addressed this in your blogs, but i've been checking on and off and may have missed that...if you haven't addressed it, then please do....

D.M.R said...

I have included a lot of womyn because I am actually drawn to them but also because since there are so few female comedians, it is necessary to give them as much publicity as possible: