The first day of Antojitos Fest featured various Latinx improvisational troupes and stand-up comedians at Chicago’s iO Theater June 30.
Wig beauty contests, songs about goldfish and the ever-mistaken Mr. Avocado. The evening of June 30 brought endless “jajajas” to The iO Theater at 1501 N. Kingsbury St. with stand-up and improv acts from various Latinx talents.
Antojitos Fest, founded by Chicago’s own Antojitos improv troupe, delivered their inaugural two-day festival in Spanish, English and Spanglish.
Rudy Mendoza, the group’s founder, emphasized the importance of developing a Latinx-centered space for comedians. He spoke to his previous experience as a student in the comedy space and his growth since then.
“I just realized that when I was doing improv, I wasn’t using my lived experience as much as I should have,” said Mendoza, a 34-year-old of Panamanian and Cuban descent.
Reflecting upon the misión for Antojitos Fest, Mendoza’s ultimate goal is to showcase the value of Latinx culture and what it brings to the comedy space.
“I want to build a bridge, to do our best to represent the Latinidad of our people,” he said. “We’re not trying to impress anybody, we’re just trying to make other people laugh.”
Antojitos Fest’s marketing lead and troupe member Angelica Davila said the event was created to provide a space for international improv performers.
“We want it to feel like a carne asada without the carne asada,” Davila said. The 32-year-old’s family is from Mexico, where special guest The Assembly México hails from.
A well-rounded, monolingual troupe, The Assembly México joined the festival’s two other improv troupes — Antojitos and Heraldo, the latter introduced as Chicago’s longest-running Spanish improv group.
Sara De Lille, founder of The Assembly México, flew in from Mexico City alongside members of the troupe days before Antojitos Fest. Mendoza and Davila said they opened their doors for the visiting group, giving them a place to stay for the weekend.
“To perform in a different country, to perform in a different city, it’s an amazing opportunity to get to know other improvisers, to get to know the scene in that place,” said De Lille, 38. “But also it’s very exciting to have this collaboration, to have this intercambio with Antojitos also.”
Even before the event began, the venue space was filled with an appreciable, vibrant ambiance.
Two doors stood on either side of a curtained opening inside the bustling room. At the back of the venue, a DJ played reggaeton and other Latin music. Attendees filled every seat in the venue as whispers of English and Spanish conversations filled the air.
Suddenly, a green wig-clad Mendoza and an orange wigged Davila emerged from a side door and performed a semi-synchronized dance to the lively crowd to introduce the event.
The duo addressed the audience in Spanish and English, building momentum for the slew of Latinx comedians later to come.
“We brought a lot of funny people from a lot of funny places,” Mendoza said.
The performances started with a song about a fish.
Vernon Mina, an actor-comedian who’d later join Heraldo’s set, emerged from backstage — guitar case in-hand — and performed an array of witty songs involving the life of a goldfish who had one too many tortas.
Lived experiences were at the forefront of what the night had to offer. A majority of the skits and references made throughout the night were microcosms of Latinx cultures and dramatized antics.
One of many skits in Antojitos’ set featured a desperate father attempting to find his lover via metal detector, while his child begrudgingly tagged along. They were later reprimanded by an English-speaking officer, who relied on his child for Spanish translations — a scene playfully depicting the reality for many first-generation Latinos.
During their performance, Antojitos members’ chemistry radiated as they riffed off one another’s subtle actions and jokes while making callbacks to earlier moments. Evidently, the cast was comfortable with one another, giggling offstage while others were in the spotlight
The end of Antojitos’ set was marked by each comedian lining up across the front of the room, joining each other in an impromptu dance session, accompanied by the DJ’s Latin music mix.
Featured on Comedy Central Latinoamérica, Argentinian comedian Eliana La Casa was introduced as the next guest for the night, sparking an elated applause through the crowd. Just before her monologue began, she playfully introduced herself in Spanish.
“Soy Eliana, soy de Argentina…perdón,” she said with a chuckle as the crowd laughed along with her.
She continued by toying with Argentine stereotypes and her personal dating life while living in Chicago. Her personable, relatable anecdotes make her set one of the most memorable of the night.
Following La Casa, comedy troupe Heraldo performed a set that instantly charmed the crowd. After settling on a location suggested by an audience member, the group members acted out different items they’d find in a house — statues of baby Jesus, a “Reservoir Dogs” poster and all-seeing glass walls.
Part of what made Heraldo’s set special was their cultural references and constant movement throughout the floor, making for an engaging performance. Though their set was almost entirely in Spanish, their energy and comedic timing expanded beyond language barriers.
Featured at the 2022 Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, Colombian stand-up comedian Jayson Acevedo followed Heraldo’s performance. From explicit Adele covers to the story behind his gray infinity scarf, Acevedo made the crowd bellow with laughter through his expressive storytelling style.
He recounted the story of how a child at the school he works at read his name tag as “Mr. Avocado” rather than “Acevedo.” She explained to him that she didn’t know how to pronounce his last name and was rather fond of avocados — later taking back the Mr. Avocado name when she explained “you are not a healthy fat.”
Acevedo’s comedic style made for a notable and unfalteringly funny set. He went over his scheduled performance time, pausing to express his gratitude to the audience.
“I can tell you right now, I’m incredibly proud to be on this stage tonight with so many goddamn Latinos,” said Acevedo, 29. “When I was 16 and I started, the burden was I had to be what I wanted to look up to, and 16-year-old Jayson would be jumping up and down right now seeing all the talent, all the love, all the passion.”
As the final act, De Lille and The Assembly México put their game of the scene, or patterned comedy style, on full display for the crowd. Their audience engagement demonstrated unwavering commitment to expressing the multifaceted characters they created onstage.
Entirely in Spanish, their performance featured a skit about a group of superheroes who brainstorm ways to compete against popular TikTok creators.
“Yo consegui un cumpleaños en Michoacán,” De Lille exclaimed to her fellow group mates. Some audience members cheered at the sound of the southern Mexico state — exemplifying the crowd’s engagement with The Assembly México and their Latinx pride.
Just after their set, Mendoza announced his gratitude to the crowd for their attendance and stated the second night of Antojitos Fest was also entirely sold out, to which the crowd boomed with cheers. “La Bomba” by azul azul played on loudspeakers as people filed out.
A success by any definition, the first day of Antojitos Fest executed a night filled with boundless Latinx talent and served as a testament to the multidimensional capabilities of comedians within Chicago and across other Latin American countries.
Continuing the festivities, on the last Saturday of every month, Logan Square Improv hosts Antojitos’ BYOB event called La Hora de Antojitos, which features various comedic, musical and poetry acts. Each event starts at 10 p.m. and tickets are available at the Logan Square Improv website.
Featured photo by Angela Ramírez / The Phoenix
