S1: Growing up in Tijuana , a little girl sat in front of the television watching what would become one of Latin America's most beloved comedy series.
S2: I'm in trouble once again. No. Ninguna.
S1: El Chavo del Ocho.
S3: At that time , the little girl didn't fully understand the challenges her family was facing , or how hard her parents were working to build a life.
S1: She also didn't know that her family would soon make a life changing decision.
S3: Crossing the border and starting over in the United States.
S1: That decision meant changing schools , learning a new language , and adapting to life in a new country.
S4: I barely spoke English , and I remember wanting to use the bathroom and didn't know how to say , can I go to the bathroom? And I had to say like raise my hand and just say peepee.
S3: And it wasn't easy. But there was one thing that kept the family together and helped them get through those difficult years. Comedy.
S1: Comedy.
S4: I think it's because we were so poor , and it was such a dire situation that my family's way of managing dire situation is through through humor.
S1: That little girl is Lourdes Allen , a political lobbyist , an advocate by day , and a stand up comedian by night.
S5: Amigos , we will have lunch. Una vez mas alla caravana de Ambrosio con nosotros durante la hora de Diversidad Capital. Civitas.
S2: Civitas. Kavita , Kavita. Good afternoon. Ya nosotros.
S1: Lourdes consumed a healthy mix of both Mexican and American comedy , from La Caravana de Ambrosio tequila to Charlie Chaplin and her favorite , I Love Lucy. Lucy.
S5: Lucy.
S6: Breakfast is ready.
S7: For me , dear.
S8: See , I was a giant.
S4: Fan of I Love Lucy. I thought she was hilarious and there was something about her , even as a kid that I was really drawn to. And I would add that on El Tiempo Bajo , I would watch. I would watch her and her comedy.
S1: These were the comedians in shows that filled Lords home with laughter. And even though she didn't understand all the English dialogue , she enjoyed watching all of them for this comedy needed no translation. Years later , she would discover that humor could be much more than entertainment. It could become her voice.
S9: My love. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here. Beautiful people , I love it , I love it. My name is Lourdes Ioan.
S3: We spoke with her in front of a live audience during KPBS podcast live the Art of protest about comedy as a form of resistance.
S1: Today's episode is that interview. We hope you enjoy it.
S3: From KPBS. This is Port of Entry.
S1: Where we tell cross-border stories that connect us.
S10: I'm Alan Lilienthal.
S1: And I'm Natalia Gonzalez.
S3: You're listening to Port of Entry. Hello.
S10: Hello. Hi.
S11: Hi. Hi. How are you? Good. Nice. Thank you. And I'm again Natalie Gonzalez.
S10: And I'm Alan Lilienthal. And we're the host of Port of Entry , a show if you've never. Who here has never heard the show? Don't be shy. No. No shame. It's cool. Well , we're for you. For people. We're , uh , a show. A show about cross border life. The humans who cross the border for the infinite reasons people cross borders. And most importantly , to highlight the shared humanity that people on different sides of borders or more imaginary divisions have. It's important.
S11: And today we are talking about protest. And protest doesn't always take the form that we expect. Sometimes say it's a march , but sometimes it can be a song or a theatre play or a painting , or sometimes it can be comedy. And both Alan and I are huge fans of comedy. We both believe that comedy is one of the most powerful weapons and tools that we have as a society to bring people together for building bridges and for speaking truth to power. And our guest today knows that power firsthand. Lorde's salon here. She grew up in Tijuana watching comedians. Yes. Yes.
S8: Yes.
S11: Lourdes grew up in Tijuana watching comedians that showed her that comedy can cross borders , languages and cultures like El Chavo del loco , Charlie Chaplin , De Ambrosio for those who also grew up in Mexico. I Love Lucy and today I Love Lucy too. Today we are super happy to have her here and Lourdes , welcome. Hi.
S12: Hi. Gracias. Thank you. Thank you so much. And thank you to everybody for having me here. Thank you.
S10: I think lastly , you guys know Lourdes is a comedian and storyteller , but she also has her boots on the ground. She doesn't only use her words to , you know , to make us laugh and entertain us and help us reflect. But she she actually is a lobbyist and she advocates within the system. She uses her humor to , to poke at. So I think that's pretty cool.
S12: Lots of poking. Yeah.
S11: So you grew up in Tijuana? Yay! Me too. We're Tijuana sisters. You later , later on , moved to San Diego. So how did growing up in a border region so unique , like this one , you know , Tijuana and San Diego. How did growing up in this region shaped the way that you see the world That's duality.
S12: I think that's the first thing that comes to my mind. I think that being in the border , there's there's a really unique perspective that we have being so close to Tijuana in San Diego that there's two whole countries that can coexist together. And yes , there's a whole border and yes , there's a whole discussion , but there's a duality that is is shared by just this region. It doesn't exist anywhere else in California where we can we can see and and eat the best tacos and the most incredible tortillas. That doesn't happen in Sacramento. I'm sorry , Sacramento , but they just don't have good tortillas over there. I don't know what they're doing. That's true. Carne asada fries. Are you kidding me? Like they didn't even know avocados on the fries. That's not true. Are they? Yeah. Where are they? I went to , um. I went to a taco truck and we ordered some enchiladas , and we said , uh. No , we were already in tacos and the guy said , what would you like on your tacos? He was he was not. He was not Mexican. And we said , we want the whole enchilada. And he was like , oh , we don't sell enchiladas here. And we're like , wow.
S10: I was gonna say he put an enchilada in the top.
S12: No , no. That's when.
S9: I realized.
S12: Like , I'm not in San Diego , Tijuana anymore. You know what I mean? I said I was so far away from home at that moment , but that duality with the fact that the the this person couldn't think that whole enchilada didn't mean enchilada. It means like , put everything on it , kind of a kind of a deal. And he was very literal about it , made me it made me understand that I have the ability to to not only see the differences in people and be comfortable with them and be tolerant and be , um , and be celebratory of them , but also to to see that duality of myself , because I'm very much Mexican , very much Mexican , and also very much American at the same time. And I feel like when people look at me , I look very Mexican. I can anyway. Um. And I have to. And sometimes I feel self-conscious about that. And especially when I'm performing before white audiences. And so I feel like then the first thing I want to say is , yes , I'm Mexican and don't get scared. And , yes , I have papers , you know , that kind of thing. Especially because in the in the environment that we're living in now , it's it's so , um , like top of mind this whole like ice raids and people getting , getting taken and kids in cages and all these , all these elements that are existing and that are constantly being thrown at us. It's very it's very scary and uncomfortable.
S1: But you're listening to Port of Entry.
S10: To switch , uh , rhythm a little bit. You've talked about we'll bridge them later in the conversation. But to move to comedy , you've talked about being very influenced by English and Spanish comedy. That's right. Even when you didn't , as a kid , understand all the all the words in English , You understood the humor. What do you think that says about humor as a as a universal language?
S12: I think I think humor is , is is in the body and it's it's almost like a , it's a cadence. It's a melody. Like , you know , when there's tension being built up and then you know , when something's going to happen and somebody can release the switch and we can all collectively laugh about something we feel like , oh , okay. Thank you. Okay , that didn't really happen. Or if you get caught with your , you know , hand in the cookie jar , everybody knows what that feels like to. Oh , my God , I wasn't supposed to be here. Like , um , my my , my , you know , my my niece was in my room going through my drawer , through a drawer and , and we're like , hey. And she looked up at me and she was like , oh , what am I doing here? Right? So it's like.
S10: This isn't where I left my keys.
S9: Yeah , it's kind of like , okay.
S12: That was humorous. And she didn't mean to be , but there's there's a there's a collective human experience that we all recognize and that we can all laugh about it and that we can all share it. And I think in that , in that way , um , you can feel it , you can feel the tension , you can feel that movement , you can feel that cadence , and it feels melodic to me. And , and a lot of my comedy comes from being Mexican , being , you know , speaking Spanish and , and families and there's , there's like we were talking about how in Spanish we speak a lot faster. Um , and so there is cadence there , there's a rhythm there as well. And a lot of times people tell me when I go on stage , you need to speak a little bit slower and I want to , but I just can't.
S9: It's a little bit hard for me not to , you know what I mean?
S12: And especially if I get excited and I'm like this family and it's just it's just me being Mexican. I can't help it. And so , um , but then being , um , it's that cadence , it's that rhythm. And I think it's universal and people can understand it and feel it. Um , I think as , as , as , as people , there's a connection. And that's why I feel it's like universal in that way that you don't need language per se.
S10: Yeah , I love that you're as a musician. I love that you're using all this very musical language because there's something , you know , when when times are very difficult , our bodies tense up and it's it's hard to move through that. I think something about comedy is that you take all these , all these chaotic , disturbing things and you turn them into harmony and melody and allow your body to feel like to laugh through it. And then you can move through it in a wiser way. I think , um , I think a lot of , uh , immigrant and border communities use humor as a way to , to navigate uncertainty and change and , uh , difficult times. Why do you think laughter is such a I mean , maybe I answered it partially , but in your view , why do you think laughter is such an important tool or medicine to use in , in difficult times? Yeah.
S12: Yeah. So I work in politics and it's a really interesting it's a really interesting perspective to also be in politics. I've been in politics for about 28 years of my life now. I started off when I left , uh , San Diego , went to UC Davis and started working at the state Capitol as a receptionist and worked my way up , and eventually was chief of staff , and then left the state Capitol and started working , um , as a , as a lobbyist. And so , um , having that that perspective as a , um , as a , as a politician in a world of politics and then and then there's so much pressure , so much tension , so much like politics is that easy. And I wish that it were it were it were it would actually make a difference right away. But there's so much bureaucracy. There's so many , so many , so much red tape , so much spinning around. And it doesn't. And it's so incremental. It doesn't get solved right away. You got to wait and and unfortunately into something horrible happens and maybe maybe you'll see some change. But the , the reason why I'm giving this really bad long answer is because there's a stacking up of tension and and inequities and sadness and frustration and like , you know , things are more expensive now. And there's like folks that are they can't afford , um , housing , access to higher education. You have like , all these things and access to quality medical care. Um , you have elderly that are that end up , um , suffering these things as well. There's so many things and it's stacked on stack on top of stacking of all this , this like tension. We have to be able to laugh at it. Right? We have to be able to laugh a little bit about what's going on when I see politicians. And this is why I made that joke. When I see politicians and , and we meet with a lot of candidates that come through because they want to be , you know , there's they need their fundraising , they meet with us and they all say this the same thing. We're going to make things , we're going to make a change. And I think it's funny because no you won't.
S9: There's no you. Won't.
S10: Won't. That's the funniest. Joke.
S9: Joke.
S13: Of them all. Yes.
S9: No you won't. And you will.
S12: Maybe possibly over time. But it's not the politician , it's the machine , right? It's the political machine. Once they get in there , they get churned. And you can have the most incredible intentions to want to make change. But then you have , you know , you have parties and then you have , uh , you know , are you , um , are you. And within the parties there's division. And if you're , if you're Democrat or you're progressive , are you , are you moderate? Are you , um , you know , a there's another one I'm forgetting. But anyway , that's the whole thing. That is the whole , um , like the churning. I'm getting excited about this and I'm kind of getting mad. I just want to protest now.
S13: I don't.
S12: Know , but but there's so many factions that need to be addressed and looked at and and , uh , before anybody can actually make a change , there's so many obstacles to get to the change. Yeah.
S10: Yeah. So the comedy sorry , it's like a releases the pressure valve. Yes.
S12: Yes.
S10: Like if we didn't have our music or comedy , we wouldn't have the strength to to to patiently work the machine. Correct.
S12: Correct. So when I. And this is why. That's right. Thank you for bringing me back to the point , because I got distracted with getting all mad. But the point is when they when we see candidates and they're like , we're going to make a difference. I was like , thinking about like , yeah , every time they come through , they're talking to us like , hey , look at them. Like they're trying. They're trying to turn my head in my head. I see there's like this , this. This person is just like making fun of it the entire time. But I sit very quietly and very professionally , like. No. Right , right. Absolutely.
S10: Great point. Great.
S12: These are very great points.
S14: And I'm like , yeah.
S11: That is true. That is super Mexican , like all of my family and pretty much the whole port of entry team where I was like , whoa , whoa , whoa up there.
S12: And so.
S10: The sound of our souls.
S12: Yes , yes , collectively , I.
S14: Can't help myself.
S12: So it's it's it's that I just , I think , um , it helps also retain the valve , but also staying grounded. I think that comedy helps you be grounded to be like , oh , yeah , we can be very idealistic and very romantic , which I am very idealistic and romantic about politics. That's the whole reason I got into politics. Um , for the for the romantic aspect of helping people and bridging bridging gaps and making sure those that are in need are , are being taken care of. And then getting in there and seeing that it's not really happening. It's not that easy. What what do you mean? You know , that that that experience , uh , needed comedy relief so that I could feel comfortable being there.
S11: So do you think that comedy can accomplish something that sometimes advocacy or politics can't?
S12: I think so , again , I think that with with comedy , you can say things directly and really honestly about , you know , what's going on , going on. And then you could just be like , yeah , right then and then you move on like it's. But you can you can be very honest. Like , for example , um , I can go into a room if I'm , if I'm performing as a comic and it's a and I'm , I recently performed in Indiana. Right. And I was like , yes. So now you have a Californian , uh , a woman , an immigrant in , in Trump country , right? The whole package. Whole package. I was like , oh my God , I'm so scared. Like , they're gonna get me , you know what I mean? Like , I got there and I was like , I'm , I'm in here. I'm being I'm serving myself up. Like , come on , you know what I mean? Like , so when I got there , the first thing I said was I addressed that like , um , hi , white people scare me like that's. And that was the first thing that I said. And when I , when I said that , the audience laughed like , yeah , we are scary. I know. Right? You guys know , I know. And then and now we're friends , you know what I mean? So it's kind of like saying the , the thing that I'm thinking and , and for them to , uh , okay. Like acquiesce. Yeah , we get it. And then we're like. But we can still be friends. Yeah , we can still be friends. Great. Perfect. That's what comedy I think , uh , bridges and creates is this , like , open ability to , um , see each other and connect through our human humanness. Right. Being human. Yeah.
S10: Yeah. I forget we said , like , the quickest way to someone's heart is either food or comedy. Yeah. So it's like when you're like , at on different sides of any kind of spectrum , political spectrum , it seems like a joke could be. Have you ever seen a joke changed someone's mind?
S12: Uh , that's a good question. Um , I don't know that I've seen it in action , but I did have a conversation because I also talk very openly about , uh , as a woman being 53 and I talk about menopause. I don't think it's discussed enough. Um , nobody , you know , my grandma didn't tell me my mom's in the audience. She didn't even tell me anything about that. And I was like , why didn't you say , why didn't you say anything? So I , when I , when I talk about these things about menopause and I said in a really funny way , Kind of like all the things that are happening. Irritability , thinking , you know. Oh my God , I missed a period. I'm pregnant , but I'm not. Hey , it's menopause , you know , that kind of. Yeah , yeah. My body's like , yeah. All right. You know what I mean? Like I'm not pregnant , but I'm thinking I am , but it's menopause. And so when I was talking about this , there was this young woman that came up to me to talk to me afterwards , to be like , why were you so disparaging , you know , to yourself? And I was like , oh , you young lady , okay. I was like , look. And I the joke was like , I'm , I'm , you know , I joke with her a little bit more. I was like , I'm jealous of your collagen and your estrogen. I mean , I really am , but also also I got wisdom. So I got it , like , I got so much on you. And let me tell you , when it happens , you want to know these things. And yes , it sounds disparaging , but it's not. It's educational. And then she said , well , what about the people that don't get it? And they don't. They don't see it. I said , that's not my business. My business is for me to tell you what I'm what what my experience is. And hopefully you listen and hopefully you get it. And if you don't , then then at some point something will click later on and be like , oh , I heard that one comedian say , say this. And and yeah , she's right. I do have to pee a lot when I'm in menopause. You know?
S11: I feel like.
S12: Right now , I don't know.
S10: Sorry to wait.
S12: The whole front row. I'm kidding. Now it's a joke. Now it's a comedy show. I'm so sorry.
S11: Now it's a. Rose.
S12: Rose. No , it's a rose. You see.
S11: We're gonna roast some members of the audience. So I think we're going through difficult times. I feel like I've been saying that since I was born. Like , every year , I'm like. This has been a tough year. I was five years old , and I was like , wow , this has been a tough year. But what?
S10: What makes you a comedian? What?
S11: What? That's why. Comedian. I'm a frustrated comedian too. That's my real dream. What? What keeps you believing in the power of comedy and doing something that you love in difficult times like these ones and the past 30 years? Um.
S12: Um. The joy that it brings me. It's the utter joy and connection that I have with an audience in the moment that I'm speaking. And where there's there's comedy happening , there's a connection unlike any other. There's a magic in , in the , um. Understanding each other's like soul. When you're laughing , it's not. We're laughing all together because you all get it. And that brings me so much joy and so much fulfillment. And I can't get enough of that because I can't get that in a in a room where I'm dealing with a transactional meeting in politics. It just you can't get that. And the the connection that I get from a stage with a from a collective audience is so beautiful. I take it with me and it nourishes me. And I think about it. And when I'm feeling sad and I'm feeling down and I'm feeling frustrated , I'm like , I got to get back up on stage so that I can have my people build me back up. Right. So there's there's a lot of joy , and there's a lot of like , satisfaction that I get from that connection. And then the best and most amazing , um , compliment I received after , after a show was that this one woman came to me and said that I was really funny , and that she forgot about all the troubles that she had at home. And I was like , you know what? While I'm performing , I forgot about mine too. And so it's that that break in your , in your brain , in about what's happening in the world where you could just be yourself and you can just breathe and be comfortable. That's what keeps me coming back.
S11: How do you know? I'm wondering right now. Like , how do you pick the topics that you're gonna talk about during your standup routine? Do you bring difficult personal topics to the table? Yes.
S12: Yes. So it's a it's a process of exploration. So initially , like all comedians are the same. I'll start off really dirty , really gross. It was great though. It was so good. But but it was , it was , it was. I thought it was funny , but not for all audiences , right? It's only a particular kind of audience. And the more I did this , and the more I wanted to appeal to people , the more made me dig deeper into who I am. And how do I connect with with you , ma'am? And how do I connect with you , sir? You know that that kind of a thing. So then I started being more open and more vulnerable. So I more recently has been exploring my issues of , let's say , childhood traumas. We all have childhood traumas. And more recently I've been I've been , um. I've been thinking about childhood abandonment. What does that feel like? There's a lot of folks that feel that I know. I feel that there was a whole , um , I've been having , uh , finally , at this stage in my life , when I look at that more sincerely , I recognize that childhood abandonment issues , whereas I'm very needy and I'm available for hugs afterwards , that kind of thing.
S8: Where I want people and I want to be around people all the time.
S12: I'm also very scared of being abandoned and being left. And so because of that , I don't do well in relationships. Right. And so I'm like , let's talk about that. What is that and what is what does childhood abandonment look like to me? Well , um , how where's the funny in that? Well , love songs sound different to me because I have , you know , when I hear a love song , I don't hear heartbreak. I hear childhood issues. Right? So , like , I think about , like , The song. All by myself. All by myself. All right. That's like the ultimate national anthem of a latchkey kid. That's how I see it.
S8: So I started thinking about , like , yeah , that makes sense. It's like viewing the world.
S12: Through that and poking fun of it , but also exploring it and being open with audiences to think about , like , is that something for you? Like , I even thought about , like the song Ain't No Sunshine , like ain't No sunshine when she's gone. You know that song? I , I'm thinking that's little. Bill Withers , he was so sad because his mom was never home , you know. And so I'm thinking maybe that could be. That could be him , you know , sitting over a stove making mac and cheese. I know , I know , I know , I know , I know , I.
S8: Know , like I'm thinking like , I can't be the only one feeling that , you know what I mean? So it's like , it's that kind of thing.
S12: But the deeper I go and the exploration of those of those very real issues , the , um , the , the more universal it becomes and the more I'm able to connect with more audiences.
S10: So beautiful. Yeah.
S12: Yeah.
S10: Thank you. I think something one of my favorite things about comedy is it comedy allows people to preserve their community stories and almost like inside jokes. Things are like if , say , like , I wasn't Mexican. Like. And I watch you , like , I understand more what it's like to be Mexican because you , you get like the inside lingo. What what stories do you think need to be told by the border region right now or need to be preserved?
S12: I think the border region , the stories that need to be preserved is like the difficulties and the challenges of , um , immigration. I recall my mom is the bridge. She was the one that is , she's the bridge to to the United States for us. Um , she became a citizen , naturalized , I , I became a naturalized citizen through her , and it was so easy to do. I from what I recall , there was a lot of appointments to the immigration office , and there was a lot of going ons. And then and then there was a big , you know , assembly where you do the Pledge of Allegiance. And I was like 11 years old from what I recall when I became a citizen. Uh , that's not the case anymore. To , to think about that. If there is an a , a path to citizenship , citizenship and immigration for those that want and seek a better life. It should be talked about more , but in a humane way , not in a policy way , because there's there's way there's things that you see people and families being broken up and like I said , put into cages. And then there's there's folks that are just genuinely want to create better lives for themselves. And there's folks looking at policies very strictly and saying , no , you can't create a better life for yourself. They're running away from violence. They're running away from intense poverty. And we're not we're not looking at the human significance of that. Um , I think that those are the stories that need to be told in a way that's more , um , thorough , more meaningful , more deeper. What is what does that face look like? What? Where did the person and this kid that maybe got put into a cage or got separated from their family. Where did that family come from? Like , what is their story? I would love to know the stories of those people that were not allowed to immigrate for whatever reason.
S11: To this day , saying thank you for showing us that laughter and comedy is a way to connect with other people , and that it is a tool and a weapon that we all have access to.
S12: Thank you. Thank you so much.
S8: Thank you so much.
S15: Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you all for coming.
S11: I own everyone.
S1: For me , comedy has always been part of my life. Growing up , my brothers and I watched Otro Rojo reruns. Otro Rojo was a popular Mexican late night comedy show , and we used to watch it almost every night. And looking back , I was definitely too young to be watching it because it wasn't exactly kid friendly , but I loved ending the day laughing that hard. And these days , honestly , nothing has changed. I listen to comedy podcasts , I watch stand up all the time , and I binge sitcoms every day , pretty much. Comedy has become one of the ways I unwind and the way I get through the most difficult times.
S3: Yeah , I think that's where we're such good friends. I mean , I've always just turned to comedy. Not so much standup comedy , but comedy shows , Seinfeld , Chappelle's Show. Anything that was that could make me laugh has been like medicine to me. You know , I , I think life can be challenging , and I've always had some dark voices in my head. And whenever people recommend movies or shows that are not comedy , sometimes I'll give them a chance. But in general , like 96% of the time , I'll always watch comedy because I don't understand why I would give my time to something that can. That's just going to stress me out like a drama or a horror movie. It's like I already experienced that in my head , so I just run a laugh when I sit down to watch anything.
S1: Speaking with Ludacris reminded us that comedy can be a form of protest. Sure , but it's also a way of reminding us that we're not alone.
S3: Laughter connects us. It reminds us that we're not the only ones carrying something.
S1: And even though laughter doesn't erase the hard parts , it can make them a little easier to carry.
S3: This episode of Port of Entry was written and produced by Natalie Gonzalez Rodriguez.
S1: Adrian Villalobos is technical producer and sound designer. This episode was edited by Chris Nguyen and Julio Cesar Ortiz Franco. Lisa morissette is director of audio programming and operations. Soy yo soy Natalia Gonzalez.
S16: Nos vemos pronto.
