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ORALE, GEORGE!

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ORALE, GEORGE!
By: Matt Munoz, Bakotopia Editor / Mas Magazine Staff
Description: When it comes to Latino comedy & making an impact , fan favorite George Lopez definitely ‘gets it.’

Topics: George Lopez, Mas Magazine, interview, exclusive, Bakersfield, November, 2007, Rabobank, Latino Comedy, Bakotopia
Posted by matt Sat Nov 24, 2007 09:57:49 PST
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ORALE, GEORGE!
When it comes to Latino comedy & making an impact , fan favorite George Lopez definitely ‘gets it.’


(George Lopez)

By Matt Muñoz
Bakotopia Editor / MÁS Magazine staff

Ask George Lopez about the “good ol’ days” of Latino comedy, and you’re sure to get more than a straight answer.

“It was rougher back then,” said Lopez via telephone during an early morning interview from his home in Los Angeles. “Now, it’s easy, because you can have five Latino guys and go on tour — you couldn’t do that back then.”

“Back then” was the mid-1970s, when Lopez was introducing audiences to the Latin-flavored comedy of everyday life en la casa.

Sure to have another house full of laughs when he makes his return to Bakersfield’s Rabobank Arena tonight, Friday, Nov. 23, at 8p.m., Lopez knows his place as one of the pioneering voices of Latin comedy — a title he humbly embraces … and defends.

“I met Paul Rodriguez in ‘79, and we were both doing it,” said Lopez. “There was a guy in New York named Hank Garcia, and there was Angel Salazar, but there was no ‘Latino Night.’ You just did your gig with everybody else.”

While Lopez watched many Latino and African-American comedians trying to adapt in front of mostly white audiences during those formative years, the young comic decided to be himself onstage.

“It’s funny — back then, I was the one who talked about the family, grandparents, life, and brought the words and flavor with the food and all that,” he said.

“Now you look at these young dudes, and they all do it. I don’t mind if they tell their own stories, just as long as they pay respect to the guys who came before them.”

Growing up, respect was something that was hard to come by for the young Lopez, abandoned by his parents at a young age, and raised by his grandmother — a stormy relationship that also fueled his nightly routines.

Asking Lopez how he survived his upbringing, the comedian shared some “tough love” advice for those dealing with a broken home.

“Only worry about yourself,” Lopez said. “I think a lot of times we spend more time worrying about what everybody else is doing and thinking. Make your own place, and have it be your own thoughts that put you there, not what somebody else thinks. We’re born with good instincts as Latinos — you just need to trust them.”

While Lopez’s comedic star power has increased — due in part to the popularity of “The George Lopez Show” (now in syndication) — his pro-active role in the Latino community is a serious matter.

On Nov. 8, Lopez hosted the Second annual Dolores Huerta Foundation Golf Tournament in LA. Although his presence is bound to attract celebrity attention, the comedian’s relationship with the civil rights icon is one of mutual admiration and respect.

So when Dolores calls, Lopez listens.

“I knew Dolores Huerta through her work with Cesar Chavez, her dedication to the farmworkers, and to people who are oppressed — those who are overlooked, yet important to this country,” he said. “When I was a kid, I didn’t really get it. It wasn’t until I started to do stand-up that I realized — if you have an opinion, it was important to be active and change the image of the Latino, and that’s all connected to what they were doing, too.”

Together, Lopez and Huerta’s shared commitment to the struggle of equality continues any time duty calls.

“African-American people have Rosa Parks, we have Dolores Huerta,” said Lopez. “I think Dolores would’ve driven the bus. She’s still a fighter. I haven’t known her that long — probably seven years, but anything she wants me to, I do.”

A year-round schedule filled with live shows (and more movies), Lopez’s drive requires the strength to “shut-down” when the cameras shut off and the suit comes off, keeping the home fires burning.

A loving relationship with his wife, Ana, who donated one of her kidneys to Lopez in 2005, and being a full-time father to his daughter, Mayan, makes it even more of a priority.

“Having my wife helping me through the kidney was just great, that’s like a one in a million thing you never think is going to happen to you,” he said. “And being a father. My father left when I was 2 months old — I plan on always being there.”

Lopez’s secret to a successful life in Hollywood and at home is simple.

“You have to separate what it is you do,” explained Lopez. “Whether it’s comedy, or the acting — it’s just one part. Once I get home, I can turn that part off. It helps when I wear the suit, because the act of putting it on and taking it off brings you into the present.”

Lopez plans on returning to TV with one of his idols, Cheech Marin, at his side.

“I've been thinking about doing something with Cheech,” said Lopez. “I had a crazy uncle when I was growing up, and I think he’s old enough to play him.”

Whiles Lopez says much of his fame is due to a strong work ethic, and he’d like to see more Latinos reach the same level of success in the entertainment industry.

“It’s such a hard business,” said Lopez. “And it’s tough to expect somebody to support you, when other Latinos are still trying to make it.”

Despite his career ventures into TV and film, Lopez doesn’t plan on abandoning his original act — comedy — just yet.

“Stand-up is what I do, and it’s always been there for me through the good times and carried me through all of the bad times,” he said. “I think people look to the show as a way to remember the people that are living and the people who are gone, and so I love doing it.”

Preparing for another round of sold-out shows through the end of the 2007, Bakersfield is a “home away from home” for Lopez, he said, which is why he books the semi-annual show in town to coincide with the holidays and family.

“It’s like Thanksgiving, church, Christmas and a quinceañera all wrapped into one. I love what the audience brings when they come, and it just makes me want to work harder.”

George Lopez LIVE!
Friday, Nov. 23
Rabobank Arena
8 p.m.
$47.50 - $37.50
(661) 322-2525
www.ticketmaster.com

*Originally printed in Mas Magazine, Vol. 3, Issue 10, 11 - 23 - 07
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