Colombian Comedy [1] is comedy made in Colombia or by Colombians outside of Colombia. Although Colombia does not have a tradition of comedy and comedians compared to other Spanish speaking countries such as Mexico or Spain, it still has important features that makes it distinctive.
According to German Rey, [2] a student of the subject, there are historically important defining moments in Colombian comedy.
Colombian comedy's original birthplace is the radio since this was the first original mass media with wide coverage of the national territory rendering radio a very important medium for the promotion of comedy. A distinctive representative of Colombian comedy on the radio and who was praised by generations even before television became popular was Colombian comedian Gullermo Zuluaga, better known by his stage name Montecristo. Although initially a man who intended to become a singer Montecristo decided to try his luck when he asked for an opportunity to tell a joke on the Colombian station Culture Radio Radio Cultura in the city of Cali during the show The Variety Hour, by telling the following joke:
A gringo says to a man from Antioquia "in my country there are people so fast that once a man threw a coin from the top of the Empire State building and went running downstairs and he was able to catch it with his hand" to what the man from Antioquia replies "that's a fast man, but I have a brother who is even faster. The other day he started running around a column so fast that he would poke himself in the back so he would get out of the way"
After this Montecristo became successful and was offered to work with Colombia's biggest station originally he worked for the station "The Voice of Antioquia" which later on would become Caracol Radio
Colombia saw the birth of television in 1954. Colombian president, General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, [4] started the project of bringing television as a major media after a trip to Germany where he found the device almost by accident, since he had traveled to Europe to buy ammunition and weapons for Colombia, which at the time was involved in a war against Peru. Impressed by the technological advance, General Pinilla dreamed of having Colombians using the new device. Comedy appeared almost a decade later with the comedy Yo y Tú (I and You)
Yo y Tú became the starting point of comedy. Featuring Carlos Muñoz, Yo y Tú depicted a traditional family from Bogotá and the different relationships of family and friends. The comedy reflected the traditional life of Colombian women and to some degree the innocence of society in the late 1950s.
Colombian television has not been prolific in the production of comedy shows compared to developed countries with a strong tradition of comedy. Colombian media has usually provided itself with material by purchasing dubbed American comedies also known locally as "enlatados" (which means "canned", as in canned food).
During the late 1970s a new production called Don Chinche started to be broadcast on national television, which at the time was still wholly owned by the government.
Don Chinche [5] (Which could be translated as "Mr. Crab Louse") depicted the traditional low-medium class family and its relationships to the "barrio" (neighbourhood). It relied on the use of odd circumstances in which the characters got involved. Don Chinche, represented by Héctor Ulloa, was the owner of a car shop where different situations occurred.
The show was the starting point of satiric comedy in Colombia. In many episodes the story represented social problems and it was used as a way to criticize the government.
Cast for Don Chinche (1985)
Because of its regional isolation, Colombian comedy in the media did not properly portrayed people from backgrounds different from the Andean region.Don Chinche for instance did not depict people from other cities or with a different accents. Given the fact that this show was intended to have a national audience people in other cities of Colombia would reasonably expect to be portrayed too.
Stand-up comedy in Colombia has been promoted by the show Happy Saturdays Sabados Felices, produced by Caracol TV. The show which has been on the air for more than three decades has allowed stand-up comedians to show their skills during a segment called Los Cuentachistes. Although not real stand-up comedians in the current standards of today's stand-up comedy, the contestants participate weekly for prizes and the opportunity to continue being on stage for following weeks. A grand finale showing the best of them would usually come at the end of the season. This talent usually is adopted by Sabados Felices as part of their own actors for their sketches. Sabados Felices although a purely family oriented show, also lampoons Colombian society and Colombian politics. [6]
During the late 1980s a new comedy called Dejémonos de Vainas (understood locally as "Let's cut the crap") depicted a completely urban upper-middle-class family from Bogotá. However, it brought together people from different regions and in fact the show used this aspect as a subject matter in many episodes.
Radio comedy also contributed in many aspects of television based comedy. "El manicomio de Vargasvil" (The Vargasvil's madhouse), produced in Medellín, was broadcast by the Caracol Radio network. Its creator, Crisanto Alfonso Vargas (Vargasvil) used edgy humour and strong satire against Colombian politicians.
He leaped from radio to television by appearing in Sabados Felices where later on he would become a regular guest.
By this time Colombian comedy started to create new variations and identities. [7]
There was comedy based on the use of amateurs on the streets combined with professionals or semi-professionals stand up comedians.
A successful show that changed the way comedy was made was No Me Lo Cambie (an imperative sentence which means Don't you change it (the channel) on me). With new staff and new writers the show was determined to use local creativity combined with segments imported from American and European shows. It also used hidden camera situations with pedestrians being part of funny moments.
Well elaborated scripts started to be written and intellectuals started to contribute and in fact some of them used comedy to defend their ideological affiliations.
A good example is Jaime Garzón and his show Zoociedad (Zoociety) where a combination of talent and strong political satire made the show one of the most watched throughout Colombia. After Zoociedad, Jaime Garzón continued working in a new project called Quac El Noticero (translated as Quac The News, where Noticero is a combination of the words news and the number zero in Spanish) where he reinvented himself by creating new characters depicting the nation, middle-class people or intellectuals. The show was intended to be a comedy presented in a news format.
Jaime Garzón became a historical figure in Colombia by his depiction of a shoe-polisher who interviewed many local celebrities. However, because of his ideological affiliations and his openness and strong criticism to Colombia's government and politics, Jaime Garzón was shot to death on his way to the radio station where he worked. [8]
Jaime Garzón's death marked a strong atmosphere of fear among Colombian comediants and even on the media itself which saw itself censored by the violence of the Colombian conflict. In fact, to this date there is not one Colombian comedian that can be thought as a Jaime Garzón's successor.
During the 1990s, actors Martin de Francisco and Santiago Moure influenced by Howard Stern developed a new style of humour. [9]
Their comedy was based on aspects of comedy, new to Colombian society. With a skeptical and irreverent attitude towards the world, their country and even themselves, Moure and De Francisco developed a new style which included self-deprecation, toilet humor, and dark humor. Martin de Francisco and Santiago Moure originally started in a show called La Tele "The Tele" originally produced by Carlos Vives and intended to a mature audience.
Although Francisco and Moure themselves declared that the ratings were not good and that was the reason why the show did not last long, it is rumored that the show did well as far as ratings. Moure and Francisco did in reverse what Vargasvil had done earlier in his career. They leaped from television to radio. Despite their short lived show their material evolved into an animated series named The Next Show El Siguiente Programa. The series were successful and marked a generation. Because of its popularity and the widespread of segments on the show uploaded by fans to YouTube, De Francisco and Moure sought to revive it on a DVD collection and a new website. [10]
During the late 1990s to the beginning of the new millennium Colombian comedian Jose Ordoñez became a national celebrity by setting a world record for the person with the longest time telling jokes on the radio.
He started in 1993 by telling jokes on national radio. First he did it for 24 hours and periodically he improved his record to 65 hours. With his profit José Ordóñez started his own production company where he created new comedy shows such as Lo Que Faltaba! (translated to English as 'Just what was missing!') and also "Ordóñese de la risa" (the word Ordóñez is similar in Spanish to the word ordeñar which is the act to milk the cow, and the words -de la risa- which means literally "of the laughter", so it is a combination that could be understood as milk yourself out of the laughter) The shows did not have a great audience and were cancelled. [11]
Currently many of the comedians above are still working in new projects or are working in a different genre. One of the comedians most talked about at the present time in Colombia is Andrés López Forero, he is better known for his stand-up comedy.
López Forero can be thought as the pioneer of stand-up comedy in Colombia and he is in fact the first person that has publicly used the term stand-up to describe his show. [12]
López's show "The Ball of Letters" - La Pelota de Letras consists of a subtle sociological analysis of life in Latin American countries between the 1960s and the 2000s. More than 2,500,000 people have attended his shows since his first appearance at the Hard Rock Cafe Bogotá in the beginning of 2004. [13] In August 2005, when he opened a concert with 44,000 guests, he was given a standing ovation after the show.
In December 2005, in the Hard Rock Cafe Bogotá using the Universal Music Colombia label he launched La Pelota de Letras on DVD.
In 2005 he won the HOLA Award from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors for the "Outstanding Solo Performance" after his sold out shows in New York and Miami.
On March 2, 2006 Andrés López was presented with a Diamond DVD from Universal Music. Attending this celebration was the singer Wilfrido Vargas. By the end of 2006 López had sold more than 100,000 DVDs, and the Ball of Letters is now the best selling DVD in Colombia.
López began his international tour in July 2006 performing in eleven cities: Los Angeles at the Alex Theatre; Panamá at Teatro Balboa; Quito at Teatro Nacional; Toronto at the John Bassett Theater; New York at the Town Hall; Miami at James L Knight Center; Greenville at the Peace Center; Madrid at Teatro Gran Via and Palacio de Congresos de Madrid; Houston at Stafford Center; Orlando at Osceola Performing Arts Center and Atlanta at the Center Stage Theater. An average of 1,500 people attended these shows.
Caracol Televisión is a Colombian free-to-air television network owned by Caracol Medios, a unit of Grupo Valorem. It is one of the leading private TV networks in Colombia, alongside Canal RCN and Canal 1. The network distributes and produces 5,000+ programs and has aired in more than 80 countries.
Jaime Hernando Garzón Forero was a Colombian comedian, journalist, politician, and peace activist. He was popular on Colombian television during the 1990s for his unique political satire. In addition to his work on television, he also had roles as a peace negotiator in the release of FARC guerrillas' hostages. He was murdered in 1999 by right-wing paramilitary hitmen, with suspected support from members of the Colombian military and security services, according to testimonies of former paramilitaries commanders.
RTI Colombia, also known as Radio Televisión Interamericana, is a Colombian television production company and former programadora. It aired 14.5 hours per week of programming in 1993. In the 1990s, as a programadora, it was a member of OTI Colombia, a coalition that included Producciones PUNCH, Producciones JES, RCN Television, Caracol Televisión and Datos y Mensajes.
Andrés López is a comedian and actor. He is considered a pioneer of stand-up comedy in Colombia. López gained notoriety in Colombia after releasing his show called La Pelota de Letras which earned him a Double Diamond award from Universal Music.
Carolina Gómez Correa is a Colombian actress, presenter and model, who held the title of Miss Colombia 1993 and placed 1st Runner-Up at Miss Universe 1994.
Jaime "El Flaco" Agudelo was a Colombian comedian and actor.
Fernando González Pacheco, also known as Pacheco, was a Colombian television host, announcer, journalist and occasional actor with a career spanning over six decades. Pacheco was born in Spain and received the Colombian citizenship as he had been residing in Colombia since he was 4 years old.
Sábados Felices is a Colombian comedy show that debuted in 1972. It has been produced by Caracol Televisión for its entire run on the air; from 1972 to 1998, when Caracol was a programadora, it aired on Cadena Uno. It has been hosted by Alfonso Lizarazo, Alí Humar, Jota Mario Valencia, Carlos Calero, Hernán Orjuela and Humberto Rodríguez.
Alfonso Lizarazo is a Colombian host and politician, he was the first host of Campeones de la risa, which in 1973 became known as Sábados Felices. He presented the program until 1998, when he was elected to the Senate of Colombia.
El secretario(The Secretary) is a Colombian telenovela produced and broadcast by Caracol Televisión from August 22, 2011 to March 30, 2012.
Humberto Rodriguez Calderon, known as El Gato, is a radio personality and television host. Calderon has hosted programs on Spanish language stations in the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Florida. In August 2011, he replaced Hernan Orjuela as the host of the long-running comedy program Sábados Felices.
Hernando Casanova Escobar known as El Culebro Casanova, was a Colombian actor, director, singer, and presenter. He is considered one of the precursors of comedy and one of the most important actors in the history of Colombia. His versatility as an actor led him to become one of the greatest icons of acting in Colombia. He was considered during a gap of his career as the best actor in Colombia. In a career spanning over four decades, he received multiple recognitions for his artistic achievements, including a nomination as a 'revelation actor' at the Ondra Awards in Spain and an award for 'best dramatic actor' at the APE.
Proyectamos Televisión was a Colombian programadora that operated between 1981 and March 2003.
Hernán Orjuela Buenaventura is a Colombian television presenter. He used to be the host of Sábados Felices.
Pedro Antonio González González is a Colombian humorist, journalist and actor also known as Don Jediondo.
Jota Mario Valencia Yepes was a Colombian television presenter. He was born in Medellín.
El Culebro: La historia de mi papá is a Colombia documentary film written and directed by Nicolás Casanova. The film explores and re-build the life of actor Hernando Casanova in his early years, through to his years of success in perspective to his life as father. The film was produced by SENIC. The film premiered on 20 September 2017, in Special Screenings section at the 2017 Festival Universitario Eureka.
Cuando vivas conmigo is a Colombian telenovela produced and broadcast by Caracol Televisión, starring Caterin Escobar, Diego Trujillo, Sandra Reyes, Christian Tappan, Linda Lucía Callejas, María José Vargas, Diego Garzón, Norma Nivia and Juan Manuel Lenis. It premiered on September 19, 2016 and concluded on January 6, 2017.
Jorge Zuloaga, known artistically as El Topolino, was a Colombian comedian, actor, journalist and screenwriter, most recognized for his participation in the comedy show Sábados Felices between 1976 and 1998.
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