El Jaguar’s Cinco De Mayo Fiesta De HaHa
Fringe Bar, Cnr Cuba & Vivian, Wellington
05/05/2009 - 05/05/2009
NZ International Comedy Festival 2007-09, 2013
Production Details
El Jaguar’s Cinco De Mayo Fiesta De HaHa
"Luchadors, laughs and a pinata full of love."
El Jaguar is a luchador* from Guadalajara, Mexico! El Jaguar has wrestled in the W.W.E! El Jaguar has moved to New Zealand to become a comedian and entertainer! El Jaguar hopes you join him to celebrate Mexican independence day with a late night full of comedy, music, and interesting occurrences!
A late night welcome to the Wellington leg of the 2009 NZ Comedy Festival with comedy newbie El Jaguar. With over a year of gigs under his belt (from hosting the Six O’Clock Swill to his memorable appearances at The Wellington Comedy Club) El Jaguar has pinned audiences with his innovative brand of championship comedy. Now he is set to half nelson comedy festival audiences into a foamy frenzy…if only his arch enemy Hecklor stays away.
Heckor is a rival luchador that has been following El Jaguar through his meteoric rise in the Kiwi comedy scene and is keen to destroy everything that El Jaguar has created. A High Lander like battle royale of hysterical proportions.
A variety show with a masked difference. Comedy! Music! Spanish! Figure fours! Suplexs! Pile Drivers! Pinatas! Comedy again! And maybe a message or two. And comedy once more!
One night only! Turning comedy into visceral sport entertainment.
*a luchador is a masked Mexican wrestler
WELLINGTON
Dates: 10pm Tuesday May 5, 10pm
Venue: The Fringe Bar, 191 Cuba St. (the corner of Cuba & Vivian)
Tickets: Adults $13/ Concession $10 Groups of 10+ $10
Bookings: 0800 TICKETEK (842 5385) www.ticketek.co.nz
1hr, no interval
Fearless comedy
Review by Hannah Smith 06th May 2009
Ridiculous accents! Men in unitards! Things up noses! Flutes! El Jaguar’s Cinco De Mayo’s Fiesta De Haha showcases a wide and wacky array of performers who display their unusual talents with unashamed delight.
New Zealand’s inaugural celebration of ‘Cinco De Mayo’ (a Mexican holiday celebrating a bloody and unlikely victory over French forces) is a one-off variety show in its traditional sense. We are treated to a range of acts who sing, dance, tell jokes and, um, put things up their noses, with varying levels of skill and success, but every sign of enjoyment.
El Jaguar himself (stalwart member of the Wellington comedy scene – Derek Flores) is a Mexican luchador, complete with silly accent, preposterous outfit and self-esteem issues which he has been battling through six years of therapy. El Jaguar provides the framework around which the evening is built – warming the audience up with a quick lesson in how a wrestler of such fame and fortune should be welcomed to the stage – and providing links and gags between the acts which are to follow.
But everything does not run exactly to El Jaguar’s plan. He is attacked by the very people he is trying to entertain in the form of his arch nemesis El Hecklor (Simon Smith) who issues him a challenge – in the traditional style of comedic luchador’s.
The face off between these two characters provides a solid structure for what is essentially a series of improv routines. Smith and Flores are both well versed as improvisers – they support each other, keep things topical, reincorporate jokes that work, and recognize the ones that don’t – this is comedy that is not afraid to take risks, and that is not afraid to fail, it acknowledges its own shortcomings, and in doing so is all the more charming.
This ability to fail with charm made the conflict between El Hecklor and El Jaguar the strongest element of the show and outshone all the variety acts that came between. It is a pleasure to watch performers enjoy such a sense of freedom and playfulness -without becoming self indulgent or ever losing the feel for their audience – resulting in an evening of very enjoyable, and silly, funtimes.
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