This joke is no longer fun: the Mexican comedy that does not want to make fun of minorities

Mexicans are said to laugh at everything. They do the same memes after an event as traumatic as an earthquake that make jokes about politics and football. But at the same time that Mexican comedy makes use of resources such as the albur (or the double meaning), routines are also spread with jokes related to misogyny, violence against women or openly racist allusions.

In recent days, the HBO Latin America network decided to indefinitely suspend the program of the comedian and youtuber Chumel Torres, after the controversy unleashed on social networks by comments from the Chihuahuan people linked to racism. Later, a debate between Torres and a group of activists rekindled the discussion about the type of comedy that takes place in Mexico.

Finally CONAPRED did something (inadvertently) after so long.
In Mexico there is classism and racism, only it was disguised as 'irreverent comedy'

Some of the most famous comedians in the country make use of racist nicknames like 'Indian', mock low-income people and their skin color, while some pages cite humorists as' a humorous touch of misogyny " Only one of these videos exceeds three million views on YouTube.

Eugenio Derbez, a comedian with decades of career in the country, declared at the end of 2019 in an interview with Reporte Indigo that Mexicans have a "double standard", and that feminism "has harmed comedy because you can no longer make jokes about nothing, because I can no longer know who I offend, "he said.

For comedian @EugenioDerbez, feminism has been an obstacle to comedy, since you can no longer make 'jokes about anything'; ensures that Mexicans are 'double standards'. Do you agree? Https: //t.co/bSQcqeT4Ex pic.twitter.com/9eF0mwDpVB

For Andrea Ortega-Lee, writer and protagonist of the humorous genre in Mexico, comedy is as powerful a resource as political discourse. "The dangerous thing about comedy that is sexist, racist, homophobic and classist is that it does laugh and is accepted, but at the same time it violates and is violent," he says in an interview with Verne .

The object of the mockery

"There is a gringo, a Chinese and a Mexican in a bar ...", a joke formula that is repeated in meetings and on various pages of social networks. Almost always the Mexican is the cunning and the Chinese, Indian or black, is the one who usually gets the worst part, depending on who tells the joke. "Five years ago, saying that I am gay was uncomfortable for many people, today I can talk about this and make fun of it," Ray Contreras, standup and collaborator of the Zona Rosa series , premiered in 2019 on Netflix , tells Verne . For Contreras, the important thing about comedy is to start by making fun of yourself, even if you touch on subjects that are so sensitive for Mexican society, such as homosexuality.

Alex Fernández decided to put the humor center of his stand-up routine in his personal experience in the special The best comedian in the world , where he jokes about his brother with cancer. "There are always going to be people who are not going to like what you say and who become more visible on social media," the 34-year-old comedian tells Verne . "I think there are contents that give visibility to other discriminated groups, but more proposals are missing as part of the maturing of the comedy guild," he indicates.

Inclusive comedy not everyone's fun

Video platforms like YouTube or Netflix constitute a relatively new space for other types of comedy. "From what we laugh not change, but there are more channels to another style of humor, which has no place in social networks rather than on television , " says Verne Renato Guillén, who has worked on such viral projects like the skit " Flour ”, with more than 51 million views and distributed by Backdoor on YouTube and the Comedy Central television channel.

Sexual diversity and feminism are some of the themes that have gained ground in the comic discourse in the country. "It's like music, not all of us like the same thing, but diversity is the key," says Ana Julia, a stand-up comedian   who has openly declared himself gay. "If I make a joke about vegans, the issue is not vegans, but discrimination against what feels different like homosexuality," says the standup to Verne .

For Ortega-Lee, the opportunity to satire is open, without the need to oppress minorities. "Making humor of stereotypes to women or the color of people's skin is not transgressor, on the contrary, it is repetitive," he says.

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