Comedy Jam host Ernie G supports Latino education

By Ruben Hernandez

The great Ernie G will be the host with the most of the Latin Comedy Jam 2013 Saturday night, March 30 at Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino in Chandler. The large crowd will laugh their asses off at the in-your-face and cultural humor of this stellar line-up of funnymen. They’ll also love the beautiful women who will introduce the acts, and the music that will make the night festive.

The Jam is a collection of the best Latino comics in show biz today, and features some of the hottest talents to take the stage. These nationally recognized comedians have experienced success in film, TV, and their own comedy specials. The show promises to be a night of big fun.

Ernie G is one of the hottest, multi-talented, young Latinos in the USA. His comedy has been seen by millions on TV shows such as Comedy Central, B.E.T.’s “Comic View,” and Si TV’s “Funny is Funny!” He’s also one of the stars of Galavision’s hit comedy show “Que Locos!” hosted by George Lopez, and other comedy shows.

Ernie G has been performing as a professional stand-up comedian for more than 13 years. He’s a walking United Nations of Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Russian, French, and Catholic Jew (G stands for Gritzewsky).

But this entertainer from Los Angeles also is a huge advocate of encouraging Latino students to go to college and be successful. He’s a spokesman for the national Hispanic College Fund.

He spreads his message of empowerment with his tours of comedy and laughs. To that end, he makes a special point to perform at school campuses, either high school or universities, to influence students to get their college degrees.

He uses humor to get this point across, and also connects with him by sharing his own personal story. He grew up in L.A. in the ‘80s in a “hood” dominated by street gangs. However, those gang-bangers weren’t his biggest worry, he says. His yellow Wiffle Bat bearing mama warned him away from gang life.

“I was more afraid of my mom than I was of the cholos,” he says.

His Mexican-born mother enrolled him in St. Francis, a private school, because she worried about the rough elements in the local schools. He graduated and starting going to a nearby college, only to party too much and drop out. But he picked up his studies again later, and in 1994 got his degree from a university. He became a success story to younger students.

He also experienced success in his comedy career by dropping the “hoochie” jokes, swearing, and fake, heavily accented impersonations of his family members.

After the word spread about his cleaned up act, he got calls from corporations looking to motivate their Latino employees, and invites from colleges to inspire their students.

He did a TV ad for the community college system in California’s heavily Latino Central Valley.

“Nowadays, you got to go to college, especially if you want a nice ride,” he advises in the ad.

Now Ernie G has established the Ernie G Scholarship Fund to give young people, include DREAM students, funding to attend college.

So while Ernie G will entertain the audience of the Latin Comedy Jam in Chandler, he always reminds to remember your neighborhood roots.

“No matter how much education you get and how much success you achieve, if you grew up in the barrio, if you grew up in the ‘hood, you will always have a little ghetto in you.”

Visit http://www.wingilariver.com/ to buy tickets. And tell your amigos and amigas!