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Comedian Alex Reymundo talks Southwest, comedy career

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In Arlington, Texas in 1988, two people met at a comedy club. One was a performer, the other a bartender. The latter, named Alex Reymundo, served tequila and a Budweiser to the former, an amateur comic named Ron White, right before he went onstage.

This meeting would mark the start of a collaboration of the two comics, who would travel the country and perform together for several years.

Since then, Reymundo has met and performed with a number of prominent Latino comics, including Paul Rodridguez, Cheech Marin, George Lopez, and Joey Medina.

Reymundo has either starred in, or been part of numerous stand-up performances on Showtime, Comedy Central, HBO, CMT, Netflix, and Hulu, which include P. Diddy’s “Bad Boys of Comedy,” “The Payaso Comedy Slam,” and “Ron White’s Salute to the Troops.”

Reymundo also teamed with White to launch a premium, award-winning tequila label in 2013, Number Juan Tequila, which the two co-own.

As part of his July comedy tour, Reymundo has performed in Robinsonville, Miss., Bossier City, La., Coachella, Calif., and Scottsdale, Ariz.

Now he is headed to Gallup to perform at the Downtown Conference Center July 27.

The Sun spoke with Reymundo July 23 about the upcoming show and his career.

 

START IN COMEDY

“Girls,” Reymundo answered when asked why he decided to go into comedy.

Reymundo, born in Acapulco, Mexico and raised in Ft. Worth, Texas, explained he was 23 years old and attending college when he first got the notion to entertain people for a living.

From there, he tried his hand at playing in rock bands, but said he lacked the dedication and the talent to do well.

Eventually, Reymundo stumbled across stand-up comedy, which would be the spark of the career to come.

“I always wanted to be an entertainer,” Reymundo said. “[I coveted] the lifestyle of a comedian, and how they were always going home with the prettiest girls in the room.”

Reymundo said he is married now, but the motivation to perform remains in the form of wanting to be in charge of his own schedule, and the desire to entertain people.

 

TIME IN THE SOUTHWEST

When asked about any prominent performances he has done for Native American audiences, Reymundo said he has performed at a lot of casinos, most of them being Indian casinos.

“It’s very often I find myself in an American Indian community,” Reymundo said. “It’s a nice place for me to be because [the audience] thinks I’m more Native than Mexican.”

Reymundo chalks this notion up to having a different look than an indigenous Mexican.

“I tell them I am Native, although a Native Central American,” Reymundo said. “I love being included, because these people are very real, like my father was.

“They like to laugh,” Reymundo said of Native audiences.

The Sun asked Reymundo what brings him to Gallup, and he said he has been in town before and it fits in with the small cities where he performed when he was first starting out.

“New Mexico has always been good to my career,” Reymundo said. “Albuquerque, Carlsbad, Farmington, Tucumcari. Gallup fits in there.”

Reymundo said he has stayed in touch with Knifewing Segura, head of Knifewing Productions, and that it was his idea to do the performance.

“He said, ‘It’s been several years since you’ve been here. Let’s put a show together,’” Reymundo said. “Since I would be in Scottsdale [Ariz.] around that time, I said sure.”

 

POWERFUL EXPERIENCES

Reymundo said he is often asked about his favorite place to perform, and he said he generally has a good time wherever he goes.

“There are 100, 700, 1,000 people who are there to see me,” he said. “The people are usually in a good mood. I’ve loved them all.”

When asked if there was a particular experience that stands out to him, Reymundo recalled a time when he was asked if he would do an unscheduled performance for U.S. troops who were about to be deployed to Afghanistan.

“I was told they can’t come to a show the day after because they’re being deployed,” Reymundo said.

After agreeing to perform, Reymundo said he found himself in the middle of nowhere at four in the morning and set out to perform for about 500 troops.

“This show meant a lot to me because it was unscheduled, and they stayed up late to see me,” Reymundo said. “I really felt like I was doing something good and giving back.”

 

WORDS OF ADVICE

The Sun asked Reymundo about one of the biggest hurdles an entertainer has to overcome. How do you recover from material that doesn’t land?

“The best way to recover is to listen to the audience,” he said. “I always equate it to being an NFL quarterback. I have my plays, my playbook, but sometimes I have to call an audible.”

Reymundo said listening to the audience allows him to make a decision that will put him on the right path, at least ideally.

“This doesn’t always work, but I have to tell you, this is something I love about this,” he said. “I can have a show three nights a week, but they wouldn’t be the same show.”

The changes made to the show include the order and delivery of the material, Reymundo said.

“That’s what I love about a live show, anything can happen,” he added. “If I’m having fun, I know the audience is having fun.”

Reymundo said a career as an entertainer is worth the effort, and advises anyone interested in entertainment to follow their dreams.

In addition, he has three pieces of advice to give future performers.

“First, tell your story. Be yourself,” he said. “Second, always record your set. Study it later, because you probably won’t remember it.”

The third piece of advice is the most important, which was emphasized when Reymundo shouted it.

“DON’T SUCK!”

 

LAST WORDS

Reymundo said he couldn’t be more excited to be returning to Gallup. He said the audience at this performance will be part of the work in progress for his upcoming comedy special that will start shooting by next April.

“There will be a bunch of new material and a lot of fun.”

Tickets for Alex Reymundo’s performance can be purchased at Gallup Downtown Conference Center or Castle Furniture. Call (505)722-8982 for more information.

For Alex Reymundo’s tour information, video clips, and social media handles, visit https://www.alexreymundo.com/.

By Cody Begaye
Sun Correspondent