Stand-Up Comics Are Focus of ‘Latino’

To launch the first of Showtime’s 13-episode weekly series “Latino Laugh Festival,” hosts Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez and Daisy Fuentes read the “Top Nine Network Executive Excuses Why There Aren’t More Latinos on TV.” (There are only nine because that’s all the budget would allow.)

One of the reasons: “It just might work.”

And if it worked, the networks would have to rethink their approach toward representing what will soon be the nation’s largest minority. That’s exactly what the creators of this series are aiming for.

Premiering tonight at 11:30, the series takes the predictable approach of presenting stand-up comedians on television, but adds just enough twists to make it worth watching. Taped in July at several locations in San Antonio, the show includes sketches, variety acts and clips from aspiring filmmakers.

But the focus always comes back to the stand-ups, including showcases for up-and-comers and established acts. The first episode features Chris “Crazy Legs” Fonseca, whose act revolves around the cerebral palsy that keeps him in a wheelchair.

“I know it’s not politically correct to call myself ‘handicapped,’ ” he says. “I should call myself ‘physically challenged’ or ‘developmentally disabled’ . . . or Bob Dole.”

There’s also a monologue by Liz Torres (written by series executive producer and co-creator Jeff Valdez), in which she announces to the white world that Latinos will abide by the passage of Prop. 187 and return to the land from which they came, “even though we’re already standing on it.”

Not everything works, though. Episode two includes a sketch called “Mexican Moses,” with Geraldo Rivera (!) as the prophet who is instructed by God (Edward James Olmos) to lead his people to the promised land. The funniest thing here is Rivera’s wig. (Gerry, pal, don’t quit the day job.)

And then there’s El Vez--the Mexican Elvis--gyrating on a barge on the picturesque river that runs through the Alamo City. Too bad his song’s lyrics are unintelligible. The second episode is salvaged, however, by Valdez, who showcases his own considerable skills as a stand-up.

And if you don’t quite get all the jokes because you’re monolingual, hey, this is America . . . learn Spanish.

* “Latino Laugh Festival” premieres at 11:30 tonight on Showtime.