It’s Loco Emotion With Latina Comics

You think being a woman in a man’s world is tough? Try being a Latin woman in a Latin man’s world.

When five Latina comics got fed up with the macho nonsense, they found stage time in numbers--not to mention a savvy marketing ticket. Since forming the Hot & Spicy Mamitas in 1994, this group of 30-something women has sold out clubs like the Conga Room, Laugh Factory and Comedy Store; put out a self-titled comedy CD through Uproar Entertainment; and sparked initial interest from HBO for their own comedy special.

“There is money to be made from ethnic comedy, especially Latino comedy,” says Lydia Nicole, who came up with the group’s name. “Latinos are not being catered to--we don’t necessarily get ‘Seinfeld’ or middle-of-the-road humor. We want something more specific to our experience. At the same time, we want our non-Latino audience to leave with a new understanding of what it’s like to be Latino.”

The performers offer various takes on motherhood, marriage and being a Latina in a “gringo” world. Two are married without kids. Three are single moms. But each Mamita comes from a different part of the U.S. or Latin America and represents a different comic style and ethnic background.

Sultry Sully Diaz was born in New York but grew up in Puerto Rico. She was a fashion model and telenovela star in Venezuela and Argentina before turning to comedy.

“English is my second language,” she coos. “My first is manipulation.”

Wacky Dyana Ortelli spoofs her Mexican accent and Hollywood Latina typecasting, while Ludo Vika, a Dominican Republic femme fatale, started out as a casino dancer in Puerto Rico.

Marilyn Martinez, a hell-raising gordita, grew up the sole Mexicana in a West Coast suburb and uses her humor to challenge prejudice and stereotyping.

“I’m a bad Mexican,” she says. “I don’t speak Spanish, and I have no kids. I just look like I’ve had a lot.”

The five Mamitas know one another from the comedy circuit and acting in films like “Stand and Deliver,” “Indecent Proposal” and “American Me,” as well as TV’s “Law and Order,” “In Living Color,” “Seinfeld,” and “Ellen.”

“There are probably only 20 female Latina comics in the country, of which 12 work regularly. It’s not so much prejudice as oversight,” says Nicole, recognizing that comedy remains a man’s arena. “A lot of comedy clubs will have one Latino night, but within that night, they put up just one female--two if you’re lucky.

“In Latino circles, women are supposed to be quiet homemakers and virgin mothers. The perception is that if you are aggressive, you run in the streets. We wanted to say you can be funny and outspoken and not run in the streets,” she says, with a grin. “Just own them.”

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The Hot & Spicy Mamitas perform next on April 6 at the Conga Room.