美国国家公共电台 NPR In Mexico, Comedian Breaks New Ground And Gender Barrier

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

We're going to meet one of Mexico's most popular standuperos (ph), stand-up comedians². Sofia Nino de Rivera is among those in the country giving comedy a new voice. Comedians in Mexico have long been controlled by the leading television networks, confining the genre³ to slapstick characters spouting⁴ sexually laced double entendres. Well, Nino de Rivera is fresh off a successful Netflix show and a national tour, and NPR's Carrie Kahn brings us her story.

(SOUNDBITE OF COMEDY SPECIAL, "SOFIA NINO DE RIVERA: EXPOSED")

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Singing) Sofia, Sofia...

CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE⁵: It's the opening act of Sofia Nino de Rivera's Netflix comedy special. The slender, tall comedian¹ takes center stage on Guadalajara's majestic⁶ Degollado Theater surrounded by two male ballet dancers.

(SOUNDBITE OF COMEDY SPECIAL, "SOFIA NINO DE RIVERA: EXPOSED")

SOFIA NINO DE RIVERA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "They told me my show had to be of a cultural nature to present it in such a fine place as this," she says, straight faced.

(SOUNDBITE OF COMEDY SPECIAL, "SOFIA NINO DE RIVERA: EXPOSED")

NINO DE RIVERA: (Speaking Spanish).

(LAUGHTER)

KAHN: "That was the cultural part," she says.

(SOUNDBITE OF COMEDY SPECIAL, "SOFIA NINO DE RIVERA: EXPOSED")

NINO DE RIVERA: (Speaking Spanish).

(LAUGHTER)

KAHN: "So get ready," she says, throwing out an expletive to describe the crowd. At 35, Nino de Rivera's routine is a little Amy Schumer - not as crude, but with plenty of cussing and self-deprecation - mixed in with a bit of Louis C.K.'s anecdotal comedic flair⁷. She likes to push Mexicans' comfort zone, poking⁸ fun at regional accents and customs, even taking aim at Mexican food and the Virgin⁹ of Guadalupe. Nino de Rivera says Mexicans are the best humorists when it comes to making fun of others, but not so used to laughing at themselves, so it was time to shake things up. Eight years ago, she decided¹⁰ to bring stand-up comedy to Mexico.

NINO DE RIVERA: I think Mexicans wanted to see other type of content other than whatever the TV had to give them.

KAHN: She quit her job as an advertising¹¹ copywriter, watched lots of YouTube comedy videos, traveled to shows in New York and, at home, performed in front of any audience she could muster¹².

NINO DE RIVERA: Everybody told me this is not going to work because stand-up doesn't even exist in Mexico and people don't even know how to watch it or understand it. And I said, but how do you know if it doesn't exist? How do you know it's not going to work?

KAHN: Nino de Rivera is getting the last laugh now. Her Netflix show did well. She's got a recurring¹³ part in another Netflix series, and her nationwide tour sales are good. She nearly filled a 4,200-seat pavilion in the northern city of Monterrey at a recent show.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

NINO DE RIVERA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "Thank you, Monterrey," shouts Rivera. She calls this act "Not Netflix" and fills it with more self-deprecating jokes at herself and Mexicans, like the bit about how she loves traveling around the country, just not the resort city of Cancun anymore. It's overrun with gringos, she jokes.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

NINO DE RIVERA: (Speaking Spanish).

(LAUGHTER)

KAHN: "Cancun is so full of Americans these days, the Mexicans there look like immigrants," she says. She goes on, a bunch of Mexicans were working in the kitchen of a restaurant when she saw a patrol car drive by.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

NINO DE RIVERA: (Speaking Spanish).

(LAUGHTER)

KAHN: She says she screamed run and they all fled. By the time she could tell them it wasn't immigration agents, it was too late. They were gone. Nino de Rivera usually shies away from politics but couldn't resist some jabs at President Enrique Pena Nieto, now one of Mexico's most hated politicians. She also takes aim at her mother's home state of Chihuahua, which she says is still stuck in simpler times - she didn't know they even had Internet - and jokes a lot about Mexicans' driving habits. Local businessman Hugo Carrillo loved the show.

HUGO CARRILLO: She kept you laughing and laughing from the beginning to the end.

KAHN: So did computer technician Jareli Miranda.

JARELI MIRANDA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "It wasn't vulgar or stupid comedy," she says, "it was really smart and fun."

Nino de Rivera says it hasn't been easy being a woman breaking new ground in Mexico. She says the hardest part has been the misogynistic¹⁴ abuse on social media. But she's not backing down. She's even taking her show and comedic workshops to a women's prison just outside Mexico City. She says stand-up is catching¹⁵ on in Mexico.

NINO DE RIVERA: So I think it's going to be - it's going to be here for a while.

KAHN: Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Mexico City.

1 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

2 comedians   

n.喜剧演员，丑角( comedian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The voice was rich, lordly, Harvardish, like all the boring radio comedians'imitations. 声音浑厚、威严，俨然是哈佛出身的气派，就跟无线电里所有的滑稽演员叫人已经听腻的模仿完全一样。 来自辞典例句
• He distracted them by joking and imitating movie and radio comedians. 他用开玩笑的方法或者模仿电影及广播中的滑稽演员来对付他们。 来自辞典例句

3 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

4 spouting   

n.水落管系统v.（指液体）喷出( spout的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水

参考例句：

• He's always spouting off about the behaviour of young people today. 他总是没完没了地数落如今年轻人的行为。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Blood was spouting from the deep cut in his arm. 血从他胳膊上深深的伤口里涌出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

7 flair   

n.天赋，本领，才华；洞察力

参考例句：

• His business skill complements her flair for design.他的经营技巧和她的设计才能相辅相成。
• He had a natural flair for business.他有做生意的天分。

8 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

9 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

12 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

13 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。

14 misogynistic   

参考例句：

• And it brings out everything that is most noxious and misogynistic about the right. 而且，这种情绪也流露出右派思想中最为保守有害，歧视女性的那一面。 来自互联网

15 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。