By News Editor 
Felipe Esparza, the famed LA Mexican comedian, made a stop in Huntsville, Alabama, the home of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. and known for its rich aerospace history. At the Levity Live venue, we had the joy of seeing one of his shows on January 17, 2025, where Esparza performed through new material for an hour set that felt like 15 minutes. In hindsight, my only regret was being in the early crowd as the environment wasn’t as rambunctious as a New Jersey showing was a few years back (where everyone was well into their drinks).
The comedian is a true artist. Esparza has a way of turning scarring experiences—real or imagined—his lived experiences with drugs and alcohol, and even the familiar anecdote of a horrible white high school teacher saluting you-know-who into relatable, vivid stories.
The tension we all live in these weird times, reality is a fever dream and cacophony of obvious signals around Trump’s deportation machine, were washed away as we all enjoyed TMI comedy being different with a man who embraces his flaws better than most.
Opening up for Felipe was Rizo, who acts as an MC for this show, perhaps, most upcoming shows, too. He did a great job warming up the crowd and measuring at what tempo things should unfold.
Saul Trujillo was the immediately preceding act for Esparza. The man was unknown to us, but gained a fan in the first few minutes with his ever so relaxed delivery. There was a nice balance between each comedians demeanor and delivery that made the 90 minutes varied.
We will be real. An early bird crowd in Huntsville, Alabama, is not your typical crowd in the south. They are centrists despite (or maybe because) their civilian government and senior military jobs. However, it’s still the south in terms of occasional tepid responses to the raunchy, uninhibited and vulnerability. Without alcohol, coc@ine jokes and vibes will go over some people’s head.
The intellectuals who were looking for a Colbert report wont get it. I think the expectations for comedians like Esparza is that he is supposed to explain in analytical terms how things are messed up. No. In his world, this is instead implied from the perspective of the people living in it and having a good ass time nonetheless. No Jon Stewart there either. That’s why Felipe Esparza’s set was amazing. Check him out on Felipe’s World for upcoming dates.