Homefield Comedy Club brings the best and funniest comedians every week. The New York native and hilarious, Erik Rivera, will perform live this Friday and Saturday with two shows each night (8pm & 10:30pm). We had a one-on-one interview with Erik and this is what he had to say:
JB: How are you Erik?
ER: Jose, how are ya?
JB: Pretty good man. Thanks so much for taking the time.
ER: Oh no, thank you for having me
ER: Well I love it. I love you guys
JB: Awesome
JB: So just have a few questions. Obviously, I just want everybody to get to know Erik a little bit more and what you’re about. So if you can just tell us where you’re from, you know…how you got into comedy and we’ll take it from there…
ER: Sure! Originally from New York, Puerto Rican father, Guatemalan mother…So I apologize for all the Cubans in Florida.
JB: (laughing) we have a lot of Puerto Ricans, too. So that’s good.
ER: Okay, hopefully they come out. Now they have no excuse. I started comedy back when I was in college actually. I went to Pace University in downtown Manhattan and it actually happened right after 9/11. You know our campus is about maybe 6 blocks from the World Trade Center site and just a lot of students, a lot of the community, a lot of people didn’t feel comfortable there. So I came up with the idea to give a comedy relief show.
I’ve seen in the news, you know they had this report, …is it too soon to laugh?. Certain people wanted to forget about it. I started these comic reliefs on campus, a lot of comics at that time came out. It was just, you know, it was a great time to see people coming together, laughing, and for a few hours just forgetting everything that was, you know..in our faces..everyday, all day.
And I instantly fell in love. And decided that’s what I wanted to do. Not gonna lie, Mom wasn’t happy. You know, Mom’s an immigrant from Guatemala; came over at the age of 20 and her , you know, any immigrant’s parent, you know, I’m gonna work hard and give a better life for my kids. I remember growing up she’s like, you can be a doctor, you can be a lawyer. I wanna be a comic…She was like “Oh I came here to this country, suffered, and you’re gonna be a clown!”
JB: (laughing) yeah…well it’s paying off I’m sure!
ER: …and now she’s my biggest fan. Now she loves what I do….
JB: That’s awesome! …and do you have any siblings?
ER: I do! Ahh I have a sister…just recently graduated from college… She’s not funny…
JB: I was gonna ask you if you’re the funny guy in the family or do you have any other comics in the family.
ER: She does nothing…she completely did nothing…
JB: Yeah,, and have you been to Miami before?
ER: I’ve been to Miami before. I’ve been there for a couple of events. I’ve been back to the old Miami Improv.
JB: Yeah at the Coconut Grove…
ER: I haven’t been there in a while.
JB: So when you tell people about Miami, how do you describe Miami?
ER: I tell them…If you’re married and you visit Miami…you have to bring… Miami is too sexy that’s the problem..even in the airport…It’s too sexy! Can you say it’s too sexy? It’s just a sexy city! You guys gotta calm down
JB: It’s a sexy city..it’s just hot all the time!
JB: Hey, what about when it comes about your personal life? Are you married? Do you have kids?
ER: Married..happily married for 3 years. We got a child, 2 years old, boy. Thankfully, they’re funny I talk about them on stage.
JB: Yeah..I’ve seen a couple of your lines when it comes to that. And who’s your biggest inspiration when it comes to comedy?
ER: Oh, growing up, you know, one of the first guys on stage, you know, Latino, was John Leguizamo. I remember watching a lot of him..Mambo Mouth, Spic O Rama. They’re the biggest influences in the beginning and then as for getting into stand up comedy watching some of the greats…you know..of course I watched Eddie Murphy…Raw, Delirious. Then you know, more contemporary…Dave Chapelle, Chris Rock.
JB: Yeah, there’s so many greats out there.
ER: there really are…you know..when I started in comedy it was just a plethora bunch of different people that I could watch and learn from.
JB: Obviously here with Community newspapers we’re trying to get a lot of our readers engaged, who are on social media a lot. Are you engaged in social media ? How can people follow you on Twitter, and Facebook, Instagram? What are your handles?
ER: Follow me on Twitter: @erikrivera E-R-I-K-R-I-V-E-R-A; I’m on Facebook: facebook.com/erikriverafans. You can follow me on Instagram: @erikriveracomedy; you can go to my website: erikrivera.com and that will give you all social media outlets, everything about me, pictures of me. You can go crazy and stalk me if you want.
JB: Absolutely! And of course, January 23rd and 24th at Homefield. You’re doing two shows, right? 8:00 PM and 10:30?
ER: That’s correct! Two shows Friday; two shows Saturday.
JB: Awesome! And that venue is awesome. We go there all the time. It’s a perfect place down in Kendall. You’re gonna have a lot of fun, so we wanna make sure all our readers go out and see Erik! Thanks so much for taking the time to speak to us. Can’t wait to meet you!
ER: Thank you! Hopefully I get to meet you and have a good time.
JB: We’ll definitely see you next week, man. Thanks for taking the time to speak to us.
ER: Thanks!
For more information or to purchase your tickets, visit www.homefieldsportsbar.com or call 305-412-2220.
