In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, WBEZ is proud to celebrate Las Locas Comedy’s five-year anniversary at Madison Street Theater on Friday, October 14. Las Locas is a monthly showcase featuring Latina and Latinx comedians, where the locas discuss cultural issues with unreserved comedic flair. Nothing is off the table when the locas take the stage; this is an adults-only show.
If you want to scream-laugh until your sides hurt, join WBEZ and Las Locas Comedy for this evening celebrating humor and diversity in Oak Park. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m.
Our lineup for this showcase includes…
Jesnaira Baez, a native Chicagoan born and raised in Humboldt Park, who first stepped on stage as a dare from a friend and never left. She’s been featured on TBS’s Just For Laughs Break Out Comics and Five Star Leading Ladies, and on XM’s Que Funny station. Jesnaira recently opened for DL Hughley and has appeared at top comedy clubs across the country.
Jess Martínez, who’s single, bilingual, and ready to mingle. Jess is a Chicago-based comedian who enjoys making audiences laugh as she genuinely tries to make sense of the world around her. She recently performed at the 2022 Latinx Theatre Commons Comedy Carnaval. Jess hit the stage for the first time in 2017, and graduated from both The Second City Training Center and Feminine Comique standup programs in 2018. She’s the associate producer at Las Locas Comedy, co-founder of the Latina Comedy Festival, and assistant producer at The Moth StorySLAM Chicago.
Soli Santos, a “midwestern Puerto Rican” born and raised in Chicago. Growing up as Latine in the city, while balancing dual cultures in a house dominated by males, she developed her skills in sarcasm and humor. At The Second City and i.O. Theaters, she developed her skills as a writer, actor, and comedian, and eventually began making appearances at comedy clubs like Flappers Comedy Club, Zanies, The Laugh Factory, and The LA Comedy Club. Soli was a finalist on Kenan Thompson’s Ultimate Comedy Experience in 2019 and 2022. You can also catch her in the mockumentary Enter The Mollusk on Amazon Prime.
Janice V. Rodriguez, a Chicago-based entrepreneur and comedian, who’s also a founder and producer of Las Locas Comedy. Janice regularly performs at Chicago area comedy showcases and has been featured at comedy clubs Zanies, Improv, The Laugh Factory, Market Lounge (Valparaiso, IN) The Drop (South Bend), Comedy Vault, Comedy Bar (Dubuque), CG’s, LOL San Antonio, and Jackie Knights (St. Augustine, FL). In August 2022, she co-founded and produced the first Latina Comedy Festival. Janice aims to bring a fresh perspective to topics related to her culture, her Indiana upbringing, and her professional and personal lives. She’s also very tired.
Hilary Jimenez is a “75% Mexican and 100% colonized” Chicago-based comedian, writer, and Limited Too Fitting Room Survivor. She describes her comedy style as crossing the border and the line all while wearing designer shoes. Her comedy gives loud, abrasive voice to the female, chicana experience, with a self-deprecating wit and unapologetic delivery that makes her mother deeply uncomfortable. Previous credits include Don’t Tell Chicago, Laugh Factory, Zanies, Lincoln Lodge, and more.
Deanna Ortiz is the host of the podcast Crushes! with Deanna Ortiz as well as The Drunk Cooking Show on Instagram. Crushes! was nominated for Best Podcast in The Chicago Reader’s Best Of 2020 list and has also been featured in Vulture. Deanna is a cast member of The Lincoln Lodge and has opened for acts like Matteo Lane, Liza Treyger, Megan Gailey and more.
