By Natalia Avilez –

At first glance you would not think that this Chicago comedian is Latina but once she sets foot on stage and makes her presence known there is no doubt that she is.

Patti Vasquez’s zest for life, her vivacious nature and outspoken ways not only scream Latina but they also allow her to connect with her audience on a personal level. She uses her biculturalism, as half Mexican and half Irish, to create humor.

From poking fun at her mother’s Mexican accent, to poking fun of her Irish heritage and even making fun of herself (dubbing herself as a “Lepri-cano”) Vasquez’s material is the very essence of who she is. Much of her material is her reaction to many things she has experienced in her life.

Patti Vasquez

With her material ranging from women’s issues, to breast cancer, growing up in a bicultural home and raising a child with special needs, there is no topic that is off-limits for this comedian.

Although her legal last name is her father’s Irish name, Vasquez chose to use her mother’s Mexican last name on stage because she liked the way it sounded and she wanted to let people know that she is Latina.

“I am the whitest, least Spanish-speaking Latina,” Vasquez said during a recent phone interview.

With no formal training under her comedy belt, Vasquez found her “aha” moment in comedy after listening to stand-up comedian Margaret Cho.

“I was never as interested in becoming something as I was the moment after I found Margaret Cho. That moment changed my entire life” she said.

After finding Cho, Vasquez left graduate school at Northwestern Business College and continued to pursue her goal of finding everyday moments and making them funny. Her parents wanted her to become a doctor or a lawyer, and the road to comedy was a difficult one, Vasquez was determined.

“There comes a moment when you have to listen to yourself. Because it can affect your passion …Appreciate the moments you enjoy and appreciate the moments you let other people enjoy,” she said.

Vasquez has written and starred in several one-woman shows, toured in comedy clubs all across the globe, including Zanies in Chicago, appeared in a film directed by Jeff Garlin called “I want someone to eat cheese with.”

She described herself as “in my late twenties which may or may not include my early thirties.”

As far as personal projects, Vasquez discussed the dream of having her own show that mimics her own life called “The Patti Vasquez Show.”

Vasquez described her comedy as having a heart and she wants to make people laugh and listen.

“Most of my comedy comes from anger. I turn it into something silly, I curtsy and I smile and nobody knows how mad I am,” she explained.

She has a lot of fans in Chicago.

“Patti is both funny and extremely entertaining. Her stories of contrasting family ethnicities, Irish vs. Latino is crazy,” said Dennis Diaz of Chicago.

So how does this funny woman find the time to raise a family, write material and manage to have a life?

“A lot of the times I find things on stage. It’s hard and I have several different ways of doing it. I give myself a half hour a day to figure out material coming up with new stuff,” she said.

She also has been a breast cancer awareness advocate for over 10 years. Patti came up with a campaign slogan, ” Save the boobies.”

One day while she was on stage for whatever reason she started talking about boobs. Someone in the audience yelled out “who cares” and that is where the “Save the Boobies” campaign was born.

“It’s ridiculous that all these men love breasts and they don’t want to get behind the solutions to breast cancer,” she said.

Vasquez not only hopes to get men involved in awareness but women as well.

“It’s not that many of these people don’t care. We do care. They just don’t know how to go about it. They don’t know how to do the right thing,” she said.

Ellie Juarez, also of Chicago, said, “Patti is a big supporter of the American Breast Cancer Association which is great! I thought she was hilarious.”

Vasquez had words of encouragement for other Latinas.

“There are a lot of people who are going to want to share their opinions of you and tell you how you should and shouldn’t do things and it’s going to be hard not to listen. The negative voices should not be louder than the positive ones,” Vasquez said.

For more information on Vasquez, to attend one of her shows, or find out how you can get involved with her breast cancer campaign, “Save the Boobies,” go to her Web site.

Natalia Avilez is a writer based in Chicago.