|
|
|
|
Monique Marvez is the first woman to headline a comedy team on local morning radio - “Monique and the Man” morning radio show on Jack 100.7 FM (5 to 9 a.m. weekdays) with Greg Simms as “the Man.” Monique also has quite a bit of success as a comic and recording artist.
Monique Marvez Profile - From 2006
It was after watching “West Side Story,” where the bad guys are Latinos, that Marvez told her father: “Those Latinos, they're such troublemakers!”
Her father, who is Venezuelan, answered: “Monique, we are Latinos!”
Although she was born and raised in Miami, that proved to be a culture shock, she said.
“I didn't know I was Latina. I really didn't know,” said Marvez, the principal host of the “Monique and the Man” morning radio show on Jack 100.7 FM (5 to 9 a.m. weekdays) with Greg Simms as “the Man.” “I grew up like any other girl on my block,” said Marvez, whose mother is of Cuban and Puerto Rican heritage.
It was precisely growing up in Miami's Caribbean culture that made her personality so colorful, and what has made her stand out as a comedian and now one of the few women to headline a morning radio show in San Diego.
“My family has a lot of spark. That's what gave me that fire, that passion when I speak. I think that in Latino families, especially Caribbean ones, children's spirits are not as repressed.”
Since coming to the San Diego airwaves Jan. 23, Marvez has created a stir, especially among English speakers who are surprised by her spontaneity. “I'm very honest. I thinks that's what captures people's attention about me,” she said.
On her show, in her raspy voice, Marvez says exactly what's on her mind. The day of this interview, for example, the topic had been undocumented immigration.
“I addressed undocumented immigrants and told them, 'If you're not receiving money from public assistance, if you're not receiving medical benefits, if you're not making the United States spend money on you, I don't mind. As far as I'm concerned, you can stay here.' ”
The telephones in the broadcast booth, of course, were ringing nonstop. A few weeks earlier, the topic had been homosexuals in the military.
“If you can use a weapon, I don't care what you are,” she said on the air. And that's how she's been since she kicked off her show in January: controversial, funny, real.
Although Marvez said she feels at home in her new role as radio host, her thing has always been stand-up comedy.
And she has done very well. In 1997, for instance, Hispanic magazine named her female comedian of the year.
In the '90s, Marvez headlined several stand-up comedy festivals, including the Montreal Comedy Festival. She also briefly had a show on HBO Latino and Comedy Central.
Recently, before coming to radio, Marvez shared billing with “Desperate Housewives” TV star Eva Longoria in the comedy “Hot Tamales Live!,” a stage variety show.
She has toured the nation with her stand-up show and lived in New York and Los Angeles, among other cities. She considers legendary Mexican funnyman Cantinflas one of her biggest inspirations.
“A comedian has to make you laugh but at the same time make you think,” Marvez said about both her radio show and her stand-up act.
Tracy Johnson, Jack FM's vice president, brought Marvez to San Diego. The comedian had been living in Los Angeles but moved south to be on the airwaves.
Marvez pointed out that although many people were surprised at a Latina starring in a morning radio show in English, she has been accepted because of the quality of her work.
“Tracy had a vision of the future. I'm a woman, I'm Latina, I'm bilingual. That's the future,” Marvez said. “Anglos in San Diego are realizing Latinos are an important part of society.”
Although her radio show is entirely in English, she is bilingual – so much, in fact, that this interview was conducted in Spanish.
“My father always encouraged me to speak Spanish,” said Marvez, who when asked about her age, simply said, “I'm older than Britney Spears and younger than Jesus.”
In addition to radio, Marvez, who lives in Encinitas with her husband and two dogs, keeps busy with other projects. She is planning a live stand-up show in “Spanglish” and looking for a place to stage it in San Diego.
And at the end of the year, her first book of personal essays is due for release.
Each month, Marvez visits an elementary school, especially those with large Latino student populations, to read stories to the children.
“Reading opens the doors to many opportunities,” she said. “I think children always get excited when they see adults read.”
As if that weren't enough, she's in negotiations with NBC to develop her own television show – a comedy – that she will write and executive produce.
The energy to do all of this, she said, comes from her Caribbean culture. “I'm a woman and a Latina. That's very important to me.”
Originally based in Miami, Monique Marvez is a standup comic known for her biting sarcasm and sardonic attention to gender issues. Her one-woman show, Loca Motive, played a variety of local clubs in southern Florida before it eventually caught the eye of Barry Diller of Silver King Broadcasting. Diller convinced Marvez to host her own show in the posh deco nightclub district of Miami Beach. Her fame in Miami grew and led the Ladyslipper release of her recorded debut, Built for Comfort, in 1997. The record features the best of Marvez's signature raunchy wit and sexualized sarcasm.
"Let's be honest, there's not a man in this world who couldn't be replaced by a winning lotto ticket and a water Pik."
Coming soon.
Keywords: Monique Marves, Monique comedienne, Monique Marvez comedian