Stand-up show puts spotlight on Latino comedy talents

It goes without saying that stand-up comedy is a notoriously male-dominated industry, but there’s also a real dearth in racial diversity.

The Latin Comedy Jam aims to change that. Tonight at the Bing Crosby Theater, four stand-up comics from Latino backgrounds will take the stage to offer up their takes on such familiar topics as dating and parenthood, as well as humorous issues related to their own cultures.

The headliner is stand-up favorite Johnny Sanchez, who has already established an impressive comedy career at only 31.

Sanchez was a cast member on the final two seasons of Fox’s hit sketch comedy show “MADtv,” he traveled the country with actor and comedian Paul Rodriguez on “The Latin Kings of Comedy” tour, and he lent his voice to the Oscar-winning animated film “Happy Feet” and its sequel. He also starred in his own half-hour “Comedy Central Presents” special in 2000.

Sharing the stage with Sanchez is another “Latin King of Comedy,” stand-up vet Luke Torres, whose work off the stage has included roles in the sketch show “In Living Color” and the movie “Space Jam.”

Sets by Sanchez and Torres will be preceded by two other celebrated comics, Shayla Rivera and Jerry Garcia.

Tickets are available at the Bing box office, and doors open at 7 p.m.

Nathan Weinbender