Longtime comedian Paul Rodriguez has been making audiences laugh all over the world (in Spanish and English) for three decades with his unique brand of humor that is a perfect blend of his Latin heritage, the American dream and his undeniable universal appeal. As an actor and comedian, Paul Rodriguez’s multi-faceted career includes starring roles and featured appearances in over 45 films and countless television series and comedy specials. In March 2015, Paul opened the newest location of the world famous Laugh Factory comedy club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Voted one of the most influential Hispanics in America and awarded the Ruben Salazar Award by The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, Rodriguez has remained a constant force in his community and the world of comedy throughout his career.
Rodriguez’s film credits include “Mission Air” with Tom Arnold and Jamie Kennedy, “Without Men” with Eva Longoria and Christian Slater, “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore,” “The Deported,” “I’m Not Like That No More” with comedian Felipe Esparza (2010 “Last Comic Standing” winner), Disney’s blockbuster hit “Beverly Hills Chihuahua,” “The World’s Fastest Indian,” “A Cinderella Story,” “How to Get the Man’s Foot Outta Your Ass,” “Ali,” “Tortilla Soup,” “Crocodile Dundee in LA,” “Rat Race,” “Bloodwork,” “Chasing Papi” and “D.C. Cab,” among others.
The multifaceted entertainer recently wrote and performed his first-ever one-man show “Just for the Record,” which is now available on DVD. In this tell-all theatrical piece, Rodriguez takes audiences on a journey through his remarkable life, including his childhood in Mexico, to his family’s move to Compton, California (where he grew up), his illustrious career and the significant relationships and moments that helped shape his life along the way.
Rodriguez has hosted several hit series, including the entertainment talk show “El Show de Paul Rodriguez,” an entertainment talk show for Univision which reached over 50 markets throughout the United States and an international audience in over 17 countries in Central and South America. His additional hosting credits include the The NCLR ALMA Awards, The Tejano Music Awards, Showtime’s Latino Laugh Festival and his own television specials “Back to School” and “Behind Bars.” He recently hosted “Mis Videos Locos with Paul Rodriguez” on Tr3s: MTV, Música y Más.
As an accomplished writer, director and producer for television, motion pictures and feature shows, Rodriguez has several hit projects to his credit including the comedy concert film “The Original Latin Kings of Comedy,” which he executive produced and starred in along with Cheech Marin, George Lopez and Carlos Mencia; the feature film “A Million to Juan,” which he also wrote, directed and starred in; six comedy specials for HBO including “Loco Slam, “ “Live in San Quentin” and “Idiots and Armadillos.” As executive producer, he recently struck comedy again with his Comedy Central stand-up concert DVD, “Comedy Rehab.” In addition to his many hit comedy specials in English, Rodriguez has the distinguished credit of performing the first-ever one-hour standup comedy special in Spanish, “Dime Con Quien Andas,” for Telemundo.
Ramon Ayala is an Mexican accordionist and songwriter. Ayala has defined much of modern norteño music with his distinctive accordion playing and lyrics. Though he added electric guitars and drums to his music, it retains a traditional northern ranchera style.
In 1971, however, Cornelio Reyna decided to leave Los Relampagos del Norte and to switch to the mariachi genre. At the time, many music experts felt that Ramón Ayala’s short career was doomed since Cornelio Reyna was the voice of Los Relampagos Del Norte and he was just the accordion player. Surprisingly enough, Cornelio Reyna’s mariachi career was only mediocre at best. He had been much more popular with Los Relampagos Del Norte than he had been as a new solo mariachi singer. Another version is that at this time Ramón Ayala stole Cornelio Reyna’s wife and that is what led to the bands breaking up.
Ramón Ayala set out to prove that he could make it on his own and formed the band Ramón Ayala y sus Bravos Del Norte in late 1971. By early next year, Ramón Ayala had a new vocalist, Antonio Sauceda. Sauceda had a similar singing style and voice tone as Cornelio Reyna, which proved to be perfect for Ramón Ayala. This made a smooth transition for his playing style.
After cementing his name at the top of norteño music charts once again, Ramón Ayala suffered the loss of his lead singer. Sauceda had a renewed interest in Christianity and had decided to join a Christian seminary. The loss of Antonio Sauceda forced Ayala to find another lead singer. The next lead singer he found was Eliseo Robles. Robles was at the time playing in another band called Los Satellites de Fidencio Ayala, Ramón Ayala’s brother. Robles decided to join Ramón Ayala, and together they created a style that became a standard for norteño music. During the Eliseo Robles years, Ramón Ayala y sus Bravos Del Norte’s album sales reached peak high in Mexico and the United States.
Ramón has won many American and Latino Grammy’s along with record sales of approximately 750,000 units per year. Ramón Ayala is also known around the norteño bands as “El Rey del Acordeon” (The accordion king).
