Monday, Nov. 6, stand-up comedian Ralph Barbosa, along with his opening acts, Chris Tellez, Jesus Castillo and Luis Juarez, graced the Hogg auditorium with laughter as they brought a two-hour show to the Forty Acres. By being unafraid to work with risky topics stretching from cheating in relationships to interacting with fans in different cities, Barbosa’s act strategically found amusing commentary within treacherous terrain and constantly enticed the crowd throughout his set.
The show fittingly came just a week after Barbosa’s first comedy special released on Netflix, helping solidify his spot in the comedy scene. The performance, free with a UT ID, also made history for the newly-renovated 90-year-old auditorium as the first comedy show ever held there.
Before introducing Barbosa to the stage, the final opener, Luis Juarez, talked about dealing with being sad and mental health. He joked about recognizing he was a little depressed and looked around in the crowd of UT students and commented, from the looks on the audience’s faces, they felt it too. He poked at the crowd, saying they’d counted too much on this free show to lift spirits. The crowd erupted with laughter, and although the joke effectively related to the common stress amongst college students, Juarez also creatively captured what Barbosa’s performance brought to an auditorium filled with UT students: a breath of fresh air and stress-relieving laughter.
Barbosa’s laid-back yet confident stage presence and delivery quickly put the crowd at ease. Keeping a steady pace as he flowed through his set, the comic expertly transitioned between his material without ever tripping up or losing the crowd’s laughter. He came out strong by sharing that he’s been feeling more confident than usual since his Netflix special. Barbosa insisted he felt good enough to fall in love again, although he didn’t necessarily want to leave his current girlfriend.
Between discussing his relationships with family and dating, Barbosa’s jokes had a heavy influence from his background as a Latino from the Dallas area. He cracked that, in his community, having nice rims on your car marks the highest status symbol one can achieve, to the point where having nice rims felt more important than moving out of his parent’s house. He contended people would assume his mother in fact lived with him, and not the other way around.
Toward the show’s last 10 minutes, Barbosa asked the audience if he should try out some new material. They eagerly clapped in approval as he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. Although he seemingly riffed some fresh ideas, the new jokes drew some of the biggest laughs of the night, proving Barbosa’s spontaneous and authentic knack for stand-up comedy.
