Australia’s favourite Venezuelan comedian, Ivan Aristeguieta is back with a brand-new show – 'Piñata’.
Like the Latin American papier-mâché ritual that the show is named after, Aristeguieta’s comedy show is about tackling the tough aspects of life before being able to enjoy the sweetness.
“Piñata in Venezuela is not a donkey or an animal, it’s usually your favourite superhero,” Aristeguieta explains. “The show is basically about killing your heroes and going back to basics. . . I had just turned 40 and [I was thinking] about what’s a new approach to this second half of my life. . . I’m going back to basics and trying to relearn what I’ve learnt so far and trying to have a better second half of my life.
“This is all the philosophical part of the show and as a comedian I go through what was the thing I’ve been going through the most in the last year and I want to talk about that and explain that in a funny way.”
While some might feel uncomfortable about sharing their personal issues and making light of them in front of a room of strangers, Aristeguieta says “it’s very therapeutic”.
“The more personal the shows are the more you can connect to people and the easier people will relate. . . Comedy is about seeing things from a different angle and a different point of view.
“It’s about talking about common thoughts that people have had, but let’s have the time to see it from a different angle and release it to action because everyone has the same concerns about life and mortality and getting old, what’s happening to humanity and technology, and let’s find a way to laugh about it.”
Aristeguieta loves updating his South Australian fans on his life too. He has a soft spot for the city which he called home for three years when he first moved to Australia eight years ago. “I feel like I carry the SA flags, the flag for South America and South Australia and there’s so many familiar faces at Fringe. They always come and I try to give them an update and they’ve gone through everything with me. My divorce, being single, a new girlfriend, breaking up with a girlfriend. . .”
In addition to 'Piñata', Aristeguieta is launching a new web series which showcases another passion of his – cooking. “It’s the most inaccurate cooking show on the web. I’m a trained chef and food technologist and for a while I was thinking about content I wanted to create and I was going to do a podcast like most comedians do, but I thought ‘let’s be honest I don’t listen to podcasts’, but I actually do watch cooking shows and I’ve been watching them since I was a kid.”
The ten-minute episodes will see Aristeguieta cook a variety of cuisines, from traditional Venezuelan dishes to his favourite Japanese meals. “The first episode is a Japanese pancake, and the first episode is like the first pancake because it’s always sh.t,” he laughs. “It always has lots of problems. The pan is either not seasoned well or it’s not hot enough, so the pancake is destroyed but you still eat it.”
“In the show I never give amounts of ingredients. I’m just showing how it’s done and what ingredients you use. I want people to show off in front of their friends and be cool. Because cooking is not about sharing it’s about showing off.”
Ivan Aristeguieta Tour Dates
2-15 March – Umbrella Revolution at The Garden Of Unearthly Delights (Adelaide Fringe)19 March – Australian National University (Canberra Comedy Festival)
20-21 March – The Tivoli (Brisbane Comedy Festival)
25 March-19 April – Athenaeum Theatre (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)
8 May – Astor Theatre (Perth Comedy Festival)
9 May – Enmore Theatre (Sydney Comedy Festival)
