Anjelah Johnson-Reyes Says, “If You Laugh, You’re Family”
I immediately get a kick out of the fact that comedian Anjelah Johnson-Reyes has ordered lunch from a place called The Salty Burrito in Nashville, Tenn. Like I’m somehow now picturing a slightly annoyed burrito that’s got its hands on its hips and is a couple seconds away from unleashing the kind of barbs that will have me emotionally distressed for days.
Come to think of it, I’m picturing a version of Johnson-Reyes’s now-iconic MADtv character Bon Qui Qui, a fast food worker who is clearly unafraid to serve you a side of her signature sass with your burger. Or to call sa-ccurity.
But no sa-ccurity, or security, is needed as I sit down virtually with the performer, her with her crunchy tacos and me with my smoked trout bowl from San Francisco’s Kantine eatery. If you can believe it, Johnson-Reyes is now embarking on her 19th year in comedy. It’s a journey that’s taken her from early YouTube virality with her instantly-quotable Nail Salon routine to television sketch comedy and hour-long specials. Today we’re chatting about her sixth special, which is entitled ‘Say I Won’t’ in English and ‘Díganme Que No’ in Spanish. Both are now available on YouTube, and it’s the first time she’s released a show in each language. And even though the Spanish version is dubbed with a different voice actor (“How do I wish that I could have performed it in Spanish myself - I would’ve loved that”), the heart of her culturally-relevant material still rings true.
“I want to be in touch with my culture and my roots, and I talk about my culture and my roots within my storytelling. But, I’ve never been able to cross that language barrier because I don’t speak Spanish,” Johnson-Reyes says. “And I’m like, ‘Huh, I wonder if there are people who would enjoy my stories if they were in Spanish so they could understand them more, so they could follow along more.’”
Armed with this question of whether or not her Spanish monolingual fans would relate to her work, Johnson-Reyes chose to dub the special, which she admitted to initially being embarrassed by. “It was something I had to wrestle with, like, ‘Is this okay?’ But then I came back to, 'This is more people who get the opportunity to enjoy these stories and laugh at these stories.’ And so with that, I felt comfortable putting it out there dubbed in Spanish.”
As noted, the San Jose, Calif., native has always found a way to incorporate her Mexican and indigenous identities into her work. I mentioned to her that I recently watched a video that highlighted her World War II veteran grandfather at one of her tapings. She recounts a childhood memory of him teasing grocery store cashiers with a plastic insect creeping out of his shirt pocket. When asked about her comedy roots, Johnson-Reyes lists him and his penchant for practical jokes as one of her early influences.
“Every comedian has their own ‘why’ of why they do what they do, about why they are funny. My ‘why’ of why I’m funny is my family. My grandpa is hilarious. My dad was the first comedian I ever knew. He wasn’t a professional comedian but he was the guy making people laugh. That’s where I learned that,” Johnson-Reyes says. “I would say that all my family is funny. My siblings are hilarious. Even my [paternal] grandma - she was quick and she was silly.”
Because of this significant familial relationship, I thought it seemed quite appropriate that her current showcase spanning more than 100 shows globally is called ‘The Family Reunion’ tour. She says the true meaning goes even deeper than that.
“I’ve been touring for 19 years and my fans have become like my family. And I’ve kept some very long-term fans,” she says. “And so I go back to these same cities year after year and I have new fans, I have old fans. But it’s kind of like I’m having a mini family reunion in every city across the country of everybody who’s been a part of my career over the years. ‘You’ve watched my videos? You’re a part of it, come on. You’ve sent my video, you’ve been to my show before? Bring your family to my family reunion tour!’”
It’s certainly a family affair for Johnson-Reyes now that she has her young toddler in tow. And being a new mother on the road is altogether a change of pace for the comedian who also hosts a mental health-themed podcast called ‘Funjelah.’ It’s an activity she calls a “breath of fresh air.”
“In my podcast, I’m able to…have a meaningful, deep and rich conversation with someone where there’s going to be laughs, but, we get to sit in our feelings, we get to sit in process, we get to sit in gratitude, which is the whole premise of the podcast.”
And it appears to be the premise of her new life chapter. “Everything is usually [my daughter] at the center of it,” Johnson-Reyes says. “Thank God we had her - she brings so much joy, and she’s just so special. And I’m so grateful for her little personality and her little laugh and her little voice.” How does that “little laugh” sound? “Best sound ever.”
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