Message Through Laughter: Radio personality uses humor to critique politics

World
Europe

News, politics and humor. That's what listeners get when they tune into one Colombian radio show. But according to the program's host, it's about more than just comedy. CGTN's Michelle Begue has her story.

For the past 20 years, Alexandra Montoya's voice has graced Colombia's airwaves. What audiences love most are her vocal impersonations of famous Latin American figures, a talent she developed in her youth.

ALEXANDRA MONTOYA HUMORIST "I would do accents, I was the clown, and I would hide behind that laughter when I was sad because I got home and did not find my father or because I saw my mother working so hard."

Montoya's comedic talents are on full display on La Luciernaga, Colombia's most listened to radio program. Impersonators, comedians and journalists critique current affairs and do parodies of the latest news. This musical bit touches on the dark reality of racism by the extremist group the Ku Klux Klan.

ALEXANDRA MONTOYA HUMORIST "In this case, with the latest news from the U.S. where a Colombian journalist was verbally assaulted by racists, we are turning this into news with humor, but what we are doing is a critique. The song contains criticism that rejects that type of behavior."

MICHELLE BEGUE BOGOTA The criticism and opinions are expressed with sarcasm and irony. Cultural contradictions and hypocrisies are played out so that the audience can reflect.

Alexandra's role is an important one for the women of Colombia especially in a field dominated by men.

ALEXANDRA MONTOYA HUMORIST "I think it is great that women are being empowered to do more comedy. Through it, we can do a sort of exorcism of the macho culture that has been present in Colombia. Women can talk about it through laughter, and we can tone down that machismo in men."

Although the cast of this radio show seems to be kidding around more than working, Montoya sees her job as an important educational tool for society.

ALEXANDRA MONTOYA HUMORIST "We transform reality into laughter and jokes, but we want the audience to think about it later, and wonder 'Is this really real? Did that really happen?' So that they turn on the news to actually see that what we said is 90 percent reality with 10 percent humor."

With a journalism background and more recently a law degree, Montoya is able to address important issues through the powerful tool of laughter. Michelle Begue, CGTN Bogota.