The name and artist himself known as Rex Navarette was unheard of to me, prior to taking my Filipina/o American Literature, Art, and Culture class at San Francisco State University. However, the moment I heard the first line of his stand-up gig Hella Pinoy, I was certain everything else that would come from Navarette next was going to be a mirror of my own life growing up. And I was right. Rex Navarette was born in the Philippines and then shortly after, immigrated to the United States with his parents. Though technically claiming citizenship of the Philippines, Rex considers himself to be a second generation Filipino, or in his case, “1.5 generation.” For this reason, I was completely enamored by his work and enthusiasm towards his work. Weather it was a political, culture, or humanistic relevance, Rex made it clear that they all had one thing in common; humor. As the saying goes, “Dying is easy.
More Rex Navarette Hella Pinoy videos.
Comedy is hard” but with Rex’s attitude in his stand-up material, he would have everyone dying of laughter. Whether the audience is of Filipino descent or not, Rex Navarette made it a point to not only allow the audience into the vibrant lifestyle that almost all Filipino’s can agree on, but he also explains why it is we live the life we do, allowing others to relate in their own ways as well. Rex’s work reminds me of how I can be unique in a world of differences. Whether you are Filipino or not, speaking up and bringing awareness to your own culture is a task within itself. Rex proves that point by allowing us to not only be aware of that through his work, but to also laugh along with it.
Rex Navarette Hella Pinoy Dvd
Having been a San Francisco State University alumnus, I am proud to be a part of the same environment that he was once a part of and to hopefully represent the Asian American community in the artistic field as effectively as he has. I became well acquainted with Rex Navarrete’s comedy program “Hella Pinoy” after my parents purchased the DVD when I was younger and I instantly became enthralled with his comedy. Growing up in a middle class white community made it difficult for me to understand my Filipino culture and even more difficult to be proud of being Filipino. Rex sheds light on topics and content in the Filipino culture that are usually brushed off much like the entirety of Filipino existence when looking at mainstream history. The portion of his comedy program “Hella Pinoy” that truly struck a chord with me, is his commentary on young girls and their lack of representation when it comes to generic toys such as the infamous Barbie doll. Rex discusses how no Barbie came in a form which represented the Filipino girls when there was a Barbie doll which could resemble a black young girl or a white young girl.
He states that Filipino girls “do not register on the radar” or simply “don’t exist” because in terms of the general American public, Filipinos truly do fade into the crowd. Although Rex pokes fun at this struggle and it seems as if he is mocking the Filipino American community, Rex is actually bringing these extremely important issues to center stage. Filipino Americans are often disregarded and receive little to no recognition in history and media and although Rex Navarrete uses controversial comedy in order to finally bring attention to the Filipino American people, this is how one gets the attention of the greater public so there is finally change in how the rest of the world perceives Filipino Americans.