by Zachariah Zendejas

It is said by many comedians that comedy is hard. Like anything comedy takes time and is a process of elimination of what is not funny and picking what your audience might respond to. Fowler comedian Julian Aguilar is no exception; Aguilar constantly tests what is funny, re-writes jokes so that they can have more effect, and scrutinizes his line-up of jokes and skits so he can get the most laughs possible. Aguilar kept me laughing and elated throughout our interview hitting highlights of his act, telling jokes and stories, some of which are not particularly fit for retelling in this article, although that certainly does not mean they are not hilarious.

Julian Aguilar

Aguilar was born on December 27, 1985 in Selma–he joked about how difficult it can be to have a birthday so close after Christmas. However, regardless of any difficulty Aguilar encounters in his life, he uses it in his comedy because he likes to see the “humor in everything” and if it’s funny, then it will be a part of his show.

In January of 2010, Aguilar began with a short five minute segment at “Austin’s Comedy Loft” in downtown Fresno, where he “froze thirty seconds into it.” This though did not detour him from his passion, and a year and a half later he will be headlining his first show in Kingsburg. Although Aguilar seems adept to comedy, he tells that this was not the case when he was in school; he was quite shy and, in his words, “kind of a geek”, though no one could tell due to his comedy, which is a mix of stand-up and skits, with some explicit material better suited for adults. He is apparently known as the most energetic comic in the Central Valley.

Aguilar’s journey into comedy did not begin at an extremely early age, but around high school when he watched a performance of comedian Gabriel Iglesias on cable. As he got older, he had the opportunity to watch another of Iglesias’ performances live, and decided that if Iglesias, who is from Bakersfield, could do stand-up then he could.

Of course, Aguilar knew what he was in for. “Comedy’s hard, you can’t make anybody laugh. It’s one thing to make your friends laugh, but when you’re doing it in front of strangers who don’t know you and you say the jokes you said with your friends, it’s a whole different story,” says Aguilar.

When it comes to comedy Aguilar believes that “everybody has their own unique style; I am very animated, I bring that to the table, I’m very energetic.” And though he is “energetic” he does say it as a sort of warning to his fans because in his comedy he is constantly moving, which is essential to his comedy, and that this kind of energy can put an audience on edge, though he can pull them back.

When it comes to boundaries in his comedy, Aguilar says that he tries to have a boundary, but it’s kind of hard to have a boundary in comedy. However, he is an equal opportunist when it comes to cracking jokes about people–he makes fun of just about anybody, and many things in pop culture.

“I’m so glad I got into this industry. I’ve never been happier. I’ve found myself at home”, Aguilar says about his growing career in comedy. He does not see himself stopping anytime soon.

You can learn more about Julian on his Facebook page.

Check out the KRL article in this issue on Bullfrogs in Kingsburg where Julian will be performing. To learn more details on the show check out Julian’s KRL event page.

Zachariah Zendejas is 20 years old and attends Reedley College full-time working toward a degree in English. He is an aspiring writer who hopes to do some freelance work for magazines or newspapers.