Comedian Mario Salazar is celebrating Mother’s Day performing material dedicated to his mom and growing up in the Rio Grande Valley. His Saturday show, “A Toda Madre,” is a tribute to all moms.
The origin of the event was a discussion the comic had with Cine El Rey owner Bert Guerra about the differences in El Dia de la Madre (Mexican Mother’s Day) and Mother’s Day.
When asked about the distinction between the two, Salazar joked, “five or six kids.”
“I came up with the concept of ‘A Toda Madre’ as sort of saying all moms can come out and enjoy some comedy,” he said. “My mom loves what I do but sometimes says my comedy is too much for her.”
A chunk of his set focuses on his mom. He calls his mom his “biggest fan” and a “blessing,” and a chunk of his set focuses on her and his upbringing.
“Of course that means I stayed at her house till only a few weeks ago. If you are Mexican and from the RGV, you never move out of your parents’ house,” he quipped. “Why do you think there’s no Mexican homeless people in the Valley?”
Salazar achieved recent notoriety announcing the 251 overall pick of the NFL draft last month at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. He was randomly selected among the few Chargers fans.
He became a fan of the San Diego Chargers stationed at Miramar Air Station in 1999, and “instantly fell in love with the city and everything San Diego.” And while he’s still a diehard fan, he refuses to call them by their name: the Los Angeles Chargers.
“Nobody likes them in L.A. anyway,” he said of the team that relocated. “The Harlingen South Hawks are a more popular football team than the Chargers in L.A.”
So at the podium, Salazar didn’t say Los Angeles, but instead referred to the club as the “always-in-my-heart San Diego Chargers” before giving a shout out to another team.
“And Cowboys fans, prende la vela ,” he shouted, channeling a tagline of his comedy colleague Raymond Orta. “We’ll see you in the Super Bowl. Pero puro Chargers, carnal. ”
He then raised five fingers and one in succession, paying tribute to KRGV-TV. The stunt earned Salazar interviews with ESPN, Fox Sports and Bleacher Report as well as sold out comedy shows in San Diego.
“The love I received from people in San Diego has been awesome,” he said. “Everyone who was hurt by the Chargers move to Los Angeles has called me a hero for sticking it if only for a brief movement to the NFL and Chargers ownership.”
His Saturday showgoers should expect the same kinds of antics.
“I finally get to stretch my legs, do all my material (and) not worry about upstaging headliner or not worry about going over time,” he said. “It’s going to be one hell of a ride for me and the audience.”
A Toda Madre with Mario Salazar featuring Rudy Barba and Sonia Treviño
WHEN Saturday: Doors at 8 p.m., Show at 9 p.m.
WHERE Cine El Rey, 311 S 17th St., McAllen
COST $11 to $26
