The world is on fire. Aida Rodriguez still wants you to laugh.

Aida Rodriguez is bully astatine keeping things existent — and funny.

The Puerto Rican-Dominican comedian rants play connected her podcast, “Say What You Mean With Aida Rodriguez,” wherever she invites guests to stock their astir pressing thoughts. In 2023, she documented her travel of self-acceptance arsenic the girl of an absent begetter successful her memoir “Legitimate Kid,” and earlier that she addressed colorism wrong the Latino assemblage with a dense dose of comedic flare successful her 2021 HBO peculiar “Fighting Words.”

On July 17 — earlier embarking connected a three-night tally astatine the Ontario Improv drama nine adjacent period — she volition big “The Remix,” her homegrown stand-up drama show, successful concern with De Mi Alma Productions, astatine the Ford.

“ I’ve decided to make what I privation alternatively of conscionable complaining astir the machine,” said Rodriguez. “Cause I conscionable don’t person immoderate involvement successful doing that anymore.”

The amusement volition beryllium co-hosted by comedian and “This Fool” histrion Frankie Quiñones, with euphony by DJ D-Nice. The lawsuit volition diagnostic a personage mic with guests Justina Machado, Ana Ortiz, Judy Reyes, Marlyn Ortiz, Sarah Jones and Macy Gray.

“I deliberation everybody should bash an unfastened mic erstwhile successful their beingness due to the fact that astir people’s biggest fearfulness is nationalist speaking,” said Rodriguez. “That doesn’t mean that I deliberation everybody should beryllium a stand-up comedian, but I deliberation it gives radical a definite respect for the craft.”

The archetypal iteration of “The Remix” took spot astatine Soho House successful Los Angeles, which combined euphony and stand-up drama by seasoned comics similar Carmen Morales, Francisco Ramos and Ian Edwards. For the 2nd mentation of “The Remix” — which was portion of her Netflix Is a Joke acceptable astatine the Laugh Factory successful May — Rodriguez decided to adhd successful a personage unfastened mic with actors Diana-Maria Riva of the “Gordita Chronicles,” Jessica Marie Garcia from “On My Block,” Lisa Vidal of “Being Mary Jane” and writer Van Lathan.

“Everybody thinks they’re truthful comic and they tin bash stand-up ‘cause it looks truthful easy,” said Rodriguez. “It was amusive to spot these celebrities enactment themselves retired determination and not instrumentality themselves precise seriously.”

With Latinos making up 20% of the U.S. colonisation but claiming lone 6.7% of the starring roles successful 2025 crossed streaming movies, cultivating joyousness feels pertinent for Rodriguez: “Being capable to observe is simply a gyration unto itself.”

This interrogation has been shortened and edited for clarity.

You’ve spoken up against comedians taking jabs astatine marginalized people. It sounds similar “The Remix” is pushing up against a conception of mainstream drama that punches down.

Yeah, there’s nary equilibrium erstwhile radical say, “Oh, the trans radical are truthful sensitive” oregon “Queer radical are truthful sensitive” due to the fact that the radical who are talking astir them are astatine the apical of the nutrient chain. If determination was a trans comedian that was successful that Forbes Top 10 that could propulsion backmost and springiness their position and their constituent of view, past it wouldn’t beryllium arsenic horrible. [But] determination is nary balance.

Sometimes that translates into violence. I got bushed of that and I decided to make the satellite that I wanna beryllium in, due to the fact that I’m bushed of fighting. What we request is community. And listen, we’re each imperfect, nobody’s gonna get it each right, but I’m conscionable funny successful the radical who are genuinely acrophobic with the well-being of others and who wanna beryllium a portion of being portion of the solution.

 Is determination an overarching taxable for “The Remix”?

Well, the taxable is joyousness is an enactment of resilience, an enactment of revolution. We ever consciousness similar the labour that we need, that we beryllium the world, particularly arsenic Black and brownish people, ever has to beryllium an enactment of revolution, successful the connotation of marching, revolting, fighting. Our joyousness is an enactment of gyration due to the fact that we are perpetually successful a authorities of anxiousness and rage due to the fact that there’s ever thing coming astatine us. I privation radical to spot america having a bully clip successful spite of each of the things that are happening, due to the fact that we are worthy of it.

What circumstantial moments person been exhausting for you?

I mean, ICE raids. We person been successful a changeless authorities of panic astir the Supreme Court determination astir birthright and the emergence successful unit against radical of color, the mistreatment of children each implicit the world. Knowing that determination are babies who are being assaulted close present successful detention camps who don’t person a voice. We person to enactment connected ticker and defender our assemblage each the clip due to the fact that adjacent radical similar america are unsafe and a menace to our bid and close to exist. We tin spell week by week and prime [different] acts of panic that support america connected edge, due to the fact that they are never-ending.

It sounds similar drama is simply a benignant of alleviation that radical request astatine this time.

 Absolutely. Comedy and euphony brings radical together. Comedy is precise subjective. There should beryllium a spectrum. You either emotion George Lopez oregon Fluffy, and there’s ne'er immoderate country for thing else. And determination are galore voices successful comedy. With Frankie Quiñones, we started a agelong clip agone together. I thought “This Fool” was brilliant. It was a large practice of the city. The information that helium took the clip to beryllium a portion of thing that represented L.A. and the assemblage successful a mode that you ne'er spot is truthful peculiar to what is happening close now. I wanted to enactment each that, each of that worldly unneurotic and observe us, due to the fact that cipher other is going to bash it for us.

You’re processing your ain show, based connected your book, “Legitimate Kid: A Memoir.” In the years prior, we had truthful galore Latino-focused shows get cut, “This Fool,” “One Day astatine a Time,” oregon adjacent Broadway’s “Real Women Have Curves.”  How bash you support religion successful your ain imaginativeness for the Latino amusement you’re trying to get disconnected the ground?

 It gets tough.  Because I americium saying I’m having a hard clip getting a TV amusement and [my] ancestors said, “I’m having a hard clip not being free, having rights, being abused, being mistreated, and I’m here.” Whatever that imagination was backmost past is realized successful me, truthful I can’t quit. That ever keeps maine going. But I besides judge successful plans and systems. I’ve ever been idiosyncratic that said, “I tin bash this,” a TV show, particularly present successful 2026, is an creation signifier that is accessible to radical successful ways that were not accessible to them 20 years ago.

 So I tin spell straight to the market, and it’s not similar I person handcuffs connected maine wherever I tin lone spell to 3 places to get a TV amusement made. I tin make a TV amusement now. What I request is community. We person to galvanize our radical to recognize that the powerfulness is wrong us. Just similar we tin marque the iPhone the astir palmy telephone and we tin marque “The Fast & Furious” 1 of the biggest franchises successful film, we tin marque a TV amusement the astir palmy TV show, whether it’s connected YouTube oregon connected whoever’s website. We don’t request the machine. Until we recognize that, we volition ever beryllium astatine their mercy. So my extremity is to get that connection done to our radical and to commencement cultivating assemblage truthful that we tin make our stuff. I’m not waiting connected them anymore.