Meet Raul Hernandez

We were lucky to catch up with Raul Hernandez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Raul, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

As a child of hard-working immigrants; my family made for great examples of how to be professional and to take pride in a job well done.

My father is a Master Electrical Contractor. A job was not done in his mind unless you left the work site better than how you found it.
My mother was an accountant for large law firms and various companies. She took immense pride in balancing books and helping whatever industry she worked in run efficiently.

Work ethic is a mindset. Do you just want to do your time in life, and not add value to anything? Or, would you want to make not only your business better, but make the lives of those around you better?
I know there is a belief out there that the quality of your work doesn’t matter; but I strongly disagree. Quality of work is palpable; in my industry (Comedy). An audience can tell when a comedy show is good, they can tell when a comedian is putting in true effort.
I truly believe that the world in general would be a better place if more people had this mindset.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I have been a comedian now for 4 years.

If you told me I would be traveling the country performing, and have the comedy career I have now; I would’ve told you to stop fooling.

My company is part of this journey. Dade County Comedy started in a parking lot, late at night. A few of us comedians were frustrated with the lack of growth of the comedy scene here in south Florida.

Miami before the year 2021 had maybe 4-6 local comedy shows a month. Now, the comedy community has grown to where there are 4 comedy shows any day of the week. I like to believe and hope that it was because of the effort me and a few other funny people made these past 4 years.

Dade County Comedy itself produces over 10 shows a month. We take pride in our shows.
We know that the company has the respect of comedians; and that comedians grow quickly within our process.

From being last on open mics, to being one of the premiere producers in Florida. I have grown as a comedian. I can also say with great certainty, there is no better host in the state of Florida than me. Yea, I am that good 😉

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

There are 3 things that make me the comedian I am today.

1) Trust the process, and Patience pays. I see many people who start doing standup comedy, expecting to become a headliner in a year. That is just not true, and that thinking leads to a lot of spoiled bananas. Most comedy careers solidify 7-10 years in; any famous comedian you can name has done that much time. You need patience to sit through the frustration and obstacles you encounter doing comedy. I went from performing in a house full of firefighters who roasted me, to roasting their friends on major shows.

2) Have confidence, not arrogance. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a comedian blow off a gig or a show that would have led to them into having bigger opportunities. Some of the worst shows I’ve done in my life, have led me into scenarios that launched me into better jobs and better shows. NO COMEDIAN IS TOO BIG FOR ANY SHOW. Some of your favorite comedians have no problem doing a show in front of just 2 people. It’s part of being an entertainer, a stage is a stage anywhere; even in a double-wide on a dirt road, with no cellphone reception.

3) Don’t be too serious. There are only two things comics should take seriously: physical threats and theft. That’s it. A comedian is suppose to have the demeanor of looking for the funny in things at all times. We have to have a joyful/laidback look at life. A comedian needs to create a fun escape for regular people in the audience. To remove the audience’s mind from thinking on stress or pain, to having them laugh at all the silliness. It’s just jokes!

Never underestimate the power of being silly.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

The one thing Miami has a struggle with is an actual investment in Comedy as mainstay form of entertainment.

You know Miami has dozens of dance clubs, tons of bars, and coast for miles. Miami will be getting it’s second major Comedy Club in June of 2025.
To put that in perspective, New York City has at least 6, Los Angeles has about 7. Miami has a total population that rivals those two cities, and we definitely more ventanas.

We need the investment into having a strong base for comedy here. There are so-called venues in Miami that say they produce “comedy”; but truly only operate as a place to hold classes, and don’t care about using their stages in an optimal or efficient manner.

My goal is to create something tangible here, I do not subscribe to the idea that “Miami is not a comedy town”. There are way too many famous funny people that come out of here. It’s just a defeatist statement to make. Miami is a town of laughter, and I will carry that flag until it’s underwater; then I’ll paddle with it.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

@PicoTV
@thewatchier

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