Juan Bago and Comedy Crew Reclaim January 6 and Three Kings Day

New parody video flips the script a bit

Happy 2025! The Latino Newsletter is still active. (You can scroll down to see why.)

For today’s post, I wanted to do something differently and share a side of me I rarely talk about.

Back in the 1990s, way before the Internet and social media, I did improv in Boston. I have always loved comedy. I still dream of getting back on stage and maybe even doing standup, but that’s for another post.

Over the holidays, my good friend Juan Bago (stage name for Michael Diaz) and the creative crew he rolls with dropped a new THREE KINGS DAY parody video. Bago and I have done work in the past, when we were trying to get Latino Rebels a late-night comedy project green lit. We spent a few years trying a lot but laughing a lot more. While the dream for such a show didn’t materialize, we will always have “Bago’s Briefs” and of course, “Labelx.”

When I heard about the THREE KINGS DAY video and Bago telling me that he wants to reclaim January 6, I reached out to him. By the way, the Instagram version of the video already got some hahaha love from Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Julio Ricardo Varela: Why this video?

Juan Bago: I’ve been wanting to do a Three Kings video since back in 2016. It was one of the last ideas I pitched to Flama. The team and I felt it was time, especially with January 6 having a different meaning. It was a great way to bring things full circle.

JRV: You think January 6 needs to be saved? Why?

JB: I don’t think it needs to be saved, but parody was a great way to remind everyone that prior to 2021, it was all about Three Kings Day. Especially in the last three years, you would hear a lot of talk about the Insurrection. 

JRV: How has your parody work changed over the years?

JB: I think the process has always been the same. I’ve been blessed to have such great, talented people on the team that understand its comedy first while maintaining the musical aspect of the art.  When I did Pan con queso back in 2011, there weren’t that many people doing parodies in our space, and social media wasn’t the same. It was like the wild, wild West. Today, things are more sharable, but you must get everyone’s attention within the first five to ten seconds. What we have always made sure of is if someone else has done a parody similar to the topic and, if so, how would ours be different. 

JRV: When I was creating late-night content for Latino Rebels, you did some work for us? What did you get out of that experience?

JB: What I got out of doing the content was my love of interacting with my community and realizing how there are so many funny and interesting people walking around minding their own business before I throw a mic in their faces. I first started doing man on the street work back in 2007 for SITV (now FuseTV) with a fake toothbrush microphone and not as well-trained poker face. I remember having so much fun improvising and getting natural reactions. Fast forward to what I was creating for Latino Rebels, I got the same joy but being able to tackle real issues.

JRV: What is success for 2025?

JB: In the current state of Content Creating/Hollywood, I think success for 2025 is being able to create your IP Independently with as much creative control. Being unique and real and finding your audience. Bringing it back full circle to my “Labelx” segment, Latinos are not monolithic, and our voices are diverse. So in 2025, doubling down on that is success.

JRV: Anything else I should know about this video?

JB: Working on parody with Jerry Diaz (aka, Elmo Difoca), Bryan Perez (IamAstro) Anthony Palmini, and Alain Alfaro was such a blessing and too much fun. These are some of the most talented people I know, and I won’t be surprised if you see a few more parodies coming out in 2025.

About the Author

Julio Ricardo Varela is the founder and publisher of The Latino Newsletter.

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What We’re Reading

Inauguration Day in Puerto Rico : On Tuesday morning, Jenniffer González Colón was sworn in as the next governor of Puerto Rico, which, as The Associated Press reports, was “overshadowed by widespread anger over a blackout that hit the U.S. territory days ago.”

At one point, a letter from President-elect Donald Trump was read out loud by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL).

This a photo of the letter that González Colón shared on her social media profiles.

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