Fico Variety Show

I agreed to attend this variety show with Anita and her sister Sarah because Anita's niece Nicole was in the production.  She was the youngest of the four dancers.  Anita hadn't seen the show yet and was anxious to see both the show and her niece dancing.  I wasn't sure how much I would understand but surprisingly I did fairly well and was really entertained the whole time.  Some of the jokes were above my head because they dealt with cultural things or political matters.  Art and theater in other countries isn't just a matter of the language.  You have to understand the culture.  Anita and Sarah explained some things to me but the show moved so quickly that often it was just better to let it go and try to understand the next joke.   The producer, Fico, is a well-known comic and personality in Bolivia.  He lampooned the current government, the various regions of Bolivia, the classes of people and he even ranged to Mexico to make fun of the gay singer Juan Gabriel, and to Spain to present a flamenco dancer (in drag) with a dimwitted Bolivian campesino, of course with one of the ubiquitous Yankee names such as William.  It could have easily been Bryan, Jefferson, Wilson or Franklin (of course pronounced with a rich Latino accent).  The dancing was fantastic and Nicole was the equal of the older girls in the show.  She had told us that there was some pressure on her to lose weight but we all insisted that she shouldn't listen to the other anorexic dancers and be confident in her look and abilities.  It was a great show and we're going to see it again when it comes to La Paz.  I'm looking forward to understanding more of it next time!