Modesto-raised Marcella Arguello loves Modesto, and isn’t afraid to show it
Marcella Arguello will bully almost anyone. In fact, the Modesto-raised stand-up’s new comedy album is called, “The Woke Bully.” She has been known to offend conservatives and liberals alike with her blunt, aggressive comedy style — particularly on Twitter.
But there’s at least one thing she steadfastly won’t make fun of, and that’s her hometown. Yep, Marcella loves Modesto. And she’s happy to tell anyone.
“I’m proud to be from Modesto. A lot of people hate Modesto; they leave Modesto and are ashamed to be from here. They say they were born in the Bay Area or something,” she said in an interview recently on a return trip to Modesto at one of her favorite local haunts, the We Donut Shop.
“I like that I was from here. But I was also raised in a household that encouraged me to proud of everything that I am in that moment, whether it’s my Salvadorean background or being raised in Modesto or being from a big family or being Latino. So I’ve never understood people being ashamed of being from Modesto. Of course I am who I am because I was raised in Modesto.”
Marcella, who has lived in Los Angeles for the past nine years while pursing her comedy career, returns from her first headlining show at the Gallo Center for the Arts on Friday, Jan. 25.
The 2002 Johansen High graduate has steadily made a name for herself — appearing on national television, writing for different TV series, hosting her own weekly comedy show in LA and now releasing her first comedy album.
Still if you knew her in high school, you probably aren’t too surprised that the lanky, 6 feet, 2 inches tall Arguello is making it in comedy. She was a self-described class clown. She used to impersonate Michael Jackson at lunchtime while at Teel Middle School.
When she started her comedy career locally she made the rounds at places like the Queen Bean Coffee House, Che’root Cigar Lounge and now defunct Fat Cat Music House & Lounge. In 2009 she took home the first-ever best comedian trophy at the Modesto Area Music Association Awards (known as the MAMAs).
Since then Arguello has appeared on national shows like “Last Call with Carson Daly” and the Comedy Central game show “@midnight.” She also wrote for two television series, “Drop the Mic” on TBS and “Bill Nye Saves the World” on Netflix. For the past year she has hosted her own weekly comedy show at the Hollywood Improv called “Women Crush Wednesday” which features a diverse lineup of female comics and has attracted headliners like Nikki Glaser, Nicole Byer and Cameron Esposito.
Along the way, her comedy has evolved, too, to be more pointed and more focused with her so-called “bullying.”
“I was always a bully growing up. But once I got a little more thoughtful about things, I learned to stick up for the little guy instead of making fun of the little guy. When you realize what the power structure is in the world, you kind of start realizing the little guy needs someone powerful to look out for them,” she said.
It’s the difference between punching down (making fun of those with less power or privilege than you) and punching up (making fun of those with more power and privilege than you). Hence her self-professed label as a “woke bully.” The slang term “woke” refers to someone who has become aware of social and racial injustice.
What Arguello’s experience in comedy has also helped her do is focus on what she likes. After working in two different writers rooms, for “Drop the Mic” and “Bill Nye Saves the World,” she knows she isn’t interested in writing comedy for other people. Instead she is working on selling two shows of her own, a televised version of her “Woman Crush Wednesday” comedy showcase and another semi-scripted project she is developing.
Her comedy album, “The Woke Bully,” will be released Feb. 1, available through Amazon, iTunes and other major retailers. She will then embark on a headlining national tour, which will take her through the West, Midwest and East Coast. The Modesto date will serve as the unofficial first date of her tour.
You can also expect to see Arguello on various talk shows and other TV series this year as she promotes her album and tour. Still, lest you think her show is all just social rights activism, the comic said she also likes to be silly and even slapstick in her humor. She wants to use her comedy as a way to get people to look at things from a different perspective.
“When you are young you want to say and do anything (to get a laugh). When you get a little older realize this has power. It can help people, change people and inspire people,” she said. “It’s hard to use comedy in that way, but the more you do it the more powerful you become.”
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25
WHERE: Foster Theater, Gallo Center for the Arts, 1000 I St., Modesto
TICKETS: $25-$35
CALL: 209-338-2100
ONLINE: www.galloarts.org
