I started performing as soon as I was able to utter my first full sentence. I remember charging my parents one dollar a night to watch “The Show Of The Mandarina”. I was always wearing costumes, dancing, singing and had great hopes of being a famous movie star, like Ginger on Gilligan’s Island. At age 5, I idolised the movie “Sunset Boulevard“; my childhood mind considered that a success story.
Growing up first generation USA and from a traditional Colombian Catholic family made me feel insane. I was raised in the land of the free… watching Wonder Woman tie men up with her truth lasso. As a young child, my parents told me I COULD BE ANYTHING I WANTED. Well, I wanted to be famous… but they did not consider this an acceptable career for a budding young woman. If I really wanted to be on the big screen, they suggested I become a news anchor.
Over time, spending the 80s in Miami handing out free condoms in my high school parking lot (it was the time of sexual awareness and AIDS), I continuously found myself on the wrong side of what my parents considered to be morally acceptable. This was the beginning of my shameless path. In my 20s, my alter ego learned to explore life and be adventurous – shamelessly and with confidence! Thank you Mistress Marilyn of Chicago!
“Con confianza y Sin Verguenza”– I have always walked with my head high surrounded by misfits, free thinkers and healers. I believe this is what has lead me to the city of Leipzig. I had visited a few times, performing at Stoned and Noch Besser Leben; my good friend Candace Goodrich runs an art space here and the city offers music, art, and an international touch for a small and growing community.
I began FREUDIAN Slip club in 2014 with open stage “Sunday Slips”. Never one to exclude art forms, I welcomed singers, poets and comics to give us their best 4-6 minutes. With time, this open mic has become a staple of the Berlin art scene. As our shows developed and grew, we (FREUDIAN Slip club) got the offer to take over English Comedy Leipzig.
Excited to be here! We are going to bring you top Berlin comics and the musical style of the Unique Wynton Kelly Stevenson. This collaboration is part of the magic that makes artists happy to be shameless.
Next Shameless show: Wednesday, September 7
By Liliana Velasquez (AKA) Alicia La Mandarina
