Carlos Ballarta
Carlos Ballarta, born Carlos Sinuhé Martínez Vallarta on November 13, 1990, in Mexico City, is a Mexican comedian and actor specializing in dark humor. He was raised in Chicoloapan and studied acting. Before focusing on comedy, he worked in voice acting and began performing stand-up comedy in December 2012 at the Beer Hall bar in Mexico City. His career started with an open mic performance in 2012, and he subsequently adopted sunglasses and long hair, citing a fear of direct eye contact with the audience and as a tribute to Kurt Cobain; he began wearing glasses around this time as well. He participated in the television program STANDparados from 2013 to 2014 and appeared on Comedy Central Presenta: Stand-up in 2014 and 2015. Ballarta gained wider recognition in 2014 through his appearance on «Es de noche… y ya llegué», performing a live sketch based on his own written routine. He was part of the collective ‘7 Machos’ from 2014 to 2016. His comedy often satirizes everyday life in Mexico, including public transportation, education, and street food vendors (eloteros), and incorporates humor about his personal life, particularly the absurdities of parenthood; he jokes about using his wife's pregnancies to avoid commitments. Ballarta’s shows explore themes of tragedy, existential fears, and scatological humor, and he is notably known for having multiple jokes about elotes. He has released three Netflix specials: El Amor es de Putos (2016), Furia ñera (2018), and Falso profeta (2021), and a YouTube special, Rebelde Comodino , in July 2023. He has also appeared on Comedy Central and Amazon Prime, and starred in the film Mirreyes vs Godínez (2019). Carlos Ballarta tours extensively throughout Mexico, Latin America, the USA, Canada, and Europe, performing stand-up comedy shows. In 2023, he became the first Spanish-speaking comedian to perform at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal. He has also hosted podcasts, including Duques y Campesinos (2019) with Jonás Fierro and Coco Celis, and Jamón Serrano (2021) with Coco Celis, and ran a solo podcast and vlog called STATUS QLO from 2021 to 2023. He has opened for Louis C.K. at the Metropolitan Theater in Mexico City. While he doesn't apologize for his comedy, he asks for audience visits. Ballarta is considered a recognizable face in the Spanish-speaking stand-up scene and a "master" comedian with a ten-year career as of 2024. He is known for his witty, observant, and thought-provoking comedy, often touching on delicate or sensitive subjects, and using a logical joke framework to create coherence within his bits.