New Washington Heights Comedy Show Shines A Light On The Community

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — Longtime Washington Heights resident Juan Bago sticks a microphone in the face of an older Latino woman and demands, "No yoga?"

"Jesus is my yoga," she yells back. Bago smiles.

"Jesus is my yoga," Bago repeats back as he points to the sky with a smile on both of their faces.

The uptown interaction appears in the new comedy show "Bago Briefs", named for the comedian and writer whose love of Washington Heights has brought him back to the neighborhood with a camera crew and a lot of courage.

The video series love letter to Washington Heights, which has hit the internet to rave reviews, features Bago interviewing older and younger Latino locals about modern topics such as cryptocurrency, yoga and the the popular fad diet keto.

"I wanted to pick topics that Latinos look at as monolithic," Bago told Patch. "I wanted to introduce the subjects, get their opinions and push back on them, and then use my comedy in ways to convince them to be open about it."

Bago, whose parents moved to Washington Heights from the Dominican Republic shortly before he was born, created the man on the street-styled show along with Julio Varela.

The series contains six episodes that will all be published to the Latino Rebels YouTube page by Friday.

“The beauty of doing these things is I know I’m going to get some pushback, but what surprises me all the time is some of the background of why they push back," Bago said.

"I feel like Latinos once they trust something, no matter how out dated it is, it is very hard for them to change and convert.”

.@julito77 and I did a lil something something! Shot in Washington Heights, directed by @AntPalmini and some honest opinions. 😂😂😂 #BagoBriefs pic.twitter.com/P4bfGjiChs
— Juan Bago 🇩🇴 (@JuanBago) December 16, 2022

Bago started as a filmmaker, before transitioning into sketch comedy, podcasting, and man-on-the-street styled content. He moved to Washington Heights full time in 1999, where he eventually joined Community Board 12's parks and business licensing committees.

“Whenever I have the opportunity, regardless of what medium it is, I always want to shine a positive light in Washington Heights," Bago told Patch.

While the show is very much a comedy — the yoga episode features Bago in a pink unitard that leaves little to the imagination — the comedian told Patch he's not out to mock his community.

"This time around, I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t making fun, and that the individuals part of the videos were not the butt of the joke, but they’re more reacting to my type of craziness when I’m pitching them these products.”

"I kept in mind that I wanted to make sure that the overall final product doesn’t shine a negative light on the neighborhood because we’ve seen enough of that," he added. "We have to highlight what makes our community so great.”

Bago's favorite episode? Definitely yoga.

The comedian said he expected minimal pushback, but was surprised just how many older Washington Heights residents cited religion as a reason not to practice it.

"I got educated on some of this stuff," Bago said.

Bago said he craves open dialogue with different generations and hopes to find the common ground somewhere between the ketogenic mindset and rice and beans.

“The diet that has been traditional for years is hard to break, and there is a certain stigma of doing the keto or low-carb diet," he said. "I feel that with the content I create, it’s with a message, it’s with something that’s not just empty calories, I’m hoping that regardless of whether you agree with it, we can talk about it."

Bago said the dream is to eventually turn the series into a show featuring different communities across the country.

But he was clear there was no better neighborhood to launch from than Washington Heights.

“This series is about Latinos, and the different generations of us in the community, and how I wanted to introduce new things to the neighborhood and discuss it," Bago said. "Maybe you can use my video as a vehicle to make it easier to convince your own relatives of change."

He added with a laugh, "It is clear Washington Heights is a character of its own."