Ricky Ramos, comedian and CEO of Side Splitting Entertainment in Longmont, grew up in two worlds near 38th and Federal streets in Denver. The first was a straight A student who wanted to make his father and grandmother proud; the other was a life of crime and addiction encouraged by peer pressure. Comedy changed Ramos’ life and inspired him to create the Vatos Locos Festival in northern Colorado.
Ramos’ lived with his father when he was young and his grandmother was mere blocks away. Between the two there were strict expectations that Ramos get an education and do well in school. At the same time, he grew up in a rough neighborhood. At the age of 12, he and his friends began stealing car stereos, which turned into cars theft which turned into dealing drugs, Ramos said.
“I was a product of my neighborhood. At the same time I grew up with As because my dad said he would kick my ass if I didn’t and I grew up stealing because my homeboy said he would kick my ass if I didn’t. I didn’t want to get my ass kicked,” Ramos joked.
Ramos’ life started to change after his grandmother died. His father retired to Longmont and Ramos, still in high school, moved into his own apartment and missed his senior year of high school. It wasn’t long before Ramos began to feel his environment was swallowing him up, he said, and he moved in with family in the Del Camino area.
While he was trying to escape the criminal and drug life, it held onto him for awhile and he served some time in Boulder County jail. A judge asked Ramos what he was going to do with his life which made him start thinking about his future. After he was released he ran into a friend who had just graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in creative writing. Ramos’ friend planned to use his creative writing degree to become a stand up comedian. This intrigued Ramos and he sat down to write what he called “five minutes of funny.”
Ramos’ planned to attend an open mic. During these days, there were no open mic nights for comedy so Ramos and his friend crashed a music open mic night. His first attempt was a failure but it also challenged him to keep going. Ramos kept trying his comedy any place that would let him on stage and struggled to find success.
John Novosad, otherwise known as Hippieman, is a stand-up comedian from Boulder. He saw Ramos’ performance and pulled him aside. Novosad saw Ramos’ potential but remarked that Ramos’ material lacked substance, it didn’t tell Ramos’ story.
“It was a windfall journey after that. My comedy took off to places I never knew it could take me,” Ramos said.
After changing his routine, Ramos has toured the country and created his own entertainment company. His commitment to his comedy was the motivation he needed to stop doing drugs and living a life of crime. While he said he stumbled along the way, he attributes his long-time success to his wife who brought stability into his life which allowed him to launch his company to new heights.
“I never would have imagined that to happen but it is a product of never giving up on myself,” Ramos said.
Roughly five years ago, Ramos was invited to a bilingual comedy night. At the time there were maybe four Latino comedians in the Denver area, Ramos said. But the event inspired the creation of the Vatos Locos Festival.
Vatos Locos is a bilingual comedy festival held each year throughout the Front Range. It begins on Sept. 25 at Raices Brewing in Denver. On Sept. 26 it opens at the Denver Improv and has two shows on Sept 27 at The Speakeasy at 301 Main St. in Longmont. The event finishes on Sept. 28 at Stella’s Pinball and Arcade in Greeley.
The show draws talent from all over the world. For the first time, comedians from Australia, Spain, Peru and Columbia have submitted demos for the event. Ramos’ goal for the event is to encourage Latino, Hispanic, Chicano and others to put their comedy out there while networking with other comedians.
“There is not a lot of pressure at the event to make a connection with the audience. It is all about doing your best work,” Ramos said.
