Photo: RNZ
Through all the hoops we jump through making lives in a new country, finding the funny side of things really can be art or an accident. In this four-part series Kadambari Raghukumar talks to folks with jokes and stories of their immigration.
Edd Rivera was born and raised in Tonala, Jalisco, in Mexico. The signs were always there. Edd was always the funny guy, even his grandma spotted that in him as a child, he says. She'd get him to narrate stories and tell jokes and at family gatherings he'd get right into it.
But career did not rhyme with comedy, neither did call centers, construction and coaching English but over the years he's worn all those different sombreros, going from job to job. It was coming to New Zealand by somewhat of a geographical accident, fumbling around looking for ways to make a better life for him and his family, that really led to him to comedy.
Edd Rivera Photo: Andi Crown Photography
He thought New Zealand was in Europe, came on a one way ticket from Mexico and eight years on he's still here - legally, he points out.
From being a rising TikTok and Instagram star, Edd Rivera's Spanish and English jokes these days take him on tour around in New Zealand, while his face gets plenty of mileage through his wife Nancy's taco business - Tacos El Carnal.
Life's been far from a joke for the couple. Find out in this first of four conversations on Accidental Comics.
