About
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A queer/trans/non-binary comedian and writer, El Sanchez has been performing all over the country (and once in Canada) since 2010. Their conversationally cynical, yet upbeat comedic style weaves together a unique mix of embarrassing personal stories, nerdy obsessions, social politics and possible overshares, making light of their own instances of social incompetence while also skewering oppressive social norms. They have been called "fearless" by City Arts Magazine, "a grumpy nugget of delight," by writer/activist Lindy West (Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman) and "a brilliant new voice everyone should know," by comedian Hari Kondabolu (The Problem with Apu). Grammy Award winning singer/song-writer Kimya Dawson (The Moldy Peaches, Juno) has cited Sanchez as her 'favorite underground Northwest comedian' while W. Kamau Bell, Emmy Award winning comedian and host of CNN's United Shades of America, once said, "El Sanchez is the truth."
According to Crosscut.com, ""...El Sanchez is a special comedian; with unparalleled storytelling, quick wit and a bubbly demeanor, [they] can make magic out of any moment. Whether hosting The Moth, doing stand-up or hosting [their] own show, [they’ll] have you laughing the whole night and you’ll want to be [their] friend. The best advice I can give: Whenever you can see [them], go see El Sanchez."
El has performed at Seattle's Crypticon, Emerald City Comicon, Bumbershoot, the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Northwest Comedy Fest, the All Jane Comedy Festival, Autostraddle’s annual LGBTQ event A-Camp and have been a featured performer at many LGBTQ+ PRIDE events from Seattle, WA to Charleston, NC. They have appeared on The Bob Rivers Show, NPR's Latino USA, the popular podcast Sex Nerd Sandra on the Nerdist network, the Seattle-based sketch television show "The [206]" on NBC and have been interviewed by both Allure and Teen Vogue magazine. They have opened for comedians Nicole Byer (Nailed It), Marc Maron (GLOW, WTF Podcast), Jen Kirkman (Drunk History), Dwayne Kennedy (Seinfeld), Bridget Everett (Inside Amy Schumer), W. Kamau Bell (United Shades of America), Michael Che (SNL), Wyatt Cenac (The Daily Show) and musicians D.R.A.M. and SassyBlack. For many years they were are a regular opening act and touring partner of comedian Hari Kondabolu (Warn Your Relatives, Conan, Comedy Central).
El produced several Seattle comedy shows over the years, including all female/femme show Wine Shots: Comedy's Happiest Hour, late night variety show Not Too Late with El Sanchez, movie and live podcast show The Enematic Cinematic LIVES!!, comedy and karaoke show Karajokey and QTPOC focused variety show Fist & Shout! Their former podcast, How Bad Could it Be? featured an exclusive theme song written and performed by beloved queer and trans musician Mal Blum (The Chris Gethard Show, Welcome to Night Vale). El also hosted three web series for Queerspace Magazine (The Bi-Geekly Report, Wrestle-Gaynia and Reality Rewind) and was the host and touring storyteller for the Seattle branch of The Moth StorySlam from 2015-2021.
El has written for websites Wonder and Risk, Have You Nerd?, Capeless Crusader, Autostraddle, My Kid is Gay, Baberoar and Jezebel. In 2013, they were featured on LGBTQ pop culture website AfterEllen’s "50 Hot [Womxn] in Comedy" list, as well as Autostraddle’s, “The Alternative Hot 105.” In 2016 they were featured in City Arts Magazine's "Future List," a list of up and coming artists who the magazine predicts will redefine their medium in the upcoming year. In 2018, El was one of a collection of contributing writers/featured storytellers in Shout Your Abortion, a book project featuring personal stories of different people and their experiences with abortion that was collected and edited by notable Seattle area artists, writers Lindy West, Amelia Bonow and musician Emily Nokes (Tacocat).
Since 2023, El has gone from a struggling stand-up comedian to a struggling single parent, enjoying a life of semi-comedy retirement in complete obscurity in beautiful Olympia, WA. These days they fill their time working as an Executive Director for an LGBTQ+ youth support non-profit organization while raising their young daughter along with 13 actively dying plants and their fat black cat Abahdeen the Kee.
BONUS RANDOM USELESS FACTS!
1. In their ciscentric youth, El worked at a comic book store and begged their boss’ close friend at the time, comic book writer Greg Rucka, to write a character based on them that would appear in an issue of a DC comic book to make out with/make love to Gotham City police detective and secret superhero, Renee Montoya. This actually happened! A character featured in DC's Crime Bible series in 2007 is named after El and is a sex worker/secret spy that falls in love with Renee Montoya and yes, they make out/make love. This character has gone on to be a continuing love interest and sometimes antagonist of Renee Montoya and even came back in issues of the comic Lois Lane where she was revealed to be a deadly assasin/super villain named the Kiss of Death! She’s dead now though. Important Note: While Greg Rucka asked for photos of El at the time to use as a basis for the character design, allegedly the bigwigs at DC in 2007 allegedly claimed that having two brown ladies with ‘the same hair’ and ‘skin color in a panel together’ would be ‘confusing’ for their readers, allegedly. For this reason, El’s character is a white, blond cis lady named ELICIA SANCHEZ that obviously looks like a German model and nothing like 23 year old El. This is not Greg Rucka’s fault. Alleged corporate racist, sexism aside, El remains honored. They have a copy of the first comic featuring the character named after them on the cover with a signature from Greg Rucka that affectionately reads, “Elicia, you whore!”
2. According to their dad, Selena, the legendary Tejano singer is El's cousin. So is legendary Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa (also according to their dad).
3. El once did comedic commentary over the film Beast Master at a horror convention alongside the film's director, Don Coscarelli. After telling Don they used to carry a fanny pack with small stuffed dogs in it as a kid that they would throw at bullies and pretend they were like the mind-controlled ferrets in the film, Don told them they were “very funny” and gave them a hug in a dad-like way that definitely expressed concern.
4. Since 2013, El has portrayed lead singer Michael Thunder in Seattle's premiere gender bending Michael Bolton comedy cover band, Lightning Bolton. The band also features their best friend, comedian Sarah Skilling as co-lead singer and keyboardist, Michael Rain and a rotating third member, often their wife Tonya or husband Gene (saxophonist and scarf dancer).
5. El once had a pet mole named Stephen. He died.
6. El is obsessed with watching real-life forensic crime-solving shows. It's actually kind of creepy. Maybe we shouldn't talk about it.
7. El got their first IMDB credit for their non-award-winning performance as "Gilgazorg Harem Girl #2" in local Seattle comedy film Steel of Fire Warriors: 2010 A.D. (in which they share a scene with comedian/musician Reggie Watts while wearing a pair of tights on their head). El’s daughter believes this makes them famous. That and the fact their Alexa knows who ‘comedian El Sanchez’ is.
RESUME
PEOPLE
El has Opened for
Bridget Everett
Brooks Whelan
Cameron Esposito
DJ Cipha Sounds
D.R.A.M.
Dwayne Kennedy
Emily Heller
Gary Gulman
Graham Elwood
Guy Branum
Hari Kondabolu
Howard Kremer
Jen Kirkman
Joe Mande
Josh Blue
Liz Miele
Marc Maron
Margaret Cho
Melissa Villaseñor
Michael Che
Mike Epps
Moshe Kasher
Nicole Byer
River Butcher
Sandra Valls
SassyBlack
Solomon Georgio
Todd Barry
W. Kamau Bell
Wyatt Cenac
PLACES
EL HAS PERFORMED AT
Festivals/Conventions
All Jane Comedy Festival - Portland, OR (2013, 2014, 2015)
Autostraddle's A-Camp - San Bernardino, CA (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
Arts & Nature Festival - Seattle, WA (2019)
Bainbridge Island Comedy Festival - Bainbridge Island, WA (2014)
Big Sky Comedy Festival - Billings, MT (2015)
Bridgetown Comedy Festival - Portland, OR (2013, 2015)
Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival - Seattle, WA (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
Crypticon Horror Convention - Seattle, WA (2011, 2012, 2013)
Emerald City Comicon - Seattle, WA (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
GeekGirlCon - Seattle, WA (2014)
Folklife Festival - Seattle, WA (2022)
Indigenous People Festival - Seattle, WA (2019)
Intersections Festival - Seattle, WA (2018, 2019)
Macefield Music Festival - Seattle, WA (2014)
Northwest Comedy Fest - Vancouver, B.C. (2014)
Olympia Film Festival - Olympia, WA (2014)
Pacific Crest Comedy Festival - Portland, OR (2019)
Rose City Comicon - Portland, OR (2019)
Summer Meltdown Festival - Darrington, WA (2013)
Trans Pride Festival Seattle (2020)
Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival - Seattle, WA (2018)
TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival - Seattle, WA (2017)
Colleges
The Evergreen State College (Olympia, WA)
University of Oregon (Eugene, OR)
Comedy Clubs
The Comedy Underground (Seattle, WA)
Helium Comedy Club (Portland, OR)
Laughs Comedy Spot (Seattle, WA)
The Punchline (San Francisco, CA)
Theaters/Performance Venues
Annex Theater (Seattle, WA)
Bagdad Theater (Portland, OR)
The Bell House (Brooklyn, NY)
Broadway Center (Tacoma, WA)
Brody Theater (Portland, OR)
Capitol Theatre (Olympia, WA)
Curious Comedy Theater (Portland, OR)
Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR)
MoPOP (Seattle, WA)
The Hideout (Chicago, IL)
Hult Center of Performing Arts (Eugene, OR)
Mississippi Studios (Portland, OR)
The Moore Theater (Seattle, WA)
Neptune Theater (Seattle, WA)
The Triple Door (Seattle, WA)
Turner Ballroom (Milwaukee, WI)
The Troubadour (Los Angeles, CA)
Seattle Center (Seattle, WA)
The Shelter/St. Andrews Hall (Detroit, MI)
The Washington Center for Performing Arts (Olympia, WA)
Contests/Competitions/Awards
2nd Annual Feedback Funny Comedy Competition (Winner) - Seattle, WA (2015)
Seattle International Comedy Competition (2015)
THINGS
EL HAS BEEN IN
Books
The Badass Feminist Coloring Book by Ijeoma Oluo (2015)
Shout Your Abortion by Various (2018)
Commercials
Real Networks - Hello. My Name is Helix
Film
Steel of Fire Warriors: 2010 A.D. (2008)
Rewind This! - Teaser Trailer/Special Features (2013)
Oh, I Get It - Documentary short (2015)
Poster Boy - Short Film (2016)
Podcasts
Buffering The Vampire Slayer
The Enematic Cinematic
How Bad Could It Be?
To L and Back
Lady to Lady
Sex Nerd Sandra
Television
The [206]
Radio
Hollow Earth Radio
Web Series
Monsoon Season w/Jinkx Monsoon