John Leguizamo - Mambo Mouth

This is high-quality character acting in a television theatre situation, recorded in 1991 before JL had taken on Chi Chi in the film "To Wong Foo...". The section that advanced that particular cause is halfway through when Manny The Fanny takes the stage. The portrayal of the hooker is observational at a superior level, and makes, say, Steve Coogan's Pauline Calf seem bloodless. We'd have to ask why Latina sex-workers need JL to act up to their experiences, but as drag-realism goes this is virtuoso and must, I guess, in 1991 have opened up a whole lot of experiences to the tele-viewing public. And maybe the Latinas loved him for it too. When you're in your 30's and the mojo is working anything's possible.