Ivan Aristeguieta Is Ready To Get Lispy In His Latest Show, 'Juithy'

Things weren't that great in Venezuela, stand-up comedian Ivan Aristeguieta reckoned. His native land was succumbing to dangerous levels of crime and corruption, and his city of Caracas was named one of the three most violent destinations in the world outside of war zones. And the fact that he'd started to make a name for himself on the slowly growing Venezuelan comedy scene still wasn't enough to persuade him to stick around, not when he had friends and family in Australia who were singing the praises of the place.

So Aristeguieta — that's pronounced 'A-wrist-a-get-her', by the way — made the move Down Under, arriving in Adelaide early in 2012. And only a couple of months after he got here, he took part in his first open-mic comedy performance, winning the audience's favour from the get-go. A crash-course in English prior to the gig ensured he was easily understood, but he did admit to feeling a little nervous about overcoming the cultural barrier. As it turns out, though, that was easily remedied.

"In a job interview, you get further if you ask a lot of questions," smiles Aristeguieta. "Same as on a date! And that's what happens in a new country — asking questions shows that you're interested, that you want to know more. So when I get up on stage I see the audience as a woman I'm taking out on a date. I want to show them I've been listening, that I've heard what you've been telling me."

Australia has been swiping right, so to speak, on Aristeguieta ever since, with the comedian headlining gigs and appearing at festivals around the country (his 2016 show, Chorizo Sizzle, was his most well-received to date). On top of that, he also wrote and starred in his own sitcom, Lost In Pronunciation, for ABC's digital iview platform, with all six episodes still available for viewers to enjoy.

So it's little wonder that Aristeguieta is somewhat smitten with his adopted homeland, and he's letting audiences know it in his new show, Juithy (say juicy with a lisp — there, you got it).

"Juithy!" he laughs. "The name of the show came from Chorizo Sizzle — a year or so later, people still remember this word 'juithy'. The main idea of the show is that when you win something you lose something and when you lose something you win something. Pretty much all the jokes in the show are about that. You leave your old country to come to a new country where everything is great, but you hear people who live in this new country complaining about this great country!"

Aristeguieta realises that he won't be a fair dinkum Aussie until he can start whinging about Australia like everyone else. But that may take a while, he says with a grin. After all, he's kicking off a nationwide Juithy tour with a run at Adelaide Fringe, back where it all began for him. "It's a great place to start this show," he says. "I feel very at home in in The Garden of Unearthly Delights."

Ivan Aristeguieta - Juithy is playing Garden of Unearthly Delights, 17 Feb to 19 Mar, Novotel Canberra, part of Canberra Comedy Festival, 24 & 25 Mar, ACMI, part of Melbourne Comedy Festival, 30 Mar — 23 Apr, Factory Theatre, part of Sydney Comedy Festival, 4 — 7 May and State Theatre Centre, part of Perth Comedy Festival, 18 — 21 May.