Photos by Ralph Freso Slideshow
It’s not as if Luis Escamilla had refined his comedy chops at open mic nights. He’d been yucking it up with friends, who told him he was a funny guy.
“This will be the first time I do this,” he said backstage before the show. “But I’ve always been a guy that when I want something, I just go for it.”
When Escamilla got on the Global Credit Union Arena stage Tuesday night at GCU’s Got Talent in front of more than 2,500 fellow students and friends from his native Mexican home state of Jalisco, he nailed it.
His cultural humor contrasting his Mexican upbringing to his American life at Grand Canyon University had students howling, and the crowd voted him the winner of among nine acts in the talent contest.
He showed off his energetic style by describing going to church with his mother, a young Mexican boy sitting on a hard pew without the ample derrieres of Americans – “it’s just bone on wood.” He demonstrated his fidgeting and laughing during solemn prayers. His mother did not make a public display of her displeasure but whispered in his ear: “This is your final warning!”
Her nails dug into his shoulder as he winced and she seethed, “Who’s laughing now?” That’s the title of his act.
Streamers rained down on the stage after Escamilla was voted the winner. He wore a poncho from Mexico bearing the flag while crowds of Latino students crowded him to take photos and sing/chant “olé, olé, olé!”
“Every time we make something great we celebrate with olé, olé, olé,” he said. “We win.”
Escamilla, who said he attends GCU on a student visa, saluted three friends from high school who traveled to see him perform and sat in section 103 because “they knew it was a special night for me.
“I was nervous, but once the first joke hit I was okay. Once I told them the joke about a green card I was okay,” he said, referring to his bit directed at American girls, reminding them that he needs one for the other.
He doesn’t even know if he’ll do a stand-up routine again.
“If I do it again, most important will be to show more people to try new things,” he said.
In its second year, the Canyon Activities Boards’ largest event of the semester again proved that it’s full of surprises. Last year, the event launched with winner Josh Salazar performing his yo-yo tricks to music, and he returned Tuesday night for an encore performance before announcing the winner.
Last year proved that GCU students showcase some unexpected, unique talents, said Austin Powell, Canyon Activities Board special events coordinator, and it was evident again this year. “All of the acts were super talented, just going by how loud people cheered for them.”
Several musical acts earned standing ovations, especially soloist Crisyl Omayan’s souring vocals on never, ever being in love, Loren Allred's "Never Enough."
Omayan, who was one of three finalists, said she’s been singing since age 2, often in the bathroom.
“It’s like a Filipino thing and you’re mom would be like, “shut up!” she said afterwards. “I wasn’t thinking I would get accepted but I was thinking, ‘lets’ just try it out.’ It’s my passion to sing,” said the international student, who is studying to be a nurse.
The international flavor was strong in the competition but so were the chuckles.
Long before its start, students waited by watching an arena big screen while being filmed showing their little phone screens (Gen Z anyone?), bearing messages that had fun with administration or calls out to the ladies, God, contestants or campus groups.
Host James Lee said before the show that he would have to be an entertainer to keep things interesting as a future history teacher so hoped it went well as classroom training. And it started out with fun while introducing the three judges, enlisted to either buzz the acts or pass them on to a crowd vote.
Matthew Stout, a former host of Lip Sync, bounced up to the judges panel with his flowing hair before Jana Oates, a Life Leader, did her best diva entrance, then student body president Jagaar Halverson walked in with suit and tie and a cadre of young men in shades and earpieces dressed like security while students stood, snapping off military salutes.
It only got more laughs from there with two (wink-wink) acts who got the elimination buzzer, John With An X (a name-spelling joke), who tried to lift weights because he proclaimed himself the biggest guy in the campus gym, and The Human Pretzel, who pulled his feet behind his head only to get stuck and be carried off stage.
But another finalist, an ensemble of nine performers called Servitude, led by JC Mathias, sang Cee Lo Green’s “Forget You” and spiritual ballads that earned students’ roaring approval.
It was a less crowded stage of two young men sitting on chairs with a microphone and a guitar that had the audience quieted into revery. The smooth vocals of Easton Pearce while his Sacramento, California, buddy, Cayden Cagle, was on guitar showed the prowess of playing together since childhood on the Chris Stapleton song “Tennessee Whiskey.”
Other musical acts included the band Brother’s Keep, playing its original rock music with Hayden Conway, Levi Moss, Silas Russel and Jonathan Raingruber, and Zellio (Denzell Beecham) playing saxophone and rapping, a unique combination of talents.
Another yo-yo act warmed things up earlier with some dazzling string dancing. Gannon McShane showed just how much a yo-yo can go around the world, through the legs and over the top, all while bouncing off its string that even created its own interesting twisted-ladder formations, called the “DNA trick.”
“You indeed yo-yo bro,” judge Halverson commented after his act.
“Dude, that was like watching you rap with your hands,” added Stout.
GCU loves its yo-yo but proved on Tuesday night it also loves to laugh.
Grand Canyon University senior writer Mike Kilen can be reached at [email protected]
***
Related content:
GCU News: Yo, this guy shows he can yo-yo at GCU's Got Talent
GCU News: Lip Sync electrifies crowd with mind-blowing performances
