Jokoy World Tour 2023

"We're all going to go and watch Jokoy," said my mom. "He got tickets for all of us. He wants to spend his birthday there."

I'm like, "What?! He bought us all tickets? Did he win bingo or something?" My BIL has a way of always winning prizes, so I wouldn't be surprised if he did. 

I remember going to my first Jokoy event back in 2016 at Humphrey's by the bay. It was such a fun evening, and you didn't want to leave your seat, because he would see you and then start roasting you. That was the time when he would talk about his mom and how she bullied him and how growing up Filipino was tough. So many people were there at his showing, and I had a great time going. 

So I was super excited when I heard we were going to Jokoy's showing at the Penchanga Arena. I didn't even know there was a Pechanga Arena. It was at the old Sports theater near Seaworld. We used to go there when the kids were little to watch Disney on Ice. I don't remember when the last time was we went to Watch Disney on Ice, but I remembered it was pretty big. 

At first, I thought the show was going to be at the Penchanga Casino, which is located in Temecula (or near Temecula) and we planned to spend the night at my Auntie's house... woohoo sleepover! Anyways, that didn't happen. Instead, they came and joined us for the evening. 

I learned that this was the second completely filled Jokoy showing in San Diego here at the Pechanga arena. The place was packed and so many people from San Diego was there. A lot of our friends and their family was there and just different ethnicities (not just Filipinos) were there to support this awesome comedian.

On screen, there was a disclaimer that said that the show, or Jokoy, is not responsible for any offensive or health hazards that may happen during the show. This included racial comments or slurs and dying from laughter.... ha, ha, ha! For reals tho, Jokoy made so many racial comments, political, and even used profanity that could be offensive to some people. For me, it's always the profanity. I believe that any show, movie, or person can still be funny or awesome without having to use curse words to get a message across, but you know, to each their own. And look, he's the successful one up on that stage and not me, so it just shows that the differences between some people is not measure on what words or language they speak to express themselves. 

What do I like about Jokoy? Other than he has beautiful eyes and a talent for dancing, his jokes are real and they're relatable. As a fellow Filipino raised by a first gen immigrant to the United States, I, too, had to open up the fridge and look at the abyss of emptiness and come up with some type of recipe in which I could survive on. It wasn't just a Gen X thing where survival is to the fittest, it's just being Filipino. So, here's a recipe for home-made brownies: 

Microwave brownies recipe
Materials: 

• one piece or two pieces of regular white bread (any will do)
• 1 Swiss Miss Cocoa Powder packet mix (non-expired preferred)

Instructions: 

1. Place white bread on a plate
2. Open Cocoa Powder packet
3. Pour the entire packet on the white pieces of bread, coating the entire top of the bread and do not lose any of the cocoa on the plate or keep it from spilling over. 
4. Then, put it in the microwave. 
5. Set timer to 1 minute and 10 seconds.  
6. Press START. 
7. Walk away from the microwave (DO NOT STARE into the microwave!!!! "It will burn your eyes!" At least that's what I was told.)
8. When the timer is done, remove the warm bread with the melted sugary cocoa powder and allow it to settle down.
9. Once settle down, it should be fairly hard, but a bit gooey. 
10. If it looks edible, enjoy... and if not, ask your little brother or sister to try it first and ask them what they think of it. If they said, "It's good!" Offer milk and eat the homemade brownie together. 

Yups! And to this very day, I barely trust myself to cook something, but if I need to eat, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich will do. Man, those were the days!

So, if you're asking if it's worth going to a Jokoy show, "YES! Go!" Before his sciatica kicks in and he can't walk the stage anymore. Poor guy, he got through the entire show and sat down a few times, but even then, he was slipping down the chair with just one cheek hanging on to the edge. He was such a sport though, because he would crack up so bad that he barely could take a sip of his water. Every time he did, he would start cracking up and the water would go through his eyes anyways from laughter. 

What was your favorite part?
Ah... getting to know Alberto... I mean, Umberto! I totally laughed at this, because I clearly remember laughing with my husband one day when I couldn't remember what my favorite Mexican restaurant was. In San Diego, there's so many... from Alberto's, Roberto's, Sergio's, Graciela's, Lolita, Panchos - what's your favorite? Anyways, the whole arena now knows that Umberto has four kids, and they are - 13, 12, and twins.... ha, ha, ha... okay! If you were there, you'd get this, but I am not going to try to repeat the joke. Let's just say, he would have sounded silly if he had said, "13, 12, 11 and 11!"

The show ended around 1030 pm, which is longer than we had all expected. We ended up staying a little longer and left the arena around 11, because you know, people had you use the bathroom and there was a long line. AYE!

Afterwards, we all took group photos, walked around the arena in search of merch and discounted deals as well as saying "hi/bye" to all of our other friends and families that went. We had a blast, and we all went home tired from laughing!

Jokoy is working on his fifth Netflix show, so you can wait to watch him, but if you can go in person and just enjoy a moment laughing with other people in an arena and not alone in your room or living room, then definitely make it a date.

​Should you go to a Jokoy show? YES!