ABSTRACT
There is no room for interpretation in his act—Manu NNa is gay and never shies away from it. His audience loves it. He is a prime example of the sinvergüenza that La Fountain-Stokes describes in his 2011 essay, and, as a consequence, also challenges the homonormativity that has progressively encroached upon Mexico's LGBTTTI community. This chapter demonstrates Manu NNa's control of the narrative is intrinsically tied to the venue in which he performs: his stand-up represents a "bottom-up" cultural experience consisting of a carefully curated set of jokes by the artist himself in service to his unique comedic voice. While Se busca, produced by Comedy Central Latinoamérica and owned by multi-national media conglomerate Viacom, imposes a "top-down" storyline on the performer, one that ultimately disenfranchises his artistic queer Mexican subjectivity. Manu NNa is able to cast himself as a proud sinvergüenza in his stand-up specials precisely because he controls the narrative.
