Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Real Hawaii

'The Portuguese people in Hawaii are like Polacks," says comedian Augie Tulba. "The Chinese are like Jewish people on the mainland. They buy everything under the sun -- hotels, buildings. They own a lot, but they're very stingy. I happen to be half Filipino and half Irish/Portuguese. I pick a lot on my relatives. I have a gay son in college -- I'm 39 and I had him when I was 16. It's part of the Filipino culture, making a lot of kids. Filipinos are like gremlins -- you turn off the lights, add water after 12 o'clock, and we multiply." Tulba, who uses the stage name "Augie T.," will perform at the Portuguese Hall

in Point Loma

on Sunday, September 30. Tulba's material is based on what he calls the real Hawaii. "Seven million visitors come to Hawaii every year," he says. "They only know the touristy side. When I performed in the Midwest, they asked me if I lived in a grass shack. We're, like, the 16th largest city in America! We have ghettos and 12,000 homeless people and a bad meth problem. I grew up in public housing. We sit in two-hour traffic every day, and most families have two working parents. We're 47th in America as far as education."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Tulba compares Hawaii's cultural diversity to that of New Orleans and New York. "On the mainland, every [Asian] is Chinese. In Hawaii, you know if that guy is Japanese or Chinese or Korean." Tulba speaks pidgin, a dialect formed by mixing languages, like New Orleans's Creole, which combines truncated words from French and English. "In English, you might say, 'Hey, you, have a great weekend, see you on Monday.' But the guys in Hawaii say 'Kay,' and then we leave," Tulba explains. "Everything is cut in half. It was done that way because of the different ethnic races working in the plantations; they took different slangs from different cultures and made it one." Pidgin is taught in Hawaiian colleges.

Tulba is a "clean" comic, meaning his material is free of curse words. He banished such words from his act after an interaction with his father in a small club in Oahu. "My dad comes to all my shows. He hasn't come lately because of a stroke, but before that, he came to every one." At the club in Oahu, Tulba hadn't noticed his father and uncle enter the room while he was onstage. "I let out the F-word and my dad walked up on stage and embarrassed me in front of everybody. He said, 'You think you're big? You want to swear?' Big means acting like you're tough, like you don't care what anybody thinks. He said, 'Are you trying to disrespect your family by swearing onstage?' Everybody that was there thought it was part of my act. I was, like, 'Dad, I'm 32 years old, shut up.' He said, 'If I catch you onstage swearing again, I will beat your ass.'"

Tulba's father began working at age 12, at which point his education stopped. He did not go past the fourth grade and has not learned to read. "Education was not really pushed in my family, but my [five] brothers and I have a strong work ethic. I might not have been well educated, but my dad taught me respect and that hard work prevails no matter what," says Tulba. "I got beaten up and I understood why I was getting beaten up. It formed my character." Prior to his career as a comedic performer, Tulba was a boxer. "I got hit in the head too much and something triggered something that made me start telling funny jokes. Or I just got tired of getting hit in the face."

Two years ago Tulba entered the Palm Springs Comedy Festival. During his act he talked about being a parent to a gay child. "The judges thought I had good energy, but they could not believe I had a gay son," Tulba remembers. "They thought I was gay bashing. I would never make fun of something that I don't understand." Tulba consults his son, Bo, prior to using any material about him. "He asked if I saw Brokeback Mountain, and I said 'No!' He said, 'Why? It's a great story, Dad,' and I said, 'Because I don't see cowboys, I see you and your friend, and I don't want to see that.' He's into hairstyling now. Every week he comes to my house with a mannequin. It's not every dad that goes to bed at night praying, 'Please, God, let my son be a hairstylist or a ballerina.' I'll never have a conversation with my son about UFC or the football game. I'm talking about hairstyling." Bo often encourages Tulba to be more "outrageous" and "flamboyant." "He understands that Dad loves him completely. He knows that I have a hard time with [his homosexuality], but he knows that I respect him." -- Barbarella

Hawaiian Music Night with comedian Augie T. and guest band the San Diego Island Boys Sunday, September 30 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Portuguese Hall 2818 Avenida de Portugal Point Loma Cost: $20 presale, $25 at the door, 18 and up Info: 619-223-5880 or www.upses.com

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Kumeay near Rosarito befriended Kumeay on reservation near Boulevard

Called into principal's office for long braid
Next Article

Roberto's Taco Shop celebrated 60 years in San Diego

Or is it really a Las Vegas taco shop chain with San Diego roots?

'The Portuguese people in Hawaii are like Polacks," says comedian Augie Tulba. "The Chinese are like Jewish people on the mainland. They buy everything under the sun -- hotels, buildings. They own a lot, but they're very stingy. I happen to be half Filipino and half Irish/Portuguese. I pick a lot on my relatives. I have a gay son in college -- I'm 39 and I had him when I was 16. It's part of the Filipino culture, making a lot of kids. Filipinos are like gremlins -- you turn off the lights, add water after 12 o'clock, and we multiply." Tulba, who uses the stage name "Augie T.," will perform at the Portuguese Hall

in Point Loma

on Sunday, September 30. Tulba's material is based on what he calls the real Hawaii. "Seven million visitors come to Hawaii every year," he says. "They only know the touristy side. When I performed in the Midwest, they asked me if I lived in a grass shack. We're, like, the 16th largest city in America! We have ghettos and 12,000 homeless people and a bad meth problem. I grew up in public housing. We sit in two-hour traffic every day, and most families have two working parents. We're 47th in America as far as education."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Tulba compares Hawaii's cultural diversity to that of New Orleans and New York. "On the mainland, every [Asian] is Chinese. In Hawaii, you know if that guy is Japanese or Chinese or Korean." Tulba speaks pidgin, a dialect formed by mixing languages, like New Orleans's Creole, which combines truncated words from French and English. "In English, you might say, 'Hey, you, have a great weekend, see you on Monday.' But the guys in Hawaii say 'Kay,' and then we leave," Tulba explains. "Everything is cut in half. It was done that way because of the different ethnic races working in the plantations; they took different slangs from different cultures and made it one." Pidgin is taught in Hawaiian colleges.

Tulba is a "clean" comic, meaning his material is free of curse words. He banished such words from his act after an interaction with his father in a small club in Oahu. "My dad comes to all my shows. He hasn't come lately because of a stroke, but before that, he came to every one." At the club in Oahu, Tulba hadn't noticed his father and uncle enter the room while he was onstage. "I let out the F-word and my dad walked up on stage and embarrassed me in front of everybody. He said, 'You think you're big? You want to swear?' Big means acting like you're tough, like you don't care what anybody thinks. He said, 'Are you trying to disrespect your family by swearing onstage?' Everybody that was there thought it was part of my act. I was, like, 'Dad, I'm 32 years old, shut up.' He said, 'If I catch you onstage swearing again, I will beat your ass.'"

Tulba's father began working at age 12, at which point his education stopped. He did not go past the fourth grade and has not learned to read. "Education was not really pushed in my family, but my [five] brothers and I have a strong work ethic. I might not have been well educated, but my dad taught me respect and that hard work prevails no matter what," says Tulba. "I got beaten up and I understood why I was getting beaten up. It formed my character." Prior to his career as a comedic performer, Tulba was a boxer. "I got hit in the head too much and something triggered something that made me start telling funny jokes. Or I just got tired of getting hit in the face."

Two years ago Tulba entered the Palm Springs Comedy Festival. During his act he talked about being a parent to a gay child. "The judges thought I had good energy, but they could not believe I had a gay son," Tulba remembers. "They thought I was gay bashing. I would never make fun of something that I don't understand." Tulba consults his son, Bo, prior to using any material about him. "He asked if I saw Brokeback Mountain, and I said 'No!' He said, 'Why? It's a great story, Dad,' and I said, 'Because I don't see cowboys, I see you and your friend, and I don't want to see that.' He's into hairstyling now. Every week he comes to my house with a mannequin. It's not every dad that goes to bed at night praying, 'Please, God, let my son be a hairstylist or a ballerina.' I'll never have a conversation with my son about UFC or the football game. I'm talking about hairstyling." Bo often encourages Tulba to be more "outrageous" and "flamboyant." "He understands that Dad loves him completely. He knows that I have a hard time with [his homosexuality], but he knows that I respect him." -- Barbarella

Hawaiian Music Night with comedian Augie T. and guest band the San Diego Island Boys Sunday, September 30 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Portuguese Hall 2818 Avenida de Portugal Point Loma Cost: $20 presale, $25 at the door, 18 and up Info: 619-223-5880 or www.upses.com

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Oceanside toughens up Harbor Beach

Tighter hours on fire rings, more cops, maybe cameras
Next Article

Lane Field Park Market & Live Music, Windansea: Life. Death. Resurrection

Events January 5-January 8, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader