Carlo Allegri | Getty Images Comedian Paul Rodriguez encourages colleagues on the Crown Royal Latin Kings of Comedy Tour to keep their material clean if they really want to make money.

Paul Rodriguez has done something the Lindsay Lohans and Paris Hiltons of the world could only dream of. He has endured career ups and downs en route to carving out a career that spans nearly three decades in Hollywood. Rodriguez, the comedian who has appeared in hit films like “Born in East L.A” and “Ali,” is getting back to his stand-up roots as part of the Crown Royal Latin Kings of Comedy Tour. The tour, which rolls into Majestic Theatre on Sunday, April 13, features Rodriguez and fellow comedians Gene Pompa, Manny Maldonado and Frank Garcia. Before the comedians bring the laughs to San Antonio, Rodriguez brought a few in a chat with 210SA.

How much does the comedic subject material center on Latin heritage, culture and way of life?

I tell the guys that their heritage is their base, but they'll have a wider appeal if they have more than one note on the piano. You have to expand. In my situation, I've learned that to appeal to a large audience, it behooves them — that's a word I haven't used in a long time — to go through their material and try to make it work as clean as possible. You can produce more revenue in that situation. The money show is a show you can bring grandma, grandpa, dad and the kids to.

How much pride do you take in helping usher in this movement of big-time Latin comics?

It gives me a deep sense of jealousy, like maybe I came on a little too early (laughs). I wish I were young again. ..... But if it all ended today — and I hope God is not listening — I'll be a satisfied guy. ..... The difficult part of breaking out and standing out is finding a unique voice that's memorable, whether it's a tick or a way of enunciating. Those are the kinds of things you can't really teach.

Some people contend that our country's Latin and Hispanic population will decide the next president. With that in mind, do you get political on the tour?

(Politics) are absolutely in bounds. It surprised me that I received a phone call from the Obama campaign, and I didn't believe them. But the man (Obama) got on the phone briefly with me, and I'm like, “Are you sure this isn't Dave Chappelle?”

In your opinion, who is the funniest comedian of all time?

Richard Pryor, without a doubt, because he spoke about things that those of us who were disenfranchised understood. You as a white man I'm assuming (a correct assumption), he would take you to the ghetto, and show you the pimp and the heroin addict. ..... In the pantheon of comics, the most impactful was George Carlin, with the seven words you can't say on TV. I'm privileged to be a friend (of Carlin).

Is stealing jokes the cardinal sin of stand-up comedy?

Apparently, it's forgivable. If you're speaking of Mr. (Carlos) Mencia (who has been accused of stealing material), I have great respect for Carlos, and I've spoken to him without fighting in the press. Stealing is a really dumb thing to do because people that you want to reach, the real connoisseurs of comedy, you're not going to fool them. They know it's Bill Cosby's material. It's like trying to take the “I Have a Dream” speech. If you're going to steal, be more intelligent about it. Take great lines that are not as popular from not-as-brilliant comedians. Denis Leary took a lot of Bill Hicks' ideas and thoughts, but nobody called him to task, and he's become very successful. But in the esteem of true comedians, he's not fooling us. As for Mr. Mencia, I told him it was bad enough to steal a joke, but to steal an entire ethnicity? I realize why he tells people he's Mexican-American, but I knew him when his name was Ned (Mencia's actual first name). ..... I'm not going to beat around the bush. When you say you're a beaner and you're not a beaner, it doesn't sit right with me.

CLINT HALE | 210SA CONTRIBUTOR