*We chatted a couple of years back, but the man’s insights are still as sharp as ever, still ready to kick it in L.A. with you Paul! 🙂 *

Crack your jokes at the comedy club or quit telling jokes in the classroom.

That was the challenge a schoolteacher presented to a young class clown named Paul Rodriguez years ago. He’s run full steam ahead ever since.

Considered by many as his generation’s premier Latin comic, the 52-year-old Sinaola, Mexico, native has been in the entertainment industry more than 25 years. He paid his dues by building a following in Los Angeles comedy clubs, gigs that led to his film debut in D.C. Cab and roles in more than 30 other films.

He’s got the honor of being enshrined at the Smithsonian Institution for having appeared in the first mainstream America television show about a Mexican-American family, A.K.A. Pablo.

Right before his Latin Kings of Comedy show stopped in Dallas, the affable comedian and single father of two spoke by phone from Los Angeles about the comedy tour, Michael Richards’ professional meltdown, and his surprising take on illegal immigration and stardom.

The first Latin Kings of Comedy tour in 2002 included you, Cheech Marin, George Lopez, Joey Medina and Alex Reymundo. Why has it taken so long for another to launch and how involved were you in choosing the comedians this time around?

I certainly picked this new lineup. I’m the producer of that show; I had to sue my ex-manager back then for forging my signature and telling people I was his hired hand instead of the other way around. It took a while to get all of the rights back; that’s why there hasn’t been a Latin Kings tour before now.

Manny Maldonado is like Jim Carrey: You would swear he’s on drugs. He’s hyper. He does impressions. And I think he’ll definitely wind up in a sitcom. Then there’s Frank Lucero. What I like about this guy is that he talks about middle-aged crises, mariachi music and puts a Caucasian spin on things. Dennis Gaxiola does well in covering the political side, and when I’m the emcee I go out there and do my nonsense. We’re all different, but we don’t step on each other’s toes. That’s what I was looking for.

You’re the co-owner of the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, where comedian Michael Richards was videotaped shouting the N-word at two black hecklers. What’s your take on that incident and what’s happened  with Don Imus?

I was the manager that closed it down that night; it was sad. Nothing was forgivable about that, especially the lynching comment. No one could make that funny.

And as far as that crypt-keeper Don Imus saying what he said, this isn’t the first time he’s done things like this. He’s just sorry he got busted and thought he was going to get away with it. A leopard ain’t gonna change his spots; if you’re a racist when you’re in your teens, you’ll be one at 95.

I don’t put those words in my vocabulary, it ain’t part of what I do. … For Michael Richards to say, “I didn’t know; I didn’t mean it this way” is B.S. I was watching him with my jaws dropped, thinking to myself that either this dude is a genius doing this for shock value with a great punch line, or he’s crazy. I will personally never allow him back on my stage; I don’t care what he does. Injustice to one of us is injustice to all of us.

The illegal immigration issue is a hot-button topic right now; how is that being handled in the Latino entertainment community?

I disagree with my Hispanic brothers. You cannot serve two gods. You cannot have dual citizenship of Mexico and the same for America. I am American; God forbid that we go to war with Mexico, because I know which way I’ll point the gun. “If Mexico is so good,” I tell them, “why leave?”

My parents left because they were starving. I am grateful to this country, and I will lay my life down for it. I feel that if you’re in America illegally, you’ve got two options: You fix your status and get legit, or leave. We should be more in favor of deportation than the non-Latinos, but my brothers don’t feel like that.

What part of illegal don’t they understand? Think about it: Both political parties are talking about reform, but that’s just what it is – talk. We’re a nation of immigrants, but there’s a right way and a wrong way to do things.

You’ve worked with Hector Elizondo, Will Smith, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Clint Eastwood, to name a few. Who else do you want to make a movie with?

God has blessed me with far beyond what I deserve and I’m lucky to do it, but it wasn’t exactly my passion to be an actor. I’m adequate, but what I am is a comedian who acts sometimes. There’s no danger of me getting an Oscar or anything like that.

When your longtime fans and newcomers come to the Latin Kings of Comedy show, what should they expect?

They’re gonna see a great show run by comedians, not by executives who don’t know what’s going on. I’m the man. I started this thing and I know what’s funny. In fact, every one of these guys is actually funnier than yours truly. They are the future. … This ain’t a show for just Mexicans; I’ve traveled this country back and forth, and every ghetto is next to every barrio and every trailer park. You will all laugh at something. We may have a different accent, but we know what’s up. If you’ve ever been curious about seeing me, come on out, because I probably won’t be traveling for too much longer. I’ve got an 8-year-old to raise and at 52, it’s time for me to put the engine in a slower gear now that I’m coasting.