Robert Farid Karimi

The "inbetween" is often ignored. It is also the juicy territory that this week’s guest, comedian, chef, poet, educator, and activist Robert Farid Karimi has been investigating over the last couple of decades. like many of our guests Robert, who is also known as Mero Cocinero, Farid Mercury, the Peoples Chef, and even in some quarters, Betty Crocker's radical heir apparent, Robert is not easily pegged. In the conversation that follows we explore some of the stories, ideas, and questions that animate his work. How can humor become a bridge in a conflict-ridden community? What is the role of the fool and gossip in the post truth era? What can community organizers learn from Mel Brooks and Cheech and Chong. Along the way we hear great stories and have a little fun.

Delicious Quotes

I feel for people who feel that they themselves are bridges because this, it's not easy work to hold, two sides of earth so that others can cross. A lot of times people they're not appreciating everything it took to keep everybody up.
…we say in Spanish, "chesme", gossip. And talking about how immigrants, how we transmit the information, especially when you come from cultures, where the official news is being controlled like Iran and Guatemala, like gossip is powerful. Chesme is powerful. So, I became this bridge by valuing the words of others as truth,
Humor to me was never about insulting or bringing others down. Humor for me was always, "How can you lift up the room? We've had a bad day. Why you gotta be a downer?" And I think growing up, that's why I valued it so much. That's why it became part of my toolkit.
They brought me in to General Mills, …and had me cooking where the Betty Crocker kitchen ladies cook. They stayed. The women who had worked all day stayed because they wanted to have a good time and laugh. My mother still says that's my best gig I've ever had cause I'm at the home of freaking Betty Crocker.
I changed Acting One so that it would incorporate play. I want them to start seeing their bodies as this thing, that's taking it all in and that they are not just actors. They are not just performers they are in the in-between. They are storytellers. And to make these stories, they need to understand their relationship to the system of life. And the final of the classes, they get to make fun of the class. They get to use all the skills to make fun of anything I've done, because the rationale is for me, humor is a great way to show that because you got to know what you know, to make fun of it.
I couldn't just walk into a community and go, “I'm going to save you all because I'm a person of color. Who's funny.” No. I had to go back to the kid that was listening, ...to the folks in the community. ..Then I could see how I could be of service.

Notable Mentions

Mero Cocinero, Farid Mercury, the Peoples Chef: Just three of Mr. Karimi's many alter egos.

Change the Story / Change the World: This podcast, a Chronicle of Art & Community Transformation