HA FESTIVAL Celebrating the Art of Comedy is Coming to San Antonio for Three Days in February

WarnerMedia Entertainment and New Cadence Productions brings the HA Festival celebrating The Art of Comedy for three days, February 21-23, 2020, to San Antonio, Texas. A variety of live shows, culminating with a "Best of Fest" TV special, hosted by Anjelah Johnson, will be held in iconic venues in the scenic Riverwalk area of San Antonio, including the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre (226 N. St. Mary's St.). Tickets to the festival are on sale now.

Tickets ($27.75 - $127.75) for HA Festival The Art of Comedy will be available In Person at the Majestic Theatre Box Office, online at ticketmaster.com. All tickets subject to applicable service charges and fees. Many shows require a ticket, but during the course of the HA Festival, there will be shows that

are free to the public .Sponsors include AT&T, WarnerMedia Entertainment, Target, Visit San Antonio and The Pearl Stable.

Principals of NCP (New Cadence Productions) and executive producers of the HA Festival, Jeff Valdez, Sol Trujillo, Bruce Barshop and Vince Cordero recently signed a first look deal with WarnerMedia Entertainment. The HA Comedy Festival is the first project to emanate from their deal. Many more events are being planned.

"We're thrilled to present a new mainstream comedy festival featuring an incredible lineup of Latinx talent that connects us all and proves that funny is funny," said Jeff Valdez, founder of the original festival which helped break the careers of then- unknown comedian Gabriel Iglesias, a.k.a. Fluffy, and many others. Valdez and San Antonio businessman Bruce Barshop met at the original Laugh Festival and have been business partners since.

"Championing new voices is a part of our fabric," said Kevin Reilly, Chief Content Officer, HBO Max, and President, TNT, TBS & truTV. "The Latinx community is vibrant and rich with talent, yet not reflected in the mainstream enough. Partnering with NCP and the HA Festival, we hope to change that and find the next great comedians."

Opening night, Friday, February 21, includes an early show at the Empire Theatre featuring 10 Fresh Faces of Comedy that were selected from a nationwide search. The second show at the Empire, Comedy Chingonas, features national headliners Aida Rodriguez, Gina Brillon, Jill Michelle Melean, Monique Marvez, Debbie Gutierrez, Carmen Lynch, Shayla Rivera and Vanessa Gonzalez, and will be hosted by trans model/actress Carmen Carrera from RuPaul's Drag Race.

Saturday's early show at the Empire will feature 10 more Fresh Faces of Comedy who were also selected from a nationwide search. The second show at the Empire Theatre, Funny is Funny, features a national headliner show: Chris "Crazy Legs" Fonseca, Gene Pompa, Jesus Trejo and Carlos Alazraqui. Funny is Funny will be hosted by Mark Viera.

Sunday at the Empire Theatre concludes with a TV taping for HBO Max featuring Mark Viera, Gina Brillon, Carmen Lynch, Carlos Alazraqui, Monique Marvez and Jesus Trejo. The TV special will also pick two comedians from the Fresh Faces show and give them their first major TV appearance. The one-hour TV Special will be hosted by stand-up star Anjelah Johnson who has four comedy specials under her belt and tours the country to sold out crowds.

"As you can see by the very robust and exciting line up, we are big believers in the Latinx market and understand its creative and financial relevance in new mainstream entertainment," said Sol Trujillo, HA executive producer and global media- communications and technology icon.

For more information and tickets go to hacomedyfest.com or majesticempire.com