The Las Vegas Optic - March 27, 2003

LAS VEGAS, NM: Virginia Gonzales is the kind of woman who could get a job at any strip club in America as a bouncer.

A self-proclaimed big mama who has adopted the moniker Amazon, Gonzales is known throughout the region for her fast and furious brand of stand-up comedy replete with off-beat takes on just about anything, including the plights, pitfalls and perks of being Hispanic, married, female and, of course, being six feet tall and hefty enough to play linebacker for the Denver Broncos.

Gonzales will be performing at 8:30 pm Saturday, March 29, at Joes Ringside in, 405 Grand Ave. in Las Vegas. Tickets are $5 and available at Joes Ringside and through the New Mexico Highlands University Dept. of English and Philosophy. The show is a benefit for Sendero, the NMHU arts and literature magazine. Also appearing will be NMHU professor Eddie Tafoya and Tucumcari native Jacob Eggert, who will serve as emcee.

Gonzales, 39, got her nickname when, while she was working as a prison guard at the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility, the prisoners started comparing her to the mythical female warriors who had sex with their men before killing them. Before I knew it, Gonzales said, even the guards and captains were calling me Amazon.

Unlike her ancient Greek counterparts, however, Gonzales said she doesn't want to immortalized for hammering on men.  "I love men, she said. I married a man.

Although she thought about doing stand-up comedy for most of her life, Gonzales didnt work up the courage to step on stage until three years ago, after she attended a comedy workshop in Albuquerque. She has never looked back. Not only did she turn professional four months later, but went on to start her own comedy club in Belen and has become a regional phenomenon, garnering rave reviews for shows in Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico to name but a few places on which she has left her mark.