Terry Gross

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This is Fresh Air.

I'm Terry Gross.

Today we continue our end of the year series featuring some of our favorite interviews of 2025.

This is an interview I recorded last September.

If you're not familiar with the comedy of my guest, Cristela Alonso, I think the best way of introducing her is with a clip.

But first, I should set it up.

Cristela is Mexican-American, the daughter of Mexican immigrants.

Her mother was living in Texas, undocumented, and pregnant with Cristela, her fourth child, when she left her abusive husband and raised her four children on her own.

Cristela grew up in a Texas border town.

This clip, like much of Cristela's comedy, is autobiographical.

That was from Cristela Alonso's first Netflix comedy special from 2017 called Lower Classy.

It was followed by her 2022 special Middle Classy.