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Photo: Zach Dilgard / HBO

Julio Torres on his stand-up special ‘My Favorite Shapes’, ‘Los Espookys’ and working on SNL

Julio Torres has created some of our favorite sketches forin recent memory.

His sketches on the show are a little different than standard SNL fare. It’s not the in your face humor about politics or the need for cowbell. But a little dreamy and magical.

There was the time Lin-Manuel Miranda portrayed a man named Diego who calls his mother from a phone booth in the middle of a corn field. In 2017, Ryan Gosling hosted, and Julio wrote a sketch about a man who’s haunted by the Papyrus font used by the film Avatar. There’s tons of great stuff. Of course, he also co-wrote one of our all time favorites – Wells for Boys.

Julio grew up in El Salvador, and spent his entire childhood there. He thought he’d end up as an architect, just like his mom. But even in El Salvador, he grew up on TV shows from the US. He was raised on the classic stuff – The Simpsons, I Dream of Jeanie, and Ally McBeal. He always kind of knew comedy was in his future.

Julio recently released his first comedy special on HBO. It’s a little sideways from what you’d expect from a comedy special. Julio talks about … his favorite shapes.

It’s a bit surreal to watch. He shares his favorite shapes with the audience. The shapes are on display on a custom conveyor belt. There’s a lot of glitter. That might understatement, everything is covered in the stuff. The shapes have lived lives you’d never quite expect. But really, the shapes help us learn more about Julio.

Julio is also one of the creators of the new HBO show, Los Espookys. In the show, a group of friends who turn their love of horror films into a business. They provide events for people who want to be scared. Think the gig economy for spooky events.

We’re big fans of Julio Torres, and we’re thrilled to share this conversation with you. He’ll chat about his journey from El Salvador to working at SNL. Plus, a behind the scenes look at My Favorite Shapes and Los Espookys.