By Ahmad Muto
City comedian Patrick ‘Salvado’ Idringi chose the holidays to blow his trumpet with a single tweet proclaiming himself a continental giant in the field of comedy. With a location tag indicating Arua, his home area, on Wednesday, December 28, he tweeted: “I am an African Comedy Giant.”
Much for the successful shows he has staged in and outside Uganda, plus his following online, a section of Ugandans shared their reservations with the funny man, even evoking names of local comedians they think are way past his craft but have never appeared to thump their chest online.
Being kept active in the replies by his critics, or perhaps trolls, Man from Ombokolo opined that he is not seeking approval of an opinion he holds of himself:
“They think I’m looking for their approval. How does one argue about what I think of myself?”
However, Salvado has since learnt from the critics/trolls that he overrates himself in the continent. They argued that as much as they find him entertaining, his craft teaches no moral lessons, and neither does it address society’s pressing issues.
When they named city comedian, MC Mariachi as a better comedian, he stressed that he meant African, implying perhaps Mariachi is a local champion.
It should be noted that in 2021, Salvado rated Mariachi as the number comedian in the country twice for his craft, stage presence and ability to wow crowds. Just months later he named Allan Mujuni alias Amooti as the greatest comedian he has ever seen.
Meanwhile, just this year, Salvado received a nomination in the Africa Honorary Awards in the Best Comedian of the year category. He got anxious though, because of one other nominee – former Daily show host, Trevor Noah.
In November 2021, he ranted on social media after a promoter contacted him for a gig, offering him exposure abroad in return. He reckoned that he has performed in some the world’s ‘prestigious arenas’ for exposure to add anything to his career.
Salvado, true to his word has been on big stages and has shared them with some of the world’s most celebrated entertainers. In 2012, he curtain-raised for Grammy award-winning American singer, songwriter and producer, James Ingram in Nairobi, Kenya. He headlined the Stand-Up Africa show in South Africa in 2013 and performed at the Night of a 1000 Laughs in Nairobi and at the CAF Awards in Abuja, Nigeria the same year. In 2015, he hosted his first one-man show called Man From Ombokolo at the Kampala Serena Hotel, and in 2016 was the closing act in Lord of the Ribs at the Apollo Theatre, London.
