“I always thought the locuras in my family were specific to my house. Then I moved to Puerto Rico and saw four million people behaving the exact same way. And I realized, I’m not dysfunctional. I’m tropical.”
-- Bill Santiago, chancla survivor

Bill Santiago is the first born of at least four children. He became a standup after narrowly escaping a career in journalism, facing the fact that as a comedian he was funny, but as a reporter he was a joke.
It’s been said he was born to Puerto Rican immigrants, which is technically untrue, as Puerto Ricans are US citizens. Although, he’s got an uncle who was once deported to the Bronx.
With the premiere of his first television special, “Comedy Central Presents: Bill Santiago,” he won over fans nationwide with his dead-on observations about Spanglish – “twice the vocabulary and half the grammar!” and his beloved catchphrase “¡Porque Because!”
Notably, his special premiered on May 5, Cinco de Mayo, in a shrewd programming decision to attract a wider Latino audience, despite his not being Mexican (allowable under the “close enough” clause in his contract). Soon after, Santiago landed his first book deal, to write “Pardon My Spanglish,” based on his act and promising laughs for Latinos and the Latino-curious.
He has also appeared on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend,” “Que Locos,” “American Latino,” and is scheduled to appear on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” this fall. Last year, he hosted the Latin Grammy Person of the Year Award ceremony, honoring Juan Luis Guerra (the tallest Dominican he’s ever met), at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas.
Formerly an awarding-winning journalist (despite his worst efforts), he contributed regularly to newspapers including the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Boston Globe and Philadelphia Inquirer. While living in Puerto Rico, he worked as a staff writer for the San Juan Star. He was also a humor columnist for Mother Jones magazine online.
When not on stage, he enjoys curling up with a good book or a well-read, Spanglish-speaking woman. He lives in New York City.