Andy Ernesto Vázquez Toirac is a Cuban comedian born in 1975 in Baracoa, Guantánamo, Cuba.
At the age of 14, she appeared in the telenovela Prefiero las rosas by Raúl Pérez Sánchez. Later, she made several appearances on popular Cuban television shows such as Tras la huella, Jura decir la verdad, and No quiero llanto. She also served as a judge on the well-known comedy program on the island, Los amigos de Pepito.
Andy Vázquez's opportunity came with his inclusion in the popular and noteworthy comedy show Vivir del Cuento. His ability to portray such diverse characters as Facundo Correcto, Ángel Bueno (Aguaje), and Bienvenido Blanco Blanco earned him significant popularity among the Cuban audience, establishing him as one of the leading humorists in the Cuban repertoire.
Together with the cast of Vivir del Cuento, he won several awards in Cuba at various festivals such as Aquelarre (2002), the Television Festival (2013), the Caricato Acting Award, and the Barrio Award, both in 2014, among others.
In 2016, during his visit to Cuba, the President of the United States, Barack Obama, appeared in a sketch alongside the main actors of "Vivir del Cuento" in which he played a game of dominoes with Pánfilo and Chequera.
In 2019, Andy made headlines after being removed from the cast of Vivir del Cuento and was suspended by the authorities of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television (ICRT). The incident was prompted by the alleged repercussions within Cuba of the material titled "Las Chivate-rías de Facundo," in which the character mentioned that the policy of basic, non-basic, and directed goods would be re-implanted in the capital, similar to how stores in Cuba regulated products in the early decades of Fidel Castro's revolution.
"Each resident of Havana will have to go to the Cuatro Caminos market once a month and will be able to buy one of each type of product. The basic one is a meat item, and you can choose between chicken, pork, or lamb; the non-basic allows for one detergent, one floor blanket, or one tomato puree; and the directed includes asparagus, seasoning, and fabric softener," she said.
The criticism was triggered by the incidents that occurred with the reopening of the popular Havana market Cuatro Caminos and the subsequent damage caused after its inauguration by a group of people who gathered there to shop.
Facundo's material unsettled the authorities, and the artist was expelled from the popular television comedy.
In December 2019, he traveled to Miami and although he initially suggested that he would return to the island, where his fans were asking for a second chance in the television show Vivir del Cuento, the comedian ultimately decided to stay.
From that moment on, Andy Vázquez had to deal with numerous threats made from the island as well as the disdain and insults typical of the Cuban official media. The Ministry of Education (MINED) tweeted in February 2020 the statement, "Is Andy Vázquez an misunderstood civic activist? Give me a break with that story." In August 2020, official journalist Jesús Álvarez López labeled the comedian along with other Cuban artists as "victims of weak legs.”
To the characters he already brought to life in Cuba, Andy has added Lina la Javá, who enjoys the most popularity, and Amore H "La Calentica," among others, making him one of the most beloved comedians in Miami for his artistic versatility.
