Ufo marks his 60th birthday, criticizes new generation of comedians

Kaspars Upacieris, better known by his stage name Ufo, has been part of Latvia's entertainment industry for more than thirty years — from discos and music to the legendary radio show "BB Brokastis" and event hosting. In between, he also spent 12 years as a council member for the Ikšķile municipality.

In late August, Ufo celebrated his 60th birthday, and he is now beginning a tour of Latvian culture centers with his anniversary show "Ufo 60 Shades."

On the limits of humor

In an interview with the Delfi news portal, Ufo said that joking today isn't harder than it was a few years ago — on the contrary, he stressed a desire to break down what he sees as exaggerated sensitivity toward various topics. He acknowledged there are things one senses shouldn't be joked about, but said that in principle anything can be joked about — what matters is how it's done.

Critical of the new generation of comedians

Ufo offered a critical assessment of the younger generation of comedians, saying he had attended a few performances by young comics who call themselves comedians, including an appearance on the show "Cepiens." He said the material sometimes felt low-quality and relied on crude, bodily-function humor, and he questioned whether the goal was simply to provoke a negative reaction from the audience. He noted, however, that audiences still enjoy it.

School memories

In the interview, Ufo confirmed he had attended the same school class as former Prime Minister Aigars Kalvītis. He recalled that among children playing in the courtyard, Kalvītis was the only one who would go home immediately when called for lunch by his parents, while the other children kept playing. Ufo attributed this to Kalvītis's father being a strict and disciplined man.