Latino comics like Cheech Marin and George Lopez are big waves in mainstream U.S. comedy.

East Chicago comic Alex Ortiz is rocking the boat on the local and national fronts. Scratch a stereotype, he'll crack a joke that evokes howls and smacks preconceptions upside the head. A signature jab: "I am half-black, half-Puerto Rican ... I was born a suspect!"

Lob a one-liner that challenges racism and "you take the power away," said Ortiz, 45, one of four "Locos of Comedy" appearing Oct. 25 at the Radisson Hotel at the Star Plaza in Merrillville.

Ethnic humor "is really cool because you can use any stereotype they throw against you and twist it and make it funny. I like to say, 'They say Mexicans are funny and taking all the jobs. ... It can't be both!' That's how you take power away, by making it funny. ... My material has to be edgy. Let's take them to the edge, let them take a long look at the precipice."

Comedy begins at home, so he is his favorite self-target. His father is Latino and his mother is black. For the record, when he is mistaken as Mexican, he is baffled "why I'm supposed to get mad."

The Army nurse-turned-firefighter-turned-comic joins fellow Latino funnymen Andres Fernandez, Ruperto Vanderpool and Dennis Gaxiola for the "Locos" event, a benefit for the International Community Alliance in Gary. The nonprofit agency, which provides emergency food assistance, legal counseling and youth programs, served 2,012 families last year. Most ICA services are free.

The doors open at 6 p.m. Each top comic will perform a 20- to 30-minute set, spokesman Raul Sanchez said. DJ Manual "Get Down " Feliciano will provide pre- and post-show musical entertainment. The event is billed as a pachangaor traditional Latino party.

The South Bronx-born Ortiz grew up in Chicago, where he spun his mother's Richard Pryor and Cheech & Chong records at home, idolized Freddie Prinze, and listened to Abbott & Costello tapes in the library at Roberto Clemente High School. He "always, always wanted to be a comedian," he said.

After a stint in the Army, Ortiz -- fired from one job for entertaining coworkers with his spiels -- decided to take his passion seriously. While working as an East Chicago fireman, he honed his comic chops at Second City e.t.c., Second City's second troupe. Then he began making the rounds of Chicago comedy clubs between blazes.

His gamble not only paid off, it extinguished his firefighting career. Ortiz nabbed "TKO Comedy Champion" honors on "Showtime at the Apollo" in 2002 and began opening for the likes of Damon Wayans, Bernie Mac and Bobcat Goldthwait. His resumé includes appearances on Comedy Central's "Premium Blend" and P. Diddy's "Bad Boyz of Comedy" on Showtime. He has a freshman CD and a DVD.

Latino comedy is hot, the gregarious Ortiz deadpanned. "Anyone who watches Galavisión knows that!"

While undermining stereotypes is his specialty, Ortiz also riffs on universals like his significant other (Web designer Sandra Espino), family life (he has five children ages 3 to 25) and current events. He draws inspiration from the headlines. He is working on routines about the recent floods in the region, NIPSCO, and East Chicago politics. "I'm taking it right out of nwi.com," he joked. "In fact, I may bring a newspaper and may do it verbatim. That stuff is hilarious."

Like George Lopez, Ortiz also is branching into family fare. He recently wrapped two episodes of the live-action "Mystery of ..." children's series, in which he plays nutty scientist Dr. Iz (the DVDs are available at bookstores, Target.com and Amazon.com). He is scheduled to tape more episodes in January and producers are shopping the series to cable TV.

A whiz at dialects -- Ortiz can switch from Bronx honk to stuffy British accent in a blink -- would be a natural for voiceovers. Except his gleeful liberties with the cartoon characters of his youth might outrage Warner Bros. "It's my favorite thing," he confessed. "I put them in situations they were never in, in cartoons. I've got them in bars, smoking things they shouldn't be smoking, doing things they shouldn't be doing."