“There are 40 million Latinos in the United States today...

...And Rick Najera is determined to tell the story of each and every one of them.”

At least that's how a line goes in the end credits for Latinologues and Latinologues 2. Not really a bad sentiment at that, even if the stories themselves seem to lean rather heavily upon the very stereotypes they're sending up.

The most poignant of the stories thus far are “The Janitor” (about a Dominican janitor whose life is disrupted by 9/11) and “Cuba Libre” (about a Cuban prostitute who is desperate to escape Cuba). However, most of the stories don't aim for poignancy as much as mere humor and some -- like the one about the Salvadoran mother with a vampire son -- are little more than outright farce.

The result is not really bad. In fact, I can't help but wonder what Najera will come up for the inevitable Latinologues 3.

However, if you're expecting deep social insight from these shows, don't hold your breath.