Gabriel Iglesias Spends Exorbitant Sum on Quinceañera for His Dog

The comedian went all out for his beloved pup, Risa.

Gabriel Iglesias is a loving pet parent first, comedian second. 

The stand-up comic went all out in honor of his dog Risa, throwing her the blowout bash of the year last month, which he recently shared a glimpse of on Instagram.

"Party of the year all for my little princess 🤗," he captioned the video, which showed him pushing her into a beautiful venue decorated with pastel flowers and balloons in an illuminated, modified baby carriage. 

"Risa has given me so many years of happiness. I just wanted to celebrate her. I even wore pants 😁 #quinceañera," he finished.

The comedian recently spoke with Today about the extravagant affair, revealing that he was inspired after seeing another canine quinceañera. “No way he loves his dog more than I love my dog," he thought. "Challenge accepted.”

That's how Risa, his tiny chihuahua, ended up the star of the show. Though he's been a proud pet parent since he was a kid, Risa is his first female dog. “Since I’ve had her, from day one, she’s always been in my hoodie. She’s always been in my jacket. We’re very close.”

He continued, “So I said, ‘Alright, I’m gonna do this once. I’ve never had a daughter, I’ve never had a kid of my own, so I’m gonna go full blown on this one.’” 

And boy, did he. 

Though Risa is more likely between 16 and 17 years old, Iglesias threw her the typically 15th birthday bash of her dreams, featuring a guest list 300+ long—including 12 or so other pups—a smorgasbord of bites—including puppacinnos—and plenty of entertainment—including Cirque du Soleil-style performers, a Build-a-Bear-style station, and America's Got Talent's Christian and Scooby, a man and dog duo. 

All in all, the comedian spent about $100,000 on the event, which also included three custom dresses, created by Marybel Pineda, Iglesias' director of operations, and a carriage for the guest of honor. 

But in Iglesias' defense for going all out, he said, "I'm celebrating something that means the world to me. I'm not setting money on fire every day." While some may feel like he wasted the money, Iglesias is thankful for the memories and the ability to spoil Risa. “It’s not so much the things that I get them as much as it is the time.”

His favorite part of the evening was taking it all in. "The entire night, I had Risa in my arms, and that's usually the case," he said. "Everybody wanted to see her, everybody wanted to take a picture and stuff like that, which is cool."

Risa's brother, Vinnie, and friend, Benny, escorted her to the party, and also participated in her formal photoshoot, donning suits and bow ties for the occasion.