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On the Wings of a Pig

by Paul Seaburn

Dr. Dolittle may have been able to talk to his animals, but Alicia Dacoba of Paw Paw, MI is three steps ahead of him — she can make hers talk, make one of them fly, and make money doing both.

Meet Pork Chop and Myron

Alicia is a ventriloquist with a twist: she and her mother have trained a pot-bellied pig named Pork Chop and a miniature horse named Myron to move their lips when she throws her voice. The results are so realistic and funny, you’d think it would be enough to get Alicia an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, but that didn’t happen until she made Pork Chop fly. (More on that later.) 

First, a little background on Alicia, now 22, and her unique business. She became interested in ventriloquism because of her location. “Paw Paw is a small town near Decatur, MI, the home of Edgar Bergen, one of the most famous ventriloquists ever,” says Alicia. After visiting Bergen’s museum in Decatur when she was four, Alicia ordered her first dummy from a catalog and began taking lessons from a professional ventriloquist.

Small Town Success

At age 9, Alicia performed at a convention for ventriloquists with a Lamb Chop sock puppet (she has always loved animals) and won first prize in the 18-and-under competition. The local newspaper did a story on her and the phone immediately started ringing with requests for performances at parties, dinners, and business functions. As Alicia puts it, “Living in a small town where everyone knows you has real benefits when starting your own business!”

While Alicia continued to perform and compete, her mom acquired a miniature horse and, later, a miniature pig for their miniature farm. (“Paw Paw is a very small town,” Alicia explains.) It took Alicia a year to train Myron and Pork Chop to move their mouths to her voice, but once they did, a partnership unique to ventriloquism was born.

Word traveled quickly as the local newspapers again printed stories about the unusual act. Alicia was soon performing with her critters in  shows, fairs, and television commercials. In high school, she adopted a dummy named Chiquita and further expanded her opportunities to perform.

Entertaining Chiquita

Today, Alicia gives many performances at schools and hospitals, often for charity. “Because kids love animals, they will say things to Pork Chop that they wouldn’t say to a real person,” says Alicia. She especially enjoys her visits to the Coyden Avenue School for the physically and mentally disabled in Kalamazoo, MI and to local migrant farmworker camps where she and Chiquita entertain the children in fluent Spanish.

Alicia recently launched a new school program called Any Dummy Can Be a Bully, using her entire cast to teach students about character building, dealing with bullies, and being kind to animals.

When Pigs Fly

So how did Alicia get Pork Chop the pig to fly, and how did they end up on The Tonight Show?

Alicia and Pork Chop have been traveling together for several years. “Pork Chop is pretty small and fits in a dog carrier. So when we go on airplanes, she prefers to travel in the passenger section with me,” says Alicia. Last year, they flew to a convention in Las Vegas where their show was seen by a comedy club manager who liked the act so much, he booked them to come back in a few months to perform at the Riviera Hotel. 

Unfortunately, when Alicia tried to make travel reservations, the airlines said they no longer allowed pigs in the cabin. Determined not to lose her chance to perform at the famous Riviera Hotel, Alicia called the local newspapers and asked for help. The small town newspaper’s story about the airline’s unfair discrimination against Pork Chop was picked up by the national news services. Soon Alicia was receiving calls from papers and radio stations around the world, but none from the airlines. That is, until a call came from The Tonight Show.

A Change of Heart

Northwest Airlines suddenly realized their refusal to accommodate Pork Chop was giving their company a bad name. They offered to fly Alicia, her mom, and Pork Chop first class to California.

When Alicia’s troupe arrived in California, a limousine was waiting to take them to the television studio, where they had their own dressing room. “Pork Chop even had a makeup artist to curl her tail,” laughs Alicia. They appeared in a segment called “15 Seconds of Fame,” got to trade jokes with Jay Leno, and later spent time with him backstage. “He’s a great guy,” says Alicia, “and Pork Chop liked him, too.”

Alicia and her dummies entertain children in schools and migrant
farmworker camps

To Be Continued

What’s next for Alicia Dacoba? “Because I’m Spanish, I’d like to get my communications degree and work for a Spanish television network,” Alicia says. In addition to The Tonight Show, she has appeared on many other programs including The Today Show, The Statler Brothers, and The Daily Show on Comedy Central. Alicia wants to work behind the scenes
directing, producing, and finding new talent, but she says she’ll continue to perform in front of the camera as well.

Straight from the Pig’s Mouth

What suggestions does Alicia give to young people who want to become ventriloquists or work with animals?

• “I tell them to be prepared to work hard,” advises Alicia. She has to feed and groom the animals, as well as practice with them daily.

• “Go to the library and read about ventriloquism,” she says. “It’s a neat art form and there is not a lot of competition.”

• Be fully committed to whatever career you select. “Do it because you enjoy it, because it’s going to take a lot of time until you’re good at it.” 

• And what advice does Pork Chop have for youth? “Clean your room. Even I can’t work in a sty!”

Hey, Frog! Habla Español?

Alicia is currently a junior at Western Michigan University where she is majoring in both communications and Spanish. Alicia says the discipline she developed from years of daily practice and animal care makes studying easier. 

Her teachers all know about her talent and often ask her to bring Chiquita to class for presentations. “We even perform for the school recruiting programs,” says Alicia. Her charity work, in addition to her good grades, has helped her earn numerous scholarships and grants to help pay for college tuition. She performs in school shows and recently worked with comedian Damon Wayans. Don’t tell anyone, but Alicia has also been known to crack up biology classes by making frogs talk.