When it comes to adding levity to América TeVé's news-heavy programming, the independent Hialeah Gardens-based Spanish-language TV station relies on Cuban-American comic Jose Carlucho to make viewers happy with spicy music, eyebrow-raising skits, and one-on-one interviews with local Hispanic entertainers. For the past year, Carlucho has hosted El Happy Hour, a Monday-through-Friday live variety show in the important 7 p.m. lead-in spot before the station's prime-time news-oriented programs. He's been crucial to drawing younger viewers to América Tevé. In April, the station reported that people in the 18-to-49 demographic watching El Happy Hour grew by 13 percent and increased the number of people in the 25-to-54 demographic by 27 percent during the fourth quarter, compared with the same period in 2012. Carlucho is now pulling in bigger viewership numbers than his mentor, Fernando Hidalgo, who hosts his own variety show on rival station MegaTV. The pudgy, floppy-haired host has been a Miami radio and TV personality for more than a decade. Before El Happy Hour, Carlucho cohosted La Cosa Costra, a live show that tackled local political news with tongue-in-cheek humor. He's known for impersonating former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez and Fidel Castro — a damned valuable skill in this town.