With 10 cats and a cowboy hat, Alfred Robles is building his comedy career

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Set us as preferred Being in comedy requires a certain kind of toughness, but not usually the kind that goes along with wearing a tejana.It’s not every day you see a stand-up comic saunter onstage looking straight from the rancho to make a room full of people laugh all their problems away.

But for the last 20 years, Alfred Robles has applied a different level of work ethic to funny business.Though he didn’t exactly grow up on a farm (though there are some in East L.A., we checked), Robles descends from a long line of Norteños who wore their tejanas proudly.

As he says in a recent meeting with The Times, he had to keep the tradition going.“I just felt it, bro.

It’s time for me to take over.It’s my cape, bro.

It’s my hat.I love it.”With the tenacity of a farmhand, his desire to grow in stand-up caught the attention of one of his idols, Gabriel Iglesias, a.k.a.

“Fluffy,” who took him on the road to snap photos for him during meet-and-greets with fans in return for scraps of stage time.Building on that ground-level experience, Robles, 45, worked the L.A.

stand-up circuit relentlessly for decades and in recent years not only grew into a national headliner but has also produced two specials this year alone — one half-hour on Hulu (“LOL Live With Alfred Robles” in September) and his first full hour aptly titled “El Cowboy” premiering Friday on YouTube.“All the hard work is finally paying off, bro,” he said.

“It’s like when a construction worker, builds a big house.They know the house is not theirs, but they built it, bro.

They want to show it.Look, look what I built.

This is what I built.”Though his stage presence could easily veer into a machismo-heavy persona, Robles sets himself apart in comedy by being the opposite.In “El Cowboy” you get to learn about his experiences as a cat...