In his right mind
In his right mind
Carlos Mencia: In his right mind
Even through controversial smear campaign, Comedy Central’s Carlos Mencia keeps ‘em laughing, keeps it real
(Carlos Mencia)
By Matt Muñoz
Bakotopia / MÁS staff
Carlos Mencia knew the job would be a tough one when he took it.
Working the nightclub circuit in search of laughs as a fledgling, up-and-coming comedian in the early ‘90s, a young Mencia scored small gigs to pay the bills and more importantly — build an audience.
During his early days hosting HBO’s Latino comedy showcase Loco Slam in ‘97, and Galavision’s Funny Es Funny in ’98, Mencia was a regular visitor to Bakersfield stages.
(Nice hair: Mencia back in the day)
Today, he has his own hit show — Comedy Central’s “Mind of Mencia” — and regular headlining comedy gigs, all of which keep the the outspoken comedian busier than ever. But that’s doesn’t mean he’s forgotten his roots.
Appearing live at the Bakersfield Rabobank Arena Friday, Oct. 5, Mencia’s latest tour de funny marks another return to the city that remains home to one of his most loyal fan bases.
“I’ll never stop coming to Bako,” said Mencia — who turns the big 4-0 on Oct. 22, just a few weeks after his B-town visit — via cellphone with MÁS during a recent tour stop in Miami. “What can you say to people that have supported you and your career from the beginning? There’s nothing you can say to pay them back.”
Mencia’s last local performance drew two sold out shows at the Fox Theater in downtown Bakersfield back in January 2006. This time, he’s in the big house — Rabobank — with a bigger show and more room for laughs.
(Mencia in Riverside, 1/2006)
“It’s gonna be a different show,” explained Mencia, who like on his TV show is never at a loss for enthusiasm. “People can say, ‘I’ve seen him perform before,’ — Yeah, but those aren’t the jokes that you’re going to hear this time.”
Born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras to a Honduran father and Mexican mother, Mencia’s upbringing was a combination of all things Latino Americano, including growing up in East Los Angeles.
The 17th of 18 children, one could only imagine what his young mind had soaked up traveling back and forth back from Honduras to the U.S.
“I was 7 months-old when I left the Honduras the first time, but then I moved back for one year when I was 10, then I lived there for three years when I was a teen,” he said.
To this day, Mencia travels to his homeland for a reminder of those humble beginnings and the beauty of his Central American birthplace, much of which still exists frozen in time with warm farming communities populating the tropical region as well as poverty stricken areas.
“I go there to center and ground myself to remind myself how fortunate and lucky I am,” he said. “Any of the petty BS that I think about is just that — petty. It teaches you humility.”
Life in Honduras for Mencia as a child may not have been luxurious, but it was fulfilling.
“The beauty of that is there’s no pressure. I mean, you work really hard, but there’s no ‘You gotta get that done today!’” he said. “It’s like you plant your crops, you wait to go visit them every once in awhile, and make sure birds aren’t eating them up. If they are, you put up a scarecrow, and three months later, you harvest it, sell it and trade whatever you have for something else. You have everything you need.”
Not that he’d give up his fame here in the U.S. for a farm in Honduras, but Mencia has learned that popularity and success doesn’t always equal happiness.
During the earlier part of 2007, Mencia became target of a smear campaign by fellow comic Joe Rogan (“Fear Factor”), who accused Mencia of stealing material from other comedians.
(Joe Rogan & Carlos Mencia)
Rogan went on the warpath, producing videos on YouTube, appearing on talk shows, even jumping onstage during one of Mencia’s comedy club appearances with one goal: to discredit Mencia’s success.
Through it all, Mencia never backed down, even when things got really testy.
“That’s just the way it is,” he said. “Everyone wants to hate on Britney (Spears) because she made it. Tom Cruise has two hit movies — then everyone says he’s gay. That’s our industry. We build people up, tear them down and build them up again.”
As fans and critics battled away, debating the accusations out on message boards and the talk show circuit, Mencia eventually decided to go directly to his audience about the issue.
“I went on stage one night, it was on my mind, and I was killing the audience, man,” he said. “Then I brought up the issue of what people had said, and the audience stopped laughing, and they didn’t give a (expletive) about it.”
At that point, the message was crystal clear for Mencia.
“What they basically said without saying anything was, ‘Look, you’re a comedian, make us laugh, that’s what we care about. We don’t give a (expletive) that people say you suck, we paid good money, do your thing.’ At that point I was like, ‘Oh yeah, you’re right, I’m sorry!’”
The attempted coup against Mencia’s comedic crown failed and “Mind of Mencia” successfully completed its third season as the second highest-rated show on Comedy Central after “South Park.”
“After that, it was like … whatever,” Mencia said of the controversy.
Producing a show like “Mind” is no laughing matter to Mencia, who feels the pressure like any artist whose name is in a show’s title.
“It’s really difficult, because I come up with an idea, then I pitch it to the writers,” explained the comic of the show’s grueling creative process. “In the middle of taping, and press interviews to promote, I have to maintain the integrity, so to speak, of the writing, so that it’s exactly what I want it to be.”
If you’re familiar with the show, viewers understand that no topic is safe from his “mind” and cast of characters on the skit comedy show, one of which is his popular castmates and brother, Joseph – who seems to be enjoying his fame just fine.
(Joseph Mencia)
“Joseph doesn’t have to deal with any of the pressure,” said Mencia. “It’s usually like this … I’ll wake up after a long day of talking to people, and look forward to just chillin’ out, and then Joseph will show up with 10 people, saying (in a thick accent) ‘Hey! I met these people last night, and they recognized me and I told them, ‘It’s OK, Carlos won’t be mad if we come over and party!’”
(Joseph Mencia: Party Animal)
Besides utilizing his sibling’s comedic nature in his act, Mencia wisely stays in tune with the latest tabloid buzz for material.
“OJ, Michael Vick, Sen. Larry Craig, Britney — there’s four premises right there. Some of them may get three minutes, some may get four,” he said. “Owen Wilson trying to commit suicide — it’s all pop culture, and I seem to have a pretty interesting perspective on it, and people seem to enjoy it.”
As local fans anxiously await Mencia’s return to Bakersfield next week, the comedian looks forward to showing his appreciation the best way he can, keep the gente laughing. It’s the very least he can do, Mencia said.
“All of the people that are going to read this article, they don’t allow my life to exist the way it does, they don’t even facilitate it — they make it, and how do you say ‘Thank You’ to that?”
Carlos Mencia Live!!
-8 p.m., Friday, Oct. 5, 2007
-Bakersfield Rabobank Arena
-Tickets: $43, $38, $34
-Details: 661-322-2525 or -www.ticketmaster.com
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