YOU either love or hate Carlos Mencia, the brilliant comic who stars on Comedy Central ‘s hit, “Mind of Mencia.”
On the show,Mencia,a Latino,rips racial and sexual stereotypes in the rawest way possible – by getting in people ‘s faces and asking the questions that most folks are afraid to ask.Along the way he tries to point out society ‘s hypocrises and manages to insult everyone – black,,white,Asian,fat, skinny or otherwise.
“I hate that people now are trying to ignore stereotyping as if it ‘s not a part of who we are,” says Mencia,,37. “And that bothers me.I find it annoying.”
Those who police what ‘s politically correct and what ‘s not are his sworn enemies. “There ‘s this stupid racial test out there where they describe to somebody the black guy without saying that he ‘s black,like that ‘s some big deal,”Mencia says. “And to me it ‘s not the fact he ‘s black,it ‘s the fact that being black is his most distinctive feature for me to describe.
“They ask,why don ‘t you describe the little Mexican,without calling him a little Mexican,” says Mencia.. “Because then you ‘re taking away from me the most prominent thing that people see when they look at him and that ‘s stupid.He looks like a little Aztec warrior.That ‘s not racist,that ‘s what he looks like.”
Carlos Mencia was born in Honduras,the 17th of 18 children.He was raised in Los Angeles by a childless aunt and uncle and grew up in a California housing project, returning to Honduras for a brief period in his teens to escape the destructive gang culture in East Los Angeles.Always a gifted student,Mencia studied engineering at Cal State
L.A.before dropping out to pursue a career in stand-up comedy.He found success on the L.A.comedy club circuit and was asked by HBO to host a comedy series called “Loco Slam ” in 1994..Mencia also released a comedy album in 2000 called “Take a Joke,America ” that showcased his brand of confrontational humor.
Comedy Central showcased Mencia when his showed debuted earlier this year by making it a companion piece to “Chappelle ‘s Show.” But when Dave Chappelle decided to go AWOL after signing a $50 million deal with the network,Mencia found himself in the uncomfortable position of being expected to replace the mega hit.
“There ‘s a lot of pressure,” says Mencia.
“That ‘s just the reality.But there ‘s a point where you just ignore it,I ‘ve been doing this long enough to know that I just have to stay focused and I have to stay in touch with regular people.”
Mencia ‘s sketches have shown the comic asking regular people what they saw when they looked at a California highway sign placed along the Mexican border that warned of illegal aliens possibly running across the road.Another,highly controversial segment involved Mencia asking people the difference between the different pronunciations of the N word and its different meanings.
His brash approach seems to be working. “Mind of Mencia ” has become one of strongest for any show in the network ‘s history.Comedy Central rewarded Mencia by asking him to add three episodes to its original 10-episode order.
“So now,at the end of 13 episodes,I will have [bleeped ] with everybody,,shown everybody ‘s flaws and in essence said,’Look. We ‘re all [bleeped ] up here;;that ‘s the beauty of it,” Mencia says.. “It ‘s so simple.”
MIND OF MENCIA
Wednesday, 10:30 p.m.
Comedy Central