The mouth leads to the mind of Mencia: Popular Comedy Central performer brings aggressive humor to Temecula

By: JAMES CURRAN - Staff Writer | Wednesday, February 22, 2006 1:06 PM PST ∞

It's easy to think of Carlos Mencia as the life of the party, the class clown.

From the mouth of Mencia in a recent interview, he was more the scourge of the workplace, the job ranter.

"I had no idea whatsoever that I could do stand-up (comedy)," Mencia said. "I'd just vent my frustrations to guys at work and they would laugh their (butts) off, but I was serious and it would (make me mad). So I would get angrier and keep going. They were like 'That's funny.' And it's like 'I'm not trying to be funny. I'm f---ing serious.' "

Thus was the genesis of the career for Mencia, the current darling of Comedy Central and comedian who will perform Saturday at Pechanga Resort & Casino. Unlike other comedians, who got the bug to perform from entertaining friends and relatives, Mencia was reluctantly nudged into the business.

The host of "Mind of Mencia" appears to be in his element on stage. His performance seems a mix of the volume of Sam Kinison, the political edge of George Carlin, the frenetic pace of Jim Carrey and the racial daring of Richard Pryor. Yet, after more than a decade in the business, Mencia said he envies the comics who hungered to succeed since they were younger.

"I look back and I hear stories or read articles about Chris Rock starting when he was 14 or 16," Mencia said. "It took (guts) to get up there in the first place. He probably wanted to do it when he was 10. ... Me? I didn't want to do it until about a month before I was on stage."

Part of the reason Mencia never considered comedy as a career was that at the time, he was employed in the insurance industry and going to class at Cal State L.A. Some way, the Honduran-born East L.A. resident said he knew he was going to be able to make something of himself.

"I lived in the ghetto to where if you spoke Spanish all your life, you wouldn't miss a beat," he said. "But I knew I could get out of there. I knew I could get good grades, that college would get me out."

Those first dates on stage made him rethink his life. He said it took him 10 years before he finally figured everything out ---- from reading an audience to the vocal inflections and facial expressions that convey an intense delivery.

"From then on, I was a sponge, taking on everything I could possibly learn," he said. "I never (reconsidered the decision), because I always got laughs. The hardest thing to do was every time I was like, 'Yeah, I love this,' there was something else to put into the act."

The culmination of his on-the-road education is apparent in both his live act and "Mind of Mencia," which is a mix of sketch comedy, offbeat man-on-the-street interviews and his interaction with audience members. Mencia's an affable guy. People who attend the show can expect him to get to know some in the audience, just as he does on "Mind of ..."

"We were like, look, part of my talent is getting with people and talking to them," Mencia said. "I love doing it. If you watch the (TV) show, it's not set up to make people say dumb (stuff).

"There's a piece we did, 'Ask Whitey.' My friend and I are at a barbecue. He's talking about white people. I'm like 'Dude, where did you get this information from? All you ever do is hang with Mexicans.' That's just wrong. That's ignorant. So I got a skit for minorities to ask white people what they want. We thought the answers would be OK, but the questions are really going to be funny. We ended up getting some really funny answers."

The show also was strong enough to survive losing its lead-in. "Mind of ..." was supposed to get the audience from "Chappelle's Show," another popular ethnic sketch comedy show. However, host Dave Chappelle threw a wrench into those plans when he stopped production in a hazy dispute with Comedy Central.

Yet, Mencia said losing "Chappelle's Show" was liberating.

"There were certainly things at the beginning that we couldn't do the network said, because Chappelle did sketches," Mencia said. "Then, little by little, we did more because we could. The thing from that is for me, I feel OK because I nail everybody. My security comes from the fact that I don't lampoon any specific color, creed or race. Maybe a little more of my own, but we can purposefully try to get everybody."

The fearless approach to the show can gain a larger fan base. It also attracts an element seeking a piece of the comic.

"When somebody says 'I disagree with your joke,' I can understand people saying 'I don't think you're funny,' but if you disagree, you're taking it too seriously," Mencia said. "I do a comedy show. You don't have to like it. If you watch my show, you have cable. That means you have 100 (freaking) channels. Change it.

"You can call my comedy aggressive, but people leave laughing or hurting from laughter. People don't leave thinking, '(Screw) the world.' People leave happy."

Yet, not every performance from Mencia is about race or racy. The comic also performs voice-overs for the Disney Channel cartoon "The Proud Family." Mencia ---- who speaks three languages fluently, English, Spanish and French ---- said he tones down his act "a lot" for the Disney Channel.

"It's just like another language; I speak profanity and no profanity," he said. "I speak street and speak more eloquently. It depends. The jokes that are going to be understood by the people who watch 'The Proud Family' are different than the fans of my show. That's OK."

Mencia said he has no problem with his current workload. In his mind, his current level of success is fleeting.

"I don't believe the hype of celebrity. Here's why: It'll go away," he said. "It's not tangible. It's a perception that people give you. I'll go through a phase where I'll disappear for a few years. ... I'm just fortunate. There's a guy out there who can pick strawberries faster and gets them ripe and the right time. It might sound ridiculous, but that's a gift. My gift is something that pays very well. How fortunate is that? But I don't work harder than somebody who does that 15 hours a day."

Mencia said he's well aware of those who live in poverty. He's made return trips to Honduras. The first few trips back to the homeland were eye-opening for the success-driven comic.

"People in Honduras, I remember, were much happier because they were about living, not about what can I acquire?" he said. "They were so happy, I was envious. I remember thinking then, when am I going to get on TV? When am I going to be discovered? I would go there and someone who didn't have a pot to (urinate) in would invite me into their home for coffee.

"They were living in a world of utter contentment. Then international news would creep in, television. It would create a world of comparison. Then it was, why are you going to America? Because I want more. Now, those countries are very, very different."

In that sense, CNN might be more detrimental than Comedy Central, Mencia said.

"How many of us actually think about being happy?" Mencia asked. "I do this job because it makes me happy. I don't need a 401(k). I'll work this job until I die."

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