Mencia punctures racial stereotypes.Byline: Serena Markstrom The Register-Guard Comedy Central star Carlos Mencia Ned Arnel Mencía (born October 22, 1967 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras), better known by his stage name Carlos Mencia, is a comedian, writer, and actor in the United States. He is currently the host of his own show on Comedy Central, Mind of Mencia. will make a stop in Eugene on Sunday to get us laughing about stereotypes, race relations race relations Noun, pl the relations between members of two or more races within a single community race relations npl → relaciones fpl raciales , immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. , war, patriotism and capitalism. He's in the middle of a 54-city journey dubbed "The Punisher Tour." Mencia's show on Comedy Central, "Mind of Mencia," is second only to "South Park" in the cable channel's ratings. It is averaging more than 2 million viewers, a news release says. Apparently, audiences want to be punished with what his press materials call his "brutal honesty Is the faculty to be extremely honest with anyone in any given situation. This facilitates communication in some degree, but may cause discomfort or strangeness in the receiver of the message. The discomfort in the receiver comes from the strange situation in witch the speaker puts him. and unrelenting provo- cation cation (kăt'ī`ən), atom or group of atoms carrying a positive charge. The charge results because there are more protons than electrons in the cation. ." Responding in a news release to the announcement that his Wednesday show will be extended for a third season and 16 new episodes, Mencia said, "I'm just glad that I don't have to clean bathrooms for at least one more year." The difference for Mencia between touring his live act and doing his television show is the live show is uncensored and unedited. "The TV show is utterly calculated," he said. "There are many people that invest into the final product, and the content is censored and edited." Mencia began to break through about the time of his 2000 debut album, "Take A Joke Verb 1. take a joke - listen to a joke at one's own expense; "Can't you take a joke?" brook, endure, tolerate, stomach, abide, bear, digest, stick out, suffer, put up, stand, support - put up with something or somebody unpleasant; "I cannot bear his constant America," was released. Born the 17th of 18 children in Honduras, Mencia grew up in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. with his aunt. He has risen into the national spotlight by pointing out American society's hypocrisy. His CD, "America Rules," was recorded live and features an hour of material that deals with the events of Sept. 11. He's also released two DVDs, "Carlos Mencia: Not for the Easily Offended," and "No Strings Attached." Mencia has appeared in the independent films, "Outta Time" and `29 Palms," and had guest roles on television's "The Shield" and "The Bernie Mac <noinclude> Bernard Jeffrey McCullough (born October 5, 1957[1]), better known as Bernie Mac, is a two time Emmy Award-nominated American actor and comedian. Show." The studio audience gave him a standing ovation for his debut appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Jay Leno (born April 28, 1950) is an Emmy-winning American comedian, writer who is best known as the current host of NBC television's long-running variety and talk program The Tonight Show. Biography Leno was born in New Rochelle, New York. ," the news release says. Although his style is honest, he doesn't try to be controversial. In fact, he doesn't consider himself controversial. "I just talk to other people like they're my friends," he said. "Just like when friends get together and talk about issues or life - that's how I speak to all of my audiences. `I hope that they understand that there is no harm intended." Mencia came under criticism when fellow comic George Lopez accused him of plagia- rizing material, according to an online encyclopedia. Mencia's response was that the material in question was too generic to be attributed to any one person. When asked if he ever worries about political correctness while performing, he said his shows are honest. "But I'm a comedian so I do what I think is funny," he said in the press materials. "Everybody is afraid of what other people are going to say. ... The only problem is when people take what I say too seriously. `The bottom line is what I say is intended to make you laugh. Yeah, I can be a clown, but I can also pull the mirror out and make the audience see a truth that they hadn't." EVENT PREVIEW Carlos Mencia What: Stand-up comedy When: 7 p.m. Sunday Where: Hult Center, Seventh Avenue and Willamette Street Tickets: $36 and $40, 682-5000 |
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