Carlos Mencia
Carlos Mencia
Mencia began his career doing stand-up on amateur night at the world
renowned comedy club, Laugh Factory. He later showcased at The Comedy
Store and became a regular, performing nightly. After he found success
on the L.A comedy circuit, Mencia was named "International Comedy Grand
Champion" from Buscando Estrellas (the Latino version of Star Search).
This led to appearances on “In Living Color,” “The Arsenio Hall Show,”
“Moesha” and “An Evening at the Improv.”
Mencia comes from a
humble background, born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, the 17th of 18
children. His parents sent him to the United States when he was about
three months old, where he was raised in the Maravilla Projects in Los
Angeles, California by his aunt and uncle. In his early teens, Mencia
moved back to Honduras because his family wanted him to avoid the
destructive gang culture of East Los Angeles. When Mencia later returned
to Los Angeles, he showed such educational prowess that he was
immediately promoted to the tenth grade. Soon after, he successfully
graduated from Garfield High School.
Mencia continued his
journey up the comedy ladder by headlining “The Three Amigos” tour with
Freddy Soto and Pablo Francisco in 2002, which sold out in record time
around the United States. He was also featured in the independent films,
“Outta Time” and “29 Palms” and starred in guest spots on “The Shield”
and “The Bernie Mac Show,” among others. In 2002, he received a CableACE
Award nomination for Best Stand-Up Comedy Special for his HBO special.
That same year, “Mind of Mencia” went into development. The show was an
instant hit and after the first season, Comedy Central signed Mencia
back for his own original stand-up special, “Carlos Mencia: No Strings
Attached.” The special was the first Comedy Central Stand-up Special DVD
to achieve Platinum sales status.
“Mind of Mencia” debuted
on Comedy Central in early 2005. It became one of the strongest shows in
the network’s history, averaging about 1.5 million total viewers. “Mind
of Mencia” was executive produced by Carlos Mencia and Robert Morton
(“Late Night with David Letterman”).
Mencia starred opposite
Ben Stiller and Michelle Monaghan in the Farrelly Brothers’ hit feature
film, THE HEARTBREAK KID (DreamWorks And in the family comedy OUR FAMILY
WEDDING (FOX Searchlight) alongside America Ferrara and Forrest
Whitaker.
In 2007, Mencia embarked on a USO Tour to the
Persian Gulf to entertain the troops serving overseas. For his 2008
trip, Mencia visited Kuwait to host “Operation MySpace,” an exclusive
concert for American Troops in the Middle East alongside Jessica Simpson
and The Pussycat Dolls. The special aired on FX in April 2008. Mencia’s
2009 USO tour had stops in Turkey, Kirkuk, Baghdad, Qatar, Afghanistan,
and many other countries.
Most recently, Mencia has gone
back to his comedic roots, performing at a number of comedy venues –
allowing him to share his newest material with a more intimate audience.
His current tour, called the “C 4 Urself Tour,” has been making stops
all around the country, performing to eager audiences.
Carlos Mencia presently lives in Los Angeles.
For more information, please visit www.carlosmencia.com