Carlos Mencia

Carlos Mencia, the Latino comedian, spent his formative years in East Los Angeles. An amateur set at the Laugh Factory convinced him to quit his insurance-company job and abandon his electrical-engineering coursework at college so he could pursue standup full time. Local appearances throughout the Los Angeles area culminated in his being crowned International Comedy Grand Champion on the Star Search-like program Buscando Estrellas in 1989, after which he began popping up on network and cable outlets and received a CableACE award nomination for his second turn on HBO’s Comedy Half-Hour special in 1995. He laid down his debut album, Take a Joke America, in 1999; Warner Bros. Records issued it the following May.