-- (slightly altered) quote from Comedian Carlos Mencia in 2006
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Ashley Morris-- a former comedian himself-- decided to make cordial contact with Mr. Mencia after hearing similar post-Katrina jokes:
Here's an email I sent to Carlos Mencia, after viewing a clip where he slammed New Orleanians:
Hello,
After your remark about New Orleans culture and rebuilding, I can only hope that an earthquake kills your entire family. Then, maybe, you'll be "preserving your culture" in Kansas or something.
Welcome to our world, bitch. If the federal levees had been built properly, then I may still enjoy your comedy. As it is, you insulted us, and the only way you can feel our pain is by having your family die.
Enjoy.
Cold, but passionate. Unbelievably, he responded
Some of my family did die in some of the hurricanes in central America in the past. That is why I preserve my culture in USA, thousands of miles from the eye of the storm. Telling you to move far from danger is not fucked up on my part. I actually want to save lives.
Carlos
He's honest, and I believe this is sincere. But he just doesn't get New Orleans.
Carlos Mencia appeared in a Super Bowl commercial in February 2008, and I felt the odd need to speculate wildly about a fleur de lis sweatshirt he was wearing in the ad. I wondered if the fleur de lis meant that Mencia changed his mind about New Orleans, and was perhaps a belated show of solidarity.
Shockingly, that wildass speculation might've been correct. New Orleans Citybusiness reports that:
Carlos Mencia, a comedian whose show “Mind of Mencia” airs on cable channel Comedy Central, will open his new Latin restaurant downtown Friday.
Suavé Latino Bar & Grill is on the first floor of the Pelham Hotel at 200 Magazine St. It will open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Friday and around the clock Fridays and Saturdays.
Sauvé’s menu is a blend of Mexican, Caribbean, Central and South American dishes, mostly served as tapas and bocaditos, with seafood and breakfast dishes.
So. The man who was telling New Orleanians to "move far from danger" because he "actually wanted to save lives" is now opening a restaurant in New Orleans. But why would Carlos Mencia invest his money in a (hopefully tasty) restaurant here, and give us one more reason to stay in this deathtrap, unless his "mind" had changed significantly?
One wonders what prompted such a change.
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Update: Apparently I overlooked Ian McNulty's post on Mencia's new venture at the Gambit Daily blog.
Labels: ashley morris, Food
