A funny thing happened to the Latino laugh fest

LONG before Carlos Mencia was a household name, another Carlos was winning over comedy audiences one fan at a time. Since the late 1980s, NorCal-born Carlos Alazraqui (best known for his recurring role as Deputy James Garcia on “Reno 911”) has been working the alternative and Latin comedy circuits as a cult favorite.

A different man might be bitter about Mencia’s recent success, but Alazraqui, 44, believes the highly rated Comedy Central show “Mind of Mencia” only helps. “Both he and George Lopez have opened a lot of doors,” says the comic, who is also an in-demand voice-over actor (Grandpapi on the Nickelodeon hit “El Tigre,” Lazlo on Cartoon Network’s “Camp Lazlo”).

Speaking of Lopez, he will join Alazraqui and a number of well-known comics June 24, the final night of the weekend-long Latino Laugh Festival at the Kodak Theatre. The festival, founded by Jeff Valdez (a former comic and current chairman of cable network Si TV), is hitting L.A. for the first time after a multi-year run in San Antonio during the 1990s. (Although the red-hot Mencia will not appear this year, he has participated in the past.)

“No disrespect to San Antonio, but Los Angeles is the No. 1 Latino market in the country and the entertainment capital of the world,” says Valdez.

Cheech Marin and Paul Rodriquez are two other headliners, though Valdez hopes comedy fans will check out up-and-coming talent (including Felipe Esparza and Noe Gonzalez) performing at multiple venues in and around Hollywood. “I can comfortably say that 80% of Latino comics working in TV and film [today] got their start at the festival,” says Valdez.

And many more will follow. Indeed, one lucky aspiring Latino comic will get to perform in the festival’s “Diamonds in the Rough” show and during the finale by trying out his or her best bits at the HaHa Cafe on June 12 in front of festival scouts.

Despite the recent cancellation of the sitcom “George Lopez” on ABC, Alazraqui is optimistic about the viability of Latin comics in mainstream Hollywood. “There’s finally money there,” he says. “It’s a business ... Kevin Rooney once said, ‘Hollywood is a place where people gather around where lightning last struck.’ Now there are a lot of suits who say they’ve always been fans of Latin comedy, which was definitely not always the case.”

Alazraqui, whose parents are Argentines, has a hope for the festival: That audiences come away with a deeper appreciation of the varieties of Latino culture represented. “Just because we have a Latin background doesn’t mean we are all one hue,” he says.

“Latino Laugh Festival Finale,” Kodak Theatre, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., L.A. June 24. 7 p.m. $50 to $175. (213) 235-1748.

Finale performers will include George Lopez, Carlos Alazraqui, Cheech Marin and Paul Rodriguez. The festival is from June 22 to 24 at various Hollywood venues, with more than 30 comedians participating. www.latinolaughfestival.com/