Comedian Carlos Mencia among many entertainers in town over Mexican Independence weekend

Carlos Mencia has worked enough Mexican Independence weekends on the Strip to know where he is free and where he isn't.

The comedian says he could get away with being the anti-Katt Williams if he so chose.

"It gets to that ethnocentric point where you can go up on stage and say anything pro-Mexican and you can't go too far. I could go up on stage and say, 'White people suck and America is retarded,' and they'll be like (cheering)."

But Mencia also knows his support is predetermined in the weekend's big draw, Saturday's boxing bout between Floyd Mayweather and Victor Ortiz.

"Because my name is Carlos Mencia, I gotta be with the guy who is most likely, almost positively gonna get his ass whupped. Totally not cool, man.

"And I can't go for the other guy (Floyd Mayweather, the 7-to-1 favorite), not on Mexican Independence Day. I'll get my ass beat.

"You know how many Mexicans are gonna be roaming the streets there?"

Plenty, based on the showroom and increased club offerings jumping in on the big Latino weekend, highlighted below. But Mencia can speak of Mexicans with some degree of attachment, because he is from Honduras.

This point has him recalling some very early career advice from Comedy Store proprietress Mitzi Shore. When she found out his first name is really Ned, she told him (and he imitates her voice very well), "Ya can't be an angry Mexican named Ned."

"Mitzi, I'm actually from Honduras," he told her.

"She looked at me for about three seconds and said, 'Ya can't be an angry Mexican named Ned.'

"Everybody's gonna think you're Mexican. Just deal with it," she added. And, he says, "She was utterly and completely right."

Lately, however, Mencia says he makes a point of not being angry. Almost everyone else is, so his show today at Treasure Island will call out our collective "whininess" and "lack of perspective."

When people tell him how bad things are, "I'm like, Bro, I'm from Honduras. Do you understand the difference? If I was in Honduras, I'd be the funniest guy milking a cow.

"We have a Food Network; other countries don't have food. ... I just don't get the bitching. At a certain point, you have to go, 'Wait a minute. How bad are things anyway?' It's a lack of perspective, and a guy like me is going to give it."

But Mencia is concerned about the recent stink over Williams' anti-Latino stage rant in Phoenix. A publicist-issued apology was followed by Williams mostly retracting said apology on CNN.

It got a bit confused, but Mencia agrees with Williams telling CNN "the only thing that I sell is uncensored thought."

"We're comedians. I don't like that comedy is becoming politically correct," Mencia says. "From the days of the court jester, we have always been those guys that are able to tell the king the truth. We just made it funny so that everybody laughed."

Laughs and music with a south-of-the-border spice abound (See the Showguide for detailed time and ticket information):

■ The Tropicana attempts to bridge the widening gap between nightclub action and traditional showroom entertainment. The answer on Saturday is "Mariachi USA," a 90-minute version of a popular festival, staged outdoors at the Nikki Beach Club's pool area. Mariachi Las Altena and harpist Juan Cabrera are among those exploring the musical tradition.

■ The fact that The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas would be packed anyway doesn't mean it will ignore the holiday. Veteran singer-actor Pedro Fernandez does a poolside concert today, and restaurant tenants get in the spirit for a Saturday "street fair" that includes a tequila tasting and Food Network's Marcela Valladolid.

■ Still cuddly in his 40s, heartthrob Luis Miguel has been synonymous with the Vegas version of Mexican Independence Day most years since 1997. He keeps the tradition going today through Sunday at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

■ It still may be a comedy showdown between Mencia and Gabriel Iglesias. But if you're talking "The Biggest Loser," the newly slimmed-down Mencia is way ahead of the easygoing stand-up nicknamed Fluffy. The comedy will be less political when Iglesias takes the mic at the MGM Grand today through Sunday.

■ Song legend Marco Antonio Solis last year shared his arena stage with Alejandro Fernandez but this time opts for Ana Gabriel, a contemporary of his era, in today's return to the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

■ Another annual tradition is the International Mariachi Festival anchored by Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez. Singing legend Vikki Carr and younger star Ana Barbara are the guest singers Saturday in the big theater at Planet Hollywood.

■ Mexican hippie prog-rockers have already snapped up the tickets for Caifanes, so you'll have to find some secondary-market ticket hobbits if you want to catch them today at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.