From important messages on immigration to saving the world through oral copulation, Carlos Mencia and others had Chico enraptured Saturday night at the El Rey Theatre.

Three comedians took the stage before Mencia, setting a risque and vibrant tone for the night. 

The comedian preceding Mencia, Cisco Duran, stood out as he used numerous members of the audience as a launch pad for his dynamic jokes. 

“Whatever happens in the news, in my life, that’s how I come up with new material,” Duran said. “I just found out I’m not 100 percent Latina and now I have new jokes because of it.”

Duran repeatedly mirrored this strategy throughout the show as he pointed out viewers and bounced off of their live responses to create a truly enticing punch line. 

Mencia’s set began similarly as he ran up to the stage screaming with energy. 

Consisting of jokes from the perspective of an illegal immigrant, to “mudding” and his son’s femininity, Mencia’s performance danced on a fine line of what he regarded “politically correct.”

“My friends poke fun at me because my son is feminine and they ask, ‘what if he’s gay?’” Mencia said. “If my son wants to be gay, I’d tell him to back ‘dat ass up.’”

Although a fiery comic and exuberant performer, Mencia weaved an important message throughout his set. Mencia portrayed the life and prejudice of an illegal immigrant through skits, portraying the irony of American immigration reforms that take place every day.

“We’re not going to change the world, we’re not going to get rid of stupidity, we’re not going to get rid of intellectual laziness, we’re not going to get rid of any of it,” Mencia said. “So, let’s try hard to acknowledge it and at least change one person.”

Mencia had an array of jokes over his hour and a half set, but the message he left with the audience was “we’re fighting the good fight.”

Melissa Joseph can be reached at [email protected] or @melisstweetz on Twitter.