The Cheech Marin's Contribution To The Chicano Movement

Many Mexicans immigrated to the United States throughout the 1920’s forming their own communities like East Los Angeles. Throughout the years, they overcame hardships like segregation, bad stereotypes, etc. They created a movement for civil rights, where their culture began to flourish around the country, known as the Chicano Movement. One big contributor to the Chicano Movement is Cheech Marin. “Being a Chicano in Hollywood, my experience is that you're not given credit for any sophistication... You're just kind of some guy that just crossed the border, you know, on the back of a truck and that's it (Cheech Marin).” Cheech Marin has brought many talents to the Chicano community from the 1970’s to now. He is an author, actor, director, writer, and art collector. His most famous works include the famous comedy duo Cheech and Chong, his solo film Born in East L.A., and his wide-range collection of Chicano art.

Richard Anthony Marin was born on July 13, 1946 in Los Angeles, California to Mexican American parents. He was given the name “Cheech” for his love of chicharrones, a Mexican snack of fried pork skins. Marin went on to

study English at California State University Northridge. He later dropped out after being 8 credits away from getting his degree. After college, he became part of an antiwar rally where he burned his draft card. He then fled to Vancouver, where he meet would his “future partner-in-comedy” and become one of the most famous comedy actors in the Chicano community.
One of Cheech Marin’s greatest attributes was his comedy duo Cheech and Chong. They satirized “stereotypes about Mexican Americans, Chines Americans, and the hippies of the 1960’s drug culture.” Marin met Tommy Chong after moving to Vancouver to escape the Vietnam War. Between the 1970’s and 80’s, the duo produced nine comedy albums. Out of the nine albums, six of them went gold and four were nominated for a Grammy, winning one for comedy album of the year. Not only did the duo produce music but also directed their own films. Together they released eight full-length films. Their first film, Up in Smoke, became the highest grossing film in 1978 for comedy. “Their records and films brought Marin and Chong’s drug-themed comedy to the forefront of youth culture in the United States (Tafolla).” Though the duo drew a lot of criticism around the Chicano community for negatively stereotyping Chicanos, others saw it as “complex images of self-affirmation.” Cheech and Chong’s legacy will never go up in smoke.
After his career with Chong ended, Marin wrote, directed, and starred in the film Born in East L.A.

The film is centered as a parody of Bruce Springsteen’s popular hit “Born in the USA.” In the film, he embodies a Mexican-American from East Los Angeles who is falsely accused of being an immigrant and then deported. The film uses political satire to employ the message of the status of Chicanos within the United States. “The film is a critique of white racism, particularly white racism directed toward ethnic minorities and immigrant groups that are considered foreigners and therefore unwelcome in Anglo America (Tatum 80).” The film won Best Picture at the Havana Film Festival as well as Best Screenplay and Best Production Design. It was later accredited as being part as “Hispanic Hollywood” along with other famous Latino films during the

80’s.
Marin has become a very famous art collector through the Chicano culture, possessing one the largest private art collections, with over 300 paintings. His collection of Chicano art includes famous artists like Patssi Valdez, Frank Romero, and Carlos Almaraz. His collection symbolized issues on race, sexuality, politics, and family. “What I look for when I see a piece of art for the first time is some kind of emotional, intellectual experience, that's a combination of both of those things and is informed by my knowledge and something new that I see the artist doing (Cheech Marin).” For 6 years he toured around the United States in an art exhibition called Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge. Art pieces from his collection were shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which at one point of time refused to display the work of Chicano artists. Gilbert "Magu" Sánchez Luján, who is involved in Cheech’s collection stated an interview, “We haven't sold the nation on the attributes of Chicano art, and Cheech is doing that… What Cheech is doing is very necessary for us to make our case nationally. Our culture is going to be ratified, vindicated and validated (Dietz).” His exhibition has been viewed by over a million people.
Though I only knew him as Uncle Felix from Spy Kids (he wasn’t really their uncle) Cheech Marin played a huge role within the Chicano Community. His comedy acts and films played a huge role on depicting Chicanos in the United States. He used his comedic talents and satire to create social and political change, making it that much more powerful (Tatum 80). “Cheech Marin demonstrated to critics that parody and humor could be effective instruments for social criticisms and that entertaining film could also have a serious message.” Today, he continues to grow through the Chicano community as well as reuniting Cheech and Chong.