Series
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Rolling Up to The Cheech Museum

December 4, 2024
We kick it with comedian and art collector Cheech Marin to talk about his collection and the creation of "The Cheech" Museum of Chicano Art and Culture at the Riverside Art Museum.
Show transcript
00:00
What's up, Mitu F?
00:01
We are out here at the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art
00:04
and Culture in Riverside,
00:05
California. And we're so excited because I heard Cheech Marin is
00:10
having his very own statue,
00:13
unveiled a bronze statue and he's gonna show us some cool art
00:17
in the museum. So I'm really excited.
00:19
I've loved him since the very beginning.
00:22
So I'm still with the Sabato.
00:39
So we're here with Chee Mar A.
00:46
So how does it feel to have your own statue?
00:52
That's cool. Isn't all,
00:55
all my friends are very impressed that I had the museum,
00:59
but they're really impressed that they have a bronze statue,
01:02
right? What inspired you to start this museum all through the
01:09
years when I was showing the collection in various parts.
01:12
And people say, well,
01:12
you should have your own museum.
01:14
I should have a jet plane too.
01:15
But I don't know they came to me and offered me
01:18
this, this this museum to house the collection.
01:22
I and I didn't know what they meant.
01:25
At first you want me to buy a museum?
01:27
I, well, I'm,
01:28
I'm doing ok. I don't know if I'm museum rich here
01:30
but,, no,
01:32
no, we want to give you the museum for the collection
01:35
Ok. And,
01:36
and so I, I was,
01:38
I was torn, you know,
01:39
because I had this collects,
01:39
I had for a long time,
01:40
took a long time to put together.
01:42
So I was looking for a sign that I should do this
01:44
because it's, you know,
01:45
and I was walking through this place when they were revitalizing it
01:50
And,,
01:50
and I said, I'm just offhanded.
01:52
How big is this place?
01:54
And I said, oh,
01:54
it's a 60,420 square feet.
01:58
I go 4, 2420.
02:00
That's the sign. All right.
02:02
Thank you. I,
02:05
I've always, I always believed in,
02:09
in inevitability and kismet and fate and all that.
02:12
I, I believe in that totally.
02:14
If I'm supposed to have a museum to house a collection,
02:16
well, then it'll just appear and why Riverside,
02:19
they were gonna turn this building,
02:21
which was the town library and they wanted,
02:23
they were looking to repurpose it somehow.
02:25
And so anyways, the town or city manager,
02:28
John Russo put two and two together,
02:30
he says we'll offer it to cheat for the,
02:32
for the thing, you know,
02:33
and for the, for the collection and it's just a perfect
02:36
place for it and because it was meant to happen and I
02:39
keep telling people that,
02:41
you know, well,
02:41
I need to be,
02:42
well, it, it was meant to happen and they started
02:44
adopting that, adopting that attitude.
02:47
You know, it was meant to happen and they could say
02:49
well, it must be meant to happen because here it
02:51
is. Oh, that's great.
02:52
Thank you so much.
02:53
I appreciate it. Thank you so much.
02:56
Congratulations. Thank you.
02:58
So there you have it guys.
03:01
That was the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture.
03:05
It was so much fun.
03:06
Honestly, it was such an honor to talk to Cheech,
03:09
I'm gonna rub his head for good luck because he told
03:12
everybody to, to rub the statue.
03:14
His charm comes on to me back to you guys in the
03:19
studio.