Cheech Marin museum opens to cheers, cultural celebration in Riverside

With the arrival of a shiny blue lowrider and cheers from the crowd, “The Cheech” opened its doors in downtown Riverside.

After five years of planning and fundraising, comedian and actor Cheech Marin’s Chicano art museum welcomed its first guests Saturday, June 18, with a street celebration to herald a venue that’s expected to put the city on the national arts map.

About 10 a.m., Marin — wearing an orange cap with the museum’s logo — hopped out of a 1962 Chevy Impala lowrider and entered the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture.

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Opening day was sold out, but those who had tickets — and others — had plenty to say about the cultural significance of the museum.

“We have so many Hispanic communities in Riverside, and this will bring them together,” said Maria Batres, of Ballet Folklorico de Riverside, whose troupe performed a ritual dance in front of the museum before Marin’s entrance.

Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson and other city officials applauded the first visitors as they entered the museum in the city’s former main library.

They included JoAnn Jimenez, whose group was first in line.

“It’s amazing, where do I begin?” she said, standing in front of a 26-foot-tall lenticular that stretches to the ceiling, the first work of art that visitors see. The untitled work was crafted by brothers Einar and Jamex de La Torre and includes several themes of Chicano art. Images include an Aztec goddess, native California flowers, a map of East Los Angeles and the face of Cheech Marin himself.

The Cheech is housed in Riverside’s former main library, a 1964 building that retains its midcentury modern exterior but was overhauled inside.

Jimenez, a lifelong Riverside resident, said she attended the library’s grand opening as well when she was in grade school. Now she has a place to take her grandchildren.

“We’re very glad that there’s a place for us to come and learn and be represented,” said Marcella Gamero, who was with Jimenez.

As the museum filled up, the lenticular proved to be a popular selfie spot from a second-floor balcony.

About 2,000 tickets were sold for opening day and nearly as many for Sunday.

For people who didn’t get a ticket, there was a street car on two blocks in front of the center and a car show featuring lowriders and other collectible vehicles in the parking lot that wraps around the building.

The museum was created as a home for Cheech Marin’s extensive Chicano art collection, which he began in the 1980s after finding fame with Tommy Chong in the comedy duo Cheech & Chong, followed by a movie career. The center now holds about 550 paintings, photographs, sculptures and other works from Marin’s collection. Located next door to the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, the new museum is projected to bring in 100,000 visitors a year.

He has described Chicano art as arising from 1960s protests and evolving over the decades into a way of depicting how real people live their lives. He called it a mixture of Mexican art, world art and pop culture.

Marin became known as an art connoisseur in the past 20 years as he began sending his collection to major museums such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The concept of a museum in Riverside began in 2017, when his collection was being exhibited at Riverside Art Museum, and then-City Manager John Russo and other civic leaders pitched the idea to Marin. After that, planning and fundraising began.

The Cheech came together as a $14.5 million public-private collaboration with major donors such as Bank of America and Altura Credit Union as well as a city subsidy of nearly $1 million a year to the Riverside Art Museum, which was contracted to run it.

Creators of The Cheech see it as a platform to spread the influence of Chicano art across the world.

“We hope that this building and this collection and this participation of the community will be a beacon for everybody else around the country to finally redefine inclusion,” Marin said at the dedication. “Now it is going to be embodied in a place they can come to.”

Artist Rosy Cortez, whose painting “Dreamers” is on display at the entrance of the building, said Marin asked her to organize a workshop in a second-floor classroom for children to cut photos and create their own collages in the style of the de la Torre brothers’ lenticular. The room quickly filled with kids.

“It’s crazy. It’s surreal,” she said of the museum’s reception.

Beyond the art world, The Cheech has captured the attention of government officials, according to Lock Dawson, who attended a Friday night gala for The Cheech with the performance troupe Culture Clash at the Riverside Convention Center.

“A huge amount of legislators were there, senators and assembly members. Almost every higher education chancellor was there. We had so many dignitaries Culture Clash was joking they were going to announce the dog catcher of Pomona.”

She said of The Cheech, “It’s our way to tell the world what Riverside is about.”

ABOUT THE CHEECH

What: Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture

Where: 3581 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside

When: Opened Saturday, June 18, and was sold out for the first day. Reservations are timed and must be made in advance on the museum’s website.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The museum will stay open until 8 p.m. on select Thursdays and will be closed on Tuesdays in August.

Admission: $15.95; $10.95 for 65 and older and ages 13-17; children under 12 and military personnel, free.

Information: 951-684-7111 or https://riversideartmuseum.org/visit/the-cheech-marin-center-for-chicano-art-culture/

Source: Orange County Register

Cheech Marin museum opens to cheers, cultural celebration in Riverside

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Cheech Marin museum opens to cheers, cultural celebration in Riverside

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