Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo founded in Vancouver and consisting of American Cheech Marin and Canadian Tommy Chong. The duo found commercial and cultural success in the 1970s and 1980s with their stand-up routines, studio recordings, and feature films, which were based on the hippie and free love era, and especially the drug and counterculture movements, most notably their love for cannabis.
Leopoldo Antonio Carrillo was an American actor, vaudevillian, political cartoonist, and conservationist. He was best known for playing Pancho in the television series The Cisco Kid (1950–1956) and in several films.
Jimmy L. Smits is an American actor. He is best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s–1990s legal drama L.A. Law, NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s–2000s police drama NYPD Blue, and Matt Santos on the political drama The West Wing. He appeared in Switch (1991), My Family (1995), The Jane Austen Book Club (2007), and In the Heights (2021). He also appeared as Bail Organa in the Star Wars franchise and as ADA Miguel Prado in Dexter. From 2012 to 2014, he was a member of the main cast of Sons of Anarchy, in the role of Nero Padilla. Smits also portrayed Elijah Strait in the NBC drama series Bluff City Law.
Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin is an American comedian, actor, musician, and activist. He gained recognition as part of the comedy act Cheech & Chong during the 1970s and early 1980s with Tommy Chong, and as Don Johnson's partner, Insp. Joe Dominguez, on Nash Bridges. He has also voiced characters in several Disney films, including Oliver & Company, The Lion King, The Lion King 1½, the Cars franchise, Coco, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua.
Born in East L.A. is a 1987 American satirical comedy film written and directed by Cheech Marin in his feature film directorial debut, who also starred in the film. It co-stars Paul Rodriguez, Daniel Stern, Kamala Lopez, Jan-Michael Vincent, Lupe Ontiveros and Jason Scott Lee in his first feature film debut. The film is based on his song of the same name, released as a 1985 single by Cheech & Chong. The film focuses on Rudy Robles, a Mexican-American from East Los Angeles who is mistaken for an illegal alien and deported.
Up in Smoke is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Lou Adler and starring Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Tom Skerritt, Edie Adams, Strother Martin and Stacy Keach. It is Cheech & Chong's first feature-length film.
The Cisco Kid is a fictional character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in Everybody's Magazine, vol. 17, as well as in the collection Heart of the West (1907). Originally a murderous criminal in O. Henry's story, the Kid was depicted as a heroic Mexican caballero in later film, radio, and television adaptations.
Ruben and the Jets was an American rock and roll band from Los Angeles, California. The band originated as an alias for The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa's band, to release Cruising with Ruben & the Jets (1968). Later, musician Rubén Guevara Jr. continued the band with his own lineup. Guevara's "Jets" recorded two albums, For Real! (1973) and Con Safos (1974).
Gronk, born Glugio Nicandro, is a Chicano painter, printmaker, and performance artist. His work is collected by museums around the country including the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Luis Miguel Valdez is an American playwright, screenwriter, film director and actor. Regarded as the father of Chicano film and playwriting, Valdez is best known for his play Zoot Suit, his movie La Bamba, and his creation of El Teatro Campesino. A pioneer in the Chicano Movement, Valdez broadened the scope of theatre and arts of the Chicano community.
Chris-Pin Martin was an American character actor whose specialty lay in portraying comical Mexicans, particularly sidekicks in The Cisco Kid film series. He acted in over 100 films between 1925 and 1953, including over 50 westerns.
Price of Glory is a 2000 American sports drama film written by Phil Berger, directed by Carlos Avila, and starring Jimmy Smits. The movie was nominated for several ALMA Awards in 2001. The film was shot in Huntington Park, Los Angeles, and Nogales, Arizona. The film was released by New Line Cinema on March 31, 2000.
Patssi Valdez is an American Chicana artist. She is a founding member of the art collective Asco. Valdez's work represents some of the finest Chicana avant-garde expressionism, working with an array of mediums, such as painting, sculpture, and fashion design. She lives and works in Los Angeles, California.
"Born in East L.A." is a single by Cheech & Chong, released in September 1985. It is a parody of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A.", with references to the song "I Love L.A." by Randy Newman. The song reached No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Cisco Kid Returns is a 1945 American Western film. Released on April 3, 1945, it was the first of three Cisco Kid films made that year with Duncan Renaldo as Cisco and Martin Garralaga as Pancho. In this release, Cisco's real name is Juan Francisco Hernandez. Cisco must clear himself of murder charges, while preventing his girlfriend Rosita (Callejo) from eloping with his rival John Harris (Pryor).
In Old New Mexico is a 1945 American western drama film. Released on May 15, 1945, it was the second of three Cisco Kid films made that year with Duncan Renaldo as Cisco and Martin Garralaga as Pancho.
South of the Rio Grande is a 1945 American western film. Released on September 15, it was the third of three Cisco Kid films made that year with Duncan Renaldo as Cisco and Martin Garralaga as Pancho.
Nacho Galindo was a Mexican-American film and television actor who lived and worked in the Los Angeles area for most of his life. Between 1941 and 1970 he had small, often unbilled roles in 71 feature films and at least 60 TV episodes. His most prominent film role was that of the Cisco Kid's third-billed sidekick, "Baby", in 1946's The Gay Cavalier, the first of poverty row studio Monogram's entries in the series, which starred Gilbert Roland as The Cisco Kid.
The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, known as The Cheech, is a museum in Riverside, California. It is part of the larger Riverside Art Museum. The center is focused on the exhibition and study of Chicano art from across the United States. This is a collaborative effort between Cheech Marin, the City of Riverside and Riverside Art Museum. Cheech Marin is a stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and collector. He has donated or promised his collection of more than 700 pieces of Chicano art. Riverside provides the old Riverside public library to house the collection and the Riverside Art Museum manages the center. The Cheech strives to be a world-class institution for the research and study of "all things [related to] Chicano art". It is the first North American museum facility dedicated exclusively to Mexican-American and Chicano art.
