LATIN TIMES MAGAZINE - 2019 Summer Edition | Page 45

Cafe y Cultural
L atin T imes I nterview with
L egendary C omedian ,
A ctor , A uthor , A dvocate
and B usinessman
C heech M arin
by: Victor Padilla
I do love Cuban sandwiches they are,
and I’m a little hungry man, my
favorite, I’m a big Menudo fan too,
I love to it eat warm as a little kid!
Victor Padilla: Hola Cheech, thank you for being with us on
this interview. Tell us about your Family Background and
where you were born and raised?
Cheech Marin: I was born in Los Angeles, a 3rd generation
Mexican in Central LA until I was around ten years old when
we moved from South Central to Granada Hills in San Fer-
nando Valley. My education and upbringing, where half of
everyone was African American, and then the other half was
white. It was like I woke up in a different place, you know? My
father was an LAPD policeman, and my mom was a house-
wife, I went to Catholic high school in San Fernando Valley
and then San Fernando State College.
Victor Padilla: What inspired you to be a comedian/Actor
and what was it like when you started in the industry? (In the
roles you acted in)
Cheech Marin: I was a singer all my life, I played guitar from
a very early age, but I was still a singer. I made a record when
I was five years old, so that was always part of it, and I come
from a very friendly family, my family was quick-witted and
to get any time at the dinner table, you had to have like a type
2 minimum. Before they let you in. I grew up that way, very
competitive with each other, and I'm very scholastic orientat-
ed, and that's how I got my first break, I don't know how you
call it, 'Disciplined,' in learning the things I wanted to learn.
Victor Padilla: You wrote a book, “Cheech is Not My Real
Name…But Don’t Call Me Chong!” Love the name, and in-
teresting title, tell us about it?
Cheech Marin: Well you know I wrote it because I had to,
people I knew came around and said “Hey you should write
a book…”, We spoke some words, and I said ok that sounds
good, and so it’s written in a way to kind of catch everybody
up on what I’m doing, what I have been doing, and my earli-
est times, and seeing kind of how it forms my past. I lived in
Canada for a few years after college, and I was the only Chi-
cano over there. They didn’t know what I was when I got up
there, everything but Chicano, I even thought I was Ameri-
can Indian or an Indian from India.
Victor Padilla: You are Currently working with The Alliance
of Hispanic Serving Institution Educators with Rick Najera
on Latino Thought Makers, tell us how important being a
L atin T imes M agazine
thought maker is for Latinos?
Cheech Marin: Well, it is, you know you have to have somebody
expressing those kinds of thoughts that the general public, gen-
eral Latino audience, is seeking and guide them to the correct
legitimate processes which are where they need to go and how to
get there. Rick and I go way back to Broadway where we worked
together, love working with him.
Victor Padilla: In all the Films you have acted in, tell us about
some of the funniest moments you had?
Cheech Marin: Well, you know I had a lot of funny moments with
Cheech and Chong, which made them much more amusing than
they would appear, is that they were all spontaneous. They were
all improvised on the set after we did it, it became a basic idea,
and then we found funny ways to do them. We would set up a
scene, and I would be ok with it, and this is what made it funny.
Victor Padilla: How do you feel about the progress the legaliza-
tion of Cannabis in this country?
Cheech Marin: Well it’s coming faster than most people would
have expected it, I thought it a would come to a lot earlier, but 35-
47 states now have some type of legalized marijuana, medicinal
more than recreational, so the boat is rolling downhill right now,
and it’s how would we direct it not how we profit.
Victor Padilla: Are you working on any new projects?
Cheech Marin: I just finished a little ark in a tv series called Law
49 on TBS, a real quirky series, and the thing I’m most excited
about is May 17th & 18th, I’m singing at the Hollywood Bowl
on the Disney’s rendition of Little Mermaid? , That is going to be
great! I’ll be Louie the Chef, and it will be Live, I’m getting paid to
sing at the Hollywood Bowl!
Victor Padilla: Who has been your hero and inspiration?
Cheech Marin: Well, my all-time famous hero would have to be
Muhammed Ali, I had a couple of interactions with him, and I
appreciated him. I admire him for what he did, the bravery, the
courage when he stood up at the height of his career for what he
believed. Not only was he the world greatest boxer ever, but he
stood up for the rights of a few constituents, and he just gave and
gave and gave!
Read more at: www.LatinTimesMedia.com
www .L atin T imes M agazine . com
A braza el calor de tu cultura !
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