Cheech Marin on Dodging the Vietnam Draft, Born in East LA & Why Chicano Art Is American Art

Hosts Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito sit down with Cheech Marin —comedian, actor, filmmaker, and one of the foremost champions of Chicano art in the world— for a conversation that spans Vietnam draft resistance, topless improv theaters in Vancouver, the birth of an era-defining comedy act, a film that was made in the 80s and could be filmed this afternoon, and a museum founded on a sign from the universe: 66,420 square feet. Cheech traces the full arc. Growing up in South Central LA with a father who spent 30 years in the LAPD. Turning in his draft card at Cal State Northridge. Getting tipped off that the government was coming for him and boarding a Greyhound to Canada. The broken leg skiing that got him a 4-F. It was in Vancouver that he met Tommy Chong, recruited into an improv group performing at a topless bar owned by Tommy's family, where they honed their act every night in front of bikers, loggers, and people who genuinely wanted to beat them up. He also talks about Born in East LA — a movie that started with a story he read in the Los Angeles Times about a kid who got swept up in an immigration raid and couldn't prove he was American — and why that film, made in 1987, describes exactly what is happening today. About buying his first three pieces of Chicano art and the journey that turned a personal collection into a traveling exhibition that set attendance records at 14 major museums in 7 years, including the Smithsonian. About landing the Cheech Museum in Riverside after walking through the building and asking how many square feet it had. Plus: his first record, made at age 5. His Dodgers prediction. And why weed always finds him, even in Russia. Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro. 🎙 De Los Podcast drops new episodes every week on YouTube and all major podcast platforms. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation. From the Los Angeles Times and Sonoro comes the De Los Podcast — a weekly conversation where music, pop culture and Latinidad collide. Hosted by De Los editors Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito, the show pulls back the curtain on the stories, people and cultural moments shaping the Latino experience in the U.S. and beyond. Every episode is a front-row seat to conversations with the artists, actors, filmmakers and thinkers who are moving the culture forward — not just talking about it. Guests include Leslie Grace, Sen Dog of Cypress Hill, Xolo Maridueña, Fabrizio Guido, producer and singer Empress Of, among others. Think of it as the cultural conversation that major American media rarely makes room for — a space where Latinos get to talk, unfiltered, about what they create and who they are. Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro. New episodes every week — available on YouTube and all major podcasts.