{"id":73595,"date":"2025-06-18T11:50:41","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T18:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=73595"},"modified":"2025-06-18T11:50:41","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T18:50:41","slug":"art-as-resistance-community-culture-and-defiance-at-the-cheech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=73595","title":{"rendered":"Art as Resistance: Community, Culture, and Defiance at The Cheech"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By<\/span>Roxsy Lin<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The art inside The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture doesn\u2019t just speak\u2014it shouts, weeps, and dreams. It reminds us that culture is not a luxury, but a necessity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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On Sunday, June 15, The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in downtown Riverside celebrated its third anniversary with the unveiling of \u201cCheech Collects IV.\u201d (Credit: Roxsy Lin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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On Sunday, June 15,\u00a0The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture<\/a>\u00a0in downtown Riverside celebrated its third anniversary with the unveiling of \u201cCheech Collects IV,\u201d the latest iteration of its annual exhibit showcasing new acquisitions and never-before-seen works. More than just a cultural celebration, the event emerged as a powerful counterpoint to the tense political moment unfolding across the country, where a wave of immigration raids and militarized crackdowns on protests have struck fear across Latino communities.<\/p>\n

As demonstrators marched and chanted across California and beyond, The Cheech became a space of reflection, resilience, and collective affirmation\u2014a visual archive of struggle and survival. In a time when immigrant families are being torn apart, this exhibit offered a different kind of visibility: one rooted not in headlines, but in the enduring creativity and contribution of the very communities under attack.<\/p>\n

The exhibition is divided into five thematic sections, each offering a distinct lens into the depth and diversity of Chicano art.<\/p>\n

The first section spotlights the work of Wayne Alaniz Healy, the show\u2019s inaugural featured artist and one of the most respected figures of the Chicano art movement. Among the highlights is\u00a0An Afternoon in Meoqui<\/em>, a neon-colored celebration of community, where tacos, beans, and tamales anchor a vibrant neighborhood scene.<\/p>\n

Healy, cofounder of the East Los Streetscapers collective alongside David Botello, helped redefine public art in Los Angeles through socially conscious\u00a0murals<\/a>\u00a0that instilled cultural pride across communities. Botello\u2019s own work is also featured, including\u00a0Wedding Photos\u2013Hollenbeck Park<\/em>, a dreamlike composition rendered in rich hues of green and blue.<\/p>\n

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Wayne Alaniz Healy\u2019s \u201cAn Afternoon in Meoqui<\/em>.\u201d Healy is cofounder of the East Los Streetscapers collective. (Image courtesy of The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis country was made by immigrants. It is the one continuing fact of our existence in the United States; it is made and serviced and projected by immigrants,\u201d said actor and art collector Cheech Marin. His message to artists is clear: \u201cThis is your time. Make art that matters. Make art that addresses,\u201d he urged. \u201cThe Chicano art movement started as the face of the civil rights movement\u2026 They made the signs, the placards, and the backdrops and the handbills \u2026 the artists were in a way leading that first charge.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second section features contemporary Texan artists, such as\u00a0Carlos Donjuan<\/a>, whose striking piece\u00a0R-U-Ready<\/em>\u00a0presents three mysterious figures wearing animal masks, blurring the lines between playfulness and eeriness.<\/p>\n

The exhibition opened just one day after the protests that flooded the country, including Riverside, where demonstrators rallied under the banner of \u201cNo Kings Day,\u201d denouncing the Trump Administration\u2019s authoritarian policies and defending immigrant rights.<\/p>\n

Marin referenced\u00a0Frank Romero\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0\u201cThe Arrest of the Paleteros,\u201d a haunting image of a SWAT team confronting a group of ice cream vendors, as a symbol of absurd state violence against immigrants. \u201cThat was a monumental painting,\u201d he said, noting it \u201cpointed out the ridiculousness of the process they were going through. We need the artist to step up\u2026 [[to]] cause enlightenment\u2026 Chicano art is a very soulful art\u2026 it comes from the center of communities.\u201d The piece is on display in the exhibit.<\/p>\n

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Carlos Donjuan\u2019s \u201cR-U-Ready<\/em>.\u201d (Credit: Roxsy Lin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For\u00a0Margaret Garcia<\/a>, an experienced Chicana artist with several works in exhibition, the space represents a crucial act of cultural self-definition. \u201cYou are empowered when you are able to define who you are,\u201d she said. \u201cThis defines who we are. It says, this is our culture. This is our people. Not that stuff you\u2019re looking at on TV with gang members and violence and all that other stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the third section\u2014aptly named the \u201cFire Room\u201d\u2014the works explore the motif of flames, including\u00a0Three Studies of Palm Trees<\/em>\u00a0by\u00a0Perry V\u00e1squez<\/a>, evoking both environmental destruction and resilience amid California\u2019s wildfires. For many visitors, the space becomes a site of reflection.<\/p>\n

Garcia sees the museum as a cultural engine, not just for artistic visibility but for economic renewal. \u201cThis venue\u2026 has created a destination in Riverside and changed the economy of the entire city\u2026 There are restaurants making money, there are street vendors, and there is more activity. It\u2019s a celebration of life and the things that are good here in this town.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Actor and Chicano activist Cheech Marin. (Via Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

But she also recognizes the moment\u2019s gravity, indicating that what is happening politically right now is very challenging. \u201cWithout vision, people perish. It\u2019s a biblical saying\u2026 Artists are the ones that are usually on the forefront of trying to provide what that image will be\u2026 It gives us hope. We need hope right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inside the museum, hope took tangible form. Families strolled past vivid paintings and intricate installations, absorbing stories told in brushstrokes and symbolism. For many, it wasn\u2019t just a visit\u2014it was an act of resistance.<\/p>\n

One such visitor was Miriam, who brought her father, Angel, to The Cheech for the first time to celebrate Father\u2019s Day. Still processing the emotional toll of the previous day\u2019s protests in Riverside, she almost didn\u2019t come. But reclaiming joy and cultural pride felt urgent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt a little uneasy about coming today because of everything that was happening yesterday here in Downtown,\u201d she said in Spanish. \u201cBut I\u2019m also looking for moments where we can celebrate our culture. For me, it was important to bring my dad here on Father\u2019s Day to experience the art and also to see all the efforts we\u2019ve led since the Chicano Movement in the 1960s\u2026 It makes me feel proud to be in this space.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Angel, the moment was fascinating. \u201cI feel very good because it\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve visited a museum,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n

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Margaret Garcia\u2019s \u201cRed and Blue Bitch Con Maguey.\u201d (Credit: Roxsy Lin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The intergenerational symbolism was palpable: a daughter guiding her father through a living record of Chicano identity, at a time when forces outside threaten to erase or silence it. Their presence, like that of so many others, was a reminder that community is also built in the quiet, intentional choice to show up.<\/p>\n

The fourth section transitions to pastels, featuring textured, bold compositions by various artists. Among them is Margaret Garc\u00eda\u2019s\u00a0Red & Blue Bitch con Maguey<\/em>, a commanding piece presenting fierce creatures in enigmatic solitude. The collection pulses with raw emotion and layered symbolism.<\/p>\n

The final section brings the exhibit into three dimensions. Highlights include\u00a0\u00a1Mejico Mexico!<\/em>\u00a0by Frank Romero and\u00a0White House<\/em>\u00a0by\u00a0Narsiso Mart\u00ednez<\/a>, portraying a view of agricultural Riverside and a farmworker drawn inside a cardboard box for produce.<\/p>\n

Marin reflected on the evolving meaning of \u201cChicano\u201d as both a political and cultural identity. \u201cI think that the term Chicano is being very expansive in this period right now as to what that actually means. It means those Latinos who have planted their flag in this country and have been here for a long time,\u201d he said. \u201cCountries go through these periods. We shall emerge from this, because we always have.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u00a1Mejico Mexico!<\/em>\u00a0by Frank Romero. (Courtesy of The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As families, activists, and artists continue navigating one of the most precarious moments for immigrant communities in recent memory, the art inside The Cheech doesn\u2019t just speak\u2014it shouts, weeps, and dreams. It reminds us that culture is not a luxury, but a necessity. And in this fight, it may just be one of our strongest tools.<\/p>\n

The Riverside Art Museum and The Cheech are committed to accessibility by providing free, discounted, and standard admission options. Through the Museums for All program, visitors can receive $1 tickets for up to four people by presenting an ID and an EBT card at the visitor services desk.<\/p>\n

With support from the Art Bridge Foundation\u2019s Access for All initiative, the museums also offer free Summer Sundays through September 7, 2025. Tickets can be reserved\u00a0online<\/a>\u00a0or on-site.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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