A permanent tribute to actor, comedian, and LEAD Padrino de Honor Cheech Marin was immortalized today with a bronze statue. The bronze statue of Cheech Marin stands outside The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum.
The sculpture was commissioned to Ignacio Gomez, a well-known Chicano visual artist and muralist. Born in Boyle Heights, California in 1941, Ignacio Gomez has had a long and important career. Gomez had early success in 1978 with his painting of the character El Pachuco, which was used as the poster for the first Chicano play on Broadway, Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez.
Some of Gomez’s famous recent works include the Cesar Chavez Memorial in San Fernando, California, honoring the late Chicano labor leader and founder of the United Farm Workers. As he reflected, “I hope [the Chavez Memorial] has the same impact on the new generations that Cesar had on us and that they learn about the struggles he fought for.”
Gomez also designed the statues for Mendez Tribute Monument Park in Westminster, CA, which opened in 2022. The monument commemorates the landmark Mendez v. Westminster civil rights case of 1947 about school segregation.
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Read THE SUN: https://www.sbsun.com/2024/11/19/cheech-marin-statue-now-greets-visitors-outside-riverside-museum/
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