Cheech Marin Talks About “Born in East L.A.,” 25 Years Later

NBC Latino asked Cheech Marin about Born in East LA twenty years after its release.  The film was written, directed and starred Cheech shortly after his breakup from Tommy Chong.

After Still Smokin', Cheech Marin realized that the drug movie genre was getting old.  He wanted to make a non-drug-oriented film.  This was when Born in East LA was created.  It was a low-budget film, but generated 18 mill at the box office.

“I was sitting at my kitchen table, reading the LA Times — [an American] kid was caught in an immigration raid, and he was mistakenly sent to Mexico, and at the same time, ‘Born in USA’ came on the radio.”

 He says it was the success of the song, Born in East LA which made his movie being picked up by Universal Pictures a little easier.   His all-time favorite scene though was the “wass sappening boys,” where he has to teach non-Mexican immigrants English so they can fit in when they reach Los Angeles.