See the CHEECH
Officially, it’s the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, opened in 2022 as part of the Riverside Art Museum. Less officially, the Cheech is a grito in a hushed room, a celebration and lamentation of the Mexican American experience, and it’s in downtown Riverside. The updated 1964 building, once the city’s central library, makes a good home for art, especially the unnamed kaleidoscopic 26-foothigh installation by brothers Einar and Jamex de la Torre and Frank Romero’s 8-by-12-foot canvas “The Arrest of the Paleteros” (which shows police shutting down vendors in Echo Park).
Other artists here include Carlos Almaraz, Margaret Garcia, Wayne Alaniz Healy, Judithe Hernández, Gilbert “Magú” Luján and Patssi Valdez. Just about every piece was made since 1965, and scores were collected by actor-comedian Cheech Marin, who has lent and donated them to make the center possible. Many works address simmering social issues. And with their saturated colors and thick brushstrokes, many look like they’re still wet. Adult admission is $15.95, which also gets you into the Riverside Art Museum building across the street.
BONUS TIP: Riverside has no original Franciscan missions, but it has the Mission Inn, a gargantuan Mission Revival hotel that dates to the 1870s and fills a city block, with 238 guest rooms, a spa, several restaurants, all manner of European architectural flourishes and an immensely popular winter Festival of Lights. Richard and Pat Nixon married here in 1940. Overnight stays start at $229.