Cheech Marin

“Our first gig was a battle of the bands. We did 45 minutes of comedy and never played a note - and we won!”

“My marriage was breaking up, and my marriage with Chong was breaking up. I had to come back and kind of start on my own again.”

“If there is one phrase or action that every person on the planet would like to erase from his or her memory or have the chance to undo, it would be, 'Let's do it again.'”

“It is surprising how many professional athletes, along with their families and friends, are gaga over movie and music stars, and the reverse is true with entertainers and sports stars.”

“Being a Chicano in Hollywood, my experience is that you're not given credit for any sophistication... You're just kind of some guy that just crossed the border, you know, on the back of a truck and that's it.”

“I guess what really made me a Dodgers fan from the beginning was that the team had Jackie Robinson, the first 'Negro' in the major leagues.”

“Yeah, I'm the go-to guy for Mexican priests.”

“Being a third-generation Mexican-American and speaking English exclusively, I heard Spanish spoken by my relatives all my life, especially when they didn't want me to understand what they were talking about.”

“Just about every Latin American country has sent players to the big leagues, from the Dominican Republic to Costa Rica.”

“Mexicans are quasi-legal.”

“It always trips me out that America, the most powerful and magnificent nation in the history of the world, whose might was built by immigrants from all over the world, only speaks one language.”

“I grew up half in South Central and half in the San Fernando valley.”

“Chicanos and running water are endlessly fascinating. I can watch them all day.”

“I always wanted to work with Betty White, because she is one of my heroes of all time, and I just love her.”

“I was interested in a lot of subjects from very early on. And that's uniquely Chicano because every Chicano I knew always had three jobs.”

“I've always wanted to be able to say that I come from Los Angeles, California and feel quintessentially American - even if I said that in Spanish.”

“For the most part, people are proud of the place from which they come.”

“I was part of the draft resistance movement in LA where we did demonstrations at the draft centre and burned our cards and made a lot of trouble on campus.”