By ANGEL LEON and NATALIE LOPEZ

Orangewood High School students visited the Cheech Center of Chicano Art and Culture in Riverside on Feb. 1. The Cheech, which is part of the Riverside Art Museum, contains the art collection of actor and art collector Cheech Marin. It is the largest Chicano art collection in the world.

The trip was open to Orangewood students who attended three lunch meetings to learn about Chicano art. The field trip was free for students because it was funded by a grant from the Redlands Educational Partnership.

Orangewood senior Joceline Mata says that her favorite art piece was “the cactus art sculpture because it shows pride in your culture.”

The theme of the entire field trip was Chicano art and culture. Students who attended also got lunch at the Tamale Factory and a black and white disposable camera to create their own photo art. They visited the Cesar Chavez Memorial statue and created their own art listening to Latino music in the museum.

Orangewood High School students stand in front of the Cesar Chavez memorial statue in downtown Riverside on Feb. 1, 2023.

The tour included Luis Garzas black and white photo exhibit called “The Other Side of Memory.” Each student who attended the field trip got a free black and white disposable camera in honor of this exhibit to inspire them to create their own art from black and white photography too.

Museum tour guide Alexa Vasquez leads students through the Cheech Center of Chicano Art and Culture and the Riverside Art Museum.

Lunch at the Tamale Factory in downtown Riverside included many Mexican food options and Mexican cookies for dessert.

The last part of the tour was a talk about art and time to create art.