Elsa Meza: How Did Cheech Marin’s Mother Die?

Elsa Meza is the mother of Richard Anthony “Cheech” Marin. Elsa’s son Cheech Marin is a Mexican-American comedian, actor, musician, and activist. He is part of the highly successful comedy duo Cheech & Chong. As an actor, he starred in films including Born in East L.A., which was also his directorial debut, The Shrimp on the Barbie, Tin Cup, and Once Upon a Time in Mexico.

Elsa Meza: Bio Summary

Who Was Cheech Marin’s Mother, Elsa Meza?

Elsa Meza was born on June 10, 1923, in Los Angeles, California, United States. Luis Figueroa Meza and Carmen Diaz are her parents. Much is unknown about her early life and family. She was a secretary. Elsa is said to have worked at Alemany High School from the year 1968 to the year 2002. She was a true believer in her faith and a True Blue Dodger Fan!

In 2008, Elsa Meza was inducted into the Alemany “Hall of Fame”. She was a founding Parishioner at St. John Baptist De La Salle. Elsa was the wife of Oscar Marin (1922–2015). Oscar was a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Officer and a Criminal Justice Professor. Elsa and Oscar’s children include Richard Anthony “Cheech” Marin.

Elsa Meza and Oscar Marin gave birth to Cheech Marin on July 13, 1946, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. Cheech was born with a cleft lip, which was surgically repaired. His nickname “Cheech” is derived from chicharron, a spicy fried pork skin snack. He attributed the nickname to his uncle in a 2017 interview with NPR. He said:

“Cheech is my nickname. It always has been, in my family — short for chicharrón. … You know, pork rinds. … When I came home from the hospital, I was like a couple days old or something, my uncle came over and he looked in the crib and he said [in Spanish], ‘Ay, parece un chicharrón.’ Looks like a little chicharrón, you know?”

ALSO, READ: Oscar Marin: What Happened To Cheech Marin’s Father?

Elsa Meza lived a private life. It is unknown if she and her husband Oscar Marin divorced or not. Elsa is in the spotlight because of her son Cheech Marin. Cheech is one of the most recognizable faces and voices in the entertainment industry. He is a comedian, actor, director, writer, musician, art collector, humanitarian, and activist.

Cheech Marin is best known as one-half of the comedy duo Cheech & Chong. He has appeared in several films and television series. He has voiced characters in Disney films including Oliver & Company, The Lion King, the Cars series, Coco, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua. He is an avid collector of Chicano art.

In the mid-1980s, Cheech Marin started to develop “what is now arguably the finest private collection of Chicano art,” his website says. “Much of it formed the core of his inaugural exhibition Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge, which broke attendance records during its groundbreaking 15‐city tour during 2001‐2007 to major art museums across the United States.”

Cheech Marin said, “Chicano art is American art. My goal is to bring the term ‘Chicano’ to the forefront of the art world.” Two national touring exhibitions have featured works from his private collection. He feels that it’s important to “use his celebrity status to call attention to what he saw as an under-appreciated and under-represented style of art.”

In collaboration with the city of Riverside, California, and the Riverside Art Museum, Cheech Marin established The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art, Culture & Industry, in the City of Riverside, which opened June 18, 2022. Cheech revealed during an interview that he “started educating myself in art at a very early age.”

Cheech Marin has been married three times to three different women and has three children. He married his first wife Darlene Morley (Rikki Marin), then his second wife Patti Heid before marrying his current wife Natasha Rubin. His children are Joey Marin, Jasmine Marin, and Carmen Marin.

ALSO, READ: Natasha Rubin: Inside The Life Of Cheech Marin’s Wife

How Did Cheech Marin’s Mother Die?

Elsa Meza passed away on October 19, 2010, in Woodland Hills, California, USA. She died when she was 87 years old. How she passed away is unknown. Whether she died of old age or was battling an illness that led to her death is not known. She was buried at Mission Hills, Los Angeles County, California, United States, per a source. Her husband Oscar Marin died on July 15, 2015, in Northridge, California, at age 93.