Marin\'s trademark is his characters\' strong Chicano accents.[citation needed]\n', '

Marin was born in Los Angeles, California, to Mexican American parents, Oscar Marin, a policeman in the LAPD, and his wife Elsa (Meza), a secretary. Marin was born with a cleft lip, which was repaired. He speaks some Spanish and uses it in his movies, but he is not fluent.\n', '

Marin\'s nickname "Cheech" is short for "chicharron", a fried pork skin that is a popular snack and an ingredient in Mexican cuisine. In a 2017 NPR interview, Marin attributed the nickname to his uncle: "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?"\n', '

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