Born in East L.A. is a 1987 American comedy film written and directed by Cheech Marin in his feature film directorial debut, who also starred in the film. It co-stars Paul Rodriguez, Daniel Stern, Kamala Lopez, Jan-Michael Vincent, Lupe Ontiveros and Jason Scott Lee in his first feature film debut. The film is based on his song of the same name, released as a 1985 single by Cheech & Chong. The film focuses on Rudy Robles, a Mexican-American from East Los Angeles who is mistaken for an illegal alien and deported. Born in East L.A. marked Marin's first solo film, without the involvement of his comedy partner, Tommy Chong, at the insistence of executive Frank Price, who was fired between greenlighting and production due to the failure of Howard the Duck. Born in East L.A. was ultimately a financial success, and bolstered Marin's reputation in the Latino community, winning several awards at the Havana Film Festival. Plot Rudy Robles (Cheech Marin) is told by his mother to pick up his cousin Javier (Paul Rodriguez) at a factory in Downtown Los Angeles before she and his sister leave for Fresno. Robles arrives shortly before immigration officials raid the factory looking for illegal immigrants. Because he is carrying no identification, and his mother and sister are not available to verify he is a US citizen, Robles is deported with the undocumented immigrants to Mexico. Robles cannot speak more than very simple Spanglish, though he is fluent in German from having served in Germany in the United States Army. In Tijuana, Robles becomes friends with a guy named Jimmy (Daniel Stern) and a waitress named Dolores (Kamala Lopez-Dawson). Unable to contact his mother, Robles makes repeated attempts to cross the border, all ending in failure. Jimmy offers to get him back home for a price. Having left home without his wallet, Robles works for Jimmy as doorman at a strip club, earning extra money selling oranges and teaching five would be illegal immigrants, two Nahuatl natives (Del Zamora and Sal López) and three Asians (Jason Scott Lee, Ted Lin and Jee Teo), to walk and talk like East Los Angeles natives. They become called the "Waas Sappening Boys" or "What's Happening Boys". Robles falls in love with Dolores and finally raises the money needed to be smuggled across the border. He goes on a date with Dolores and the next day, Robles bids