鈥楲ow and slow鈥�: Latino lowriders cruise for community
| Los Angeles
When agitators tried to loot the Nike store and surrounding shops on Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles last year, Juan Ramirez and his fellow lowriders stood guard.
The Los Angeles Lowrider Community (LALC) wasn鈥檛 about to let the shop owners along the famous boulevard where they cruise bear the rage of people taking advantage of the unrest following George Floyd鈥檚 death. 鈥淲e weren鈥檛 having that [looting],鈥� says Mr. Ramirez.
He never questioned that the LALC members would answer his call to protect the neighborhood. Community is a key part of lowrider culture. And Whittier Boulevard is more than a famous boulevard where they cruise. It is the backbone of that community.
Why We Wrote This
It鈥檚 a part of car culture in California that鈥檚 not well understood. Lowriders promote respect for the values of 鈥渓a familia鈥� and community as well as take pride in their cars.
鈥淎 lot of these businesses were working real hard, trying to recover from the pandemic,鈥� says Mr. Ramirez. In appreciation, the shop owners responded in kind: 鈥淭he community started feeding us,鈥� he says 鈥� seafood, pizza, and tacos to nourish them as they stood watch. This reciprocation illustrates the symbiotic relationship between LA lowriders and their neighborhoods 鈥� a relationship that has spanned decades.
Born in Boyle Heights and raised in South Los Angeles, Mr. Ramirez spends his days working as a welder and his nights cruising Whittier Boulevard with his wife and three kids. He drives a long, white, and spotless 1970 Cadillac Coupe deVille named Sugar.
鈥淢y kids joke about stealing the car when I鈥檓 sleeping,鈥� Mr. Ramirez shares, while laughing, because their taunts indicate they recognize the significance of their dad鈥檚 car, the significance of any lowrider鈥檚 car.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e driving on artwork, so you want to be delicate,鈥� stresses Johnny Torres, an influential member of LALC who sports a baby blue 鈥�54 Chevy. Mr. Ramirez agrees.
More than tricked-out cars
From the first time, as a little boy, that Mr. Ramirez sat in a lowrider, a family friend鈥檚 鈥�64 Chevy Impala, he quickly learned that 鈥済etting into a nice car 鈥� you had to be very proper.鈥� It鈥檚 a lesson he instills in his kids, ages 5, 8, and 15.
Respect 鈥� for property and for others 鈥� is a central tenet in the lowrider community. It鈥檚 one of the reasons why in October 2019, Mr. Ramirez, president of Just Memories Car Club, joined with Mark Wilson, president of First Class Car Club, and Sergio Perez, president of Thee Illusions Car Club, to start the Los Angeles Lowrider Community 鈥� an association of lowrider car clubs in Los Angeles and adjacent cities.
After they learned that some of the men who attended the lowriding events were listed as sex offenders on the Megan鈥檚 Law website for California, Messrs. Ramirez, Wilson, and Perez assembled the local car clubs to gauge who was there to help the community and who might be there to harm it. LALC member clubs came to an agreement: 鈥淚f you鈥檙e on that list, you can鈥檛 be around us,鈥� Mr. Ramirez says. For LALC members, lowriding isn鈥檛 just a commitment to a tricked out car; it鈥檚 a commitment to the well-being of the community.
Lowriders and Chicano history
鈥淎 true lowrider rides from the heart. It鈥檚 about family, respect, and community,鈥� says Denise Sandoval, professor of Chicana and Chicano studies at California State University, Northridge. Dr. Sandoval, who curated two exhibitions about lowrider culture for the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, seeks to document riders鈥� history and commitment to their communities. 聽
A desire to educate the broader culture about the lowrider community and Chicano culture is partly what prompted LALC member Edward Villa of La Puente, California, to host car shows for his city. Mr. Villa, president of the Veteranos Car Club, has hosted car shows for 15 years. He approached the city a few years ago because he wanted to bring Latino heritage to the city鈥檚 car show,聽 which featured hot rods and other classic cars, but few lowriders.
The shows he helped to curate ballooned from about 40 cars into one that now showcases hundreds of cars. On Halloween, 200 cars arrived for the city of Montebello鈥檚 Trunk n鈥� Treat. LALC served on the planning committee for the event, which was organized by the National Latino Peace Officers Association and the mayor pro tem of Montebello, Kimberly Ann Cobos-Cawthorne. Costumed kids and their families drove through the parking lot at the Shops at Montebello to receive candy and to view lowriders鈥� cars, which were decorated for the occasion.
Mr. Villa鈥檚 and other members鈥� altruism is motivated by their commitment to la comunidad and a desire to dispel myths about lowriders: 鈥淚 want the different cities to realize that we鈥檙e positive. We鈥檙e just trying to bring the love for the cars,鈥� Mr. Villa says. 鈥淲e just want to show that we have a lot of love for our community.鈥�
A history of social justice
Dr. Sandoval notes that community activism within the lowrider culture dates back to the 1960s. She says that during the civil rights movement, 鈥渓owriders were empowered to take pride in their community, fighting for social justice and using their culture not just to represent positivity, but to give back.鈥�
She credits the Dukes 鈥� LA鈥檚 oldest car club, which started in 1962 鈥� for being the first car club to embrace community activism; members organized car shows that benefited Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers movement to improve the conditions of agricultural workers.
Dr. Sandoval laments that so much of this history is unknown. She says lowriding emerged from the hot rod culture established in the 鈥�30s and 鈥�40s in Southern California. While 鈥渉ot-rodders鈥� preferred to ride fast and furiously, lowriders 鈥� who emerged shortly after 鈥� preferred to drive 鈥渓ow and slow,鈥� so they could be seen sporting nice cars and brown skin. It was important to be seen representing their families and neighborhoods.
The low and slow culture represents cultural pride: I鈥檓 proud of my car. I鈥檓 proud of my community.
This pride is on display most weekends, as unofficial cultural parades roll through Whittier Boulevard 鈥� not to mention the numerous neighborhoods throughout greater Los Angeles. It鈥檚 quite the spot: The boulevard provides the venue, the neighborhood provides the crowd, the cars and their drivers are the main attractions, and the shop owners and street vendors cater to them all. Marco Antonio Villalobos, whose East Los Boy Apparel shop is a community staple and popular tourist spot, says that celebrities often come by to check out the scene. 鈥淢ario Lopez is always here!鈥� he brags.
LALC鈥檚 goal is to continue to host events that highlight and enhance the larger community. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to stop,鈥� Johnny Torres says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to take this culture into schools, into museums, into the mainstream.鈥�
Mr. Ramirez hopes his children preserve the lowriding lifestyle and tradition when they鈥檙e old enough to drive. For him, it鈥檚 all about la familia: 鈥淸Lowriding] is the only thing I can do to show my kids I was doing something good 鈥� a small little legacy I can give them.鈥�
