| | |  Entertainment | July 2008 
Cruising Through Lowrider Lore
 Marcel Guerra - MÁS
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| | The history behind the vintage car culture & commitment steers followers to keep the pride alive. | | |
Harvey Reyes was only 16 years old when he fixed up his first car, a maroon 1964 Super Sport Impala on 14-inch Cragars that rode low, thanks to a boulder in the trunk.
The 55-year-old counselor at the Bakersfield Adult School has since replaced his lowrider with many others, his main ride, now, being a 1998 Chevy Silverado lowered on cut suspension coils and 17-inch Daytons.
Over the years, what started out as a hobby for Reyes has evolved into a cultural pride and commitment.
He is not alone.
While the lowrider may have been born way back during the Zoot Suit and pachuco era of the 1940s and 1950s in East Los Angeles, it continues to cruise forward with many fans, from young teens and their papás to working professional esposos with niños ready to jump in the ride.
Bakersfield is no exception. In fact, many feel its presence as the Lowrider Nationals rolls into town Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Kern County Fairgrounds.
“I think a lot of Hispanics or Latinos can identify themselves with the lowrider,” said Reyes, a husband of 31 years and a father of three children who is also president of Carnales Unidos, the oldest car club in Bakersfield.
In its heyday, lowriders followed a cruising-and-partying trend.
These days, lowriding has become a form of art and a source of community involvement and family commitment, according to Gary Carmona, a shop supervisor for KW Plastics and secretary of the Aztec Image car club. Lowrider car clubs use their volunteer member base to take on community projects and fundraisers and hold family/friend barbecue gatherings.
Through having lowriders, “we do a lot of things together,” Carmona said. “Everything revolves around the family.”
How exactly the lowrider phenomenon was sparked can be told in different stories.
Some claim that lowriders came about through Mexicans and Chicanos in San Diego County back in the day.
Others say the lowrider movement started in Española, New Mexico.
If this story doesn’t sound convincing, the city even dubbed itself the “Lowrider Capital of the World” and had it broadcasted on MTV in 1993, according to Paige R. Penland, author of the book, “Lowrider: History, Pride, Culture.”
The most common story goes back to the Zoot Suit days in East L.A., pachucos, a subculture of Mexican Americans, were known to ride in stock cars from the ‘30s and ‘40s that came naturally lowered.
That led to a strong cultural identity that continued during the Chicano movement in the 1960s.
Chicanos wanted something they could pride themselves in, and they found that satisfaction through lowriders, Reyes said.
“I believe we, as Latinos, wanted to identify ourselves with our vehicles, and that’s how we got in the mix with lowriders,” he said.
The cost of commitment
But investing in a such a ride comes with a price tag.
Aflredo Arroyo, owner of Bakersfield NAPA Collision Center, said converting a car into a lowrider can vary, definitely a few thousand dollars.
For instance, the average cost to covert a newer model into a lowrider is usually around $8,000, he said. That covers the paint job, the airbags or hydraulics, rims and tires, a sound system, and an alarm.
But, to create a vintage lowrider, the prices range from $10,000 and up, he added. That’s on top of the cost of buying the classic car, whether it’s in mint condition or an old junker in need of some love.
“It all depends on what you want. You could spend 20 grand easily,” said Arroyo.
Technology and other advancements have made lowriders easier to upgrade.
For instance, back in the day, people would have to put big bags of cement, rocks and boulders in the trunk to bring the car down. Then, the suspension coils started getting cut to lower the cars, without having to have a few tons of rocks on board.
Finally, hydraulics and airbags came around.
With all the special accessories, paint job and care, it’s no wonder drivers of these lowriders only bring them out to play on the weekends or certain special occasions.
Most would agree, though, that the value of the car revolves more around the attitude and pride of the driver.
“I think it’s just in our (Chicanos’) blood,” said Arturo Quiñonez Jr., a manager at The Bakersfield Monument, a Greenlawn Mortuary & Cemetery-owned company that makes headstones, and a member of Carnales Unidos.
Quiñonez owns a candy root beer brown 1972 Monte Carlo on 13-inch LA Wires, with a 2 pump set-up (hydraulics).
Overcoming stereotypes
In the past, some people have been critical of lowriders, stereotyping the owners of them as gang bangers or trouble makers — similar to the perception pachucos endured in the ‘40s.
This couldn’t be further from the truth, said Jorge Morales, who works as a supervisor for Howard’s Garbage Service and was once active in the Carnales Unidos car club.
Lowriders have helped young guys stay out of trouble while giving them something to take pride in, he added.
One drawback for some lowrider enthusiasts has been the commercialization of lowriding.
It has become a huge part of the lowriding industry, and that can be to blame for much of the negative feedback.
As an example, through commercialization, ladies are sometimes portrayed in a more provocative light, which hadn’t been the case in the earlier lowriding days.
“Now, it’s an attraction to bring the public in. They know guys are going to the show so they bring the girls. Back in our days, girls wouldn’t dress like that,” said Reyes, referring to many girls participating in contests made for male entertainment.
“For them it’s money. For us, it’s our reputation,” Reyes said.
Despite all the increased popularity and commercialization of lowriding, local car club members have stayed true to their roots.
Through this, lowriders have become more united.
“Back in the day, there was no unity; now there is,” said Reyes.
Their priorities are set and family and community are at the top of the list.
“We do a lot of things together. Everything revolves around the family,” said Carmona.
Lowriding has developed from being just a single guy trying to attract the ladies with his car into family-based car clubs who, together, sponsor events throughout the community in hopes of helping and inspiring the youth of today.
Manuel Carrizalez, founder of Stay Focused Ministries, recently joined Carnales Unidos and was appointed to chaplain of the the car club.
He drives a slightly lowered, root beer brown 1964 Chevy Impala Super Sport.
With Stay Focused and Carnales Unidos working together, a lot more can be done in order to help the public and local youth, said Carrizalez.
“It’s thinking outside the box. We do whatever we have to do to help the community,” he added. |
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