San Diego Lowriders: A History of Cars and Cruising

by Alberto López Pulido & Rigoberto "Rigo" Reyes

Overview

San Diego's unique lowrider culture and community has a long history of "low and slow." Cruising the streets from 1950 to 1985, twenty-eight lowrider car clubs made their marks in the San Diego neighborhoods of Logan Heights, Sherman Heights, National City, Old Town, San Ysidro and the adjoining border community of Tijuana, Mexico. Foundational clubs, including the Latin Lowriders, Brown Image and Chicano Brothers, helped transform marginalized youth into lowriders who modified their cars into elegant, stylized lowered vehicles with a strong Chicano influence. Despite being targeted by the police in the 1980s, club members defended their passion and succeeded in building a thriving scene of competitions and shows with a tradition of customization, close community and Chicano pride. Authors Alberto López Pulido and Rigoberto "Rigo" Reyes follow the birth of lowrider culture to the present day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467137805
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	04/10/2017
Series:	American Heritage
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Alberto López Pulido is a professor of ethnic studies at the University of San Diego and coordinator of the Logan Heights Documentation Project. He has taught at Arizona State University, Brown University, the University of California at Santa Barbara, the University of Utah and Michigan State University. Alberto directed and coproduced the documentary Everything Comes from the Streets on San Diego lowrider culture. The film received first place at the Barrio Film Festival and the Remi Award at the Houston International Film Festival.

Rigoberto (Rigo) Reyes has worked for Via International for the past thirty years, where he coordinates and implements community development projects and is responsible for developing and training leadership skills to people in marginal areas of the cities of Tijuana and San Diego. Rigo has been an active lowrider since 1975. He began as a member of the Casinos Car Club and then became a founding member and former president of Amigos Car Club. He is also cofounder of the San Diego Lowrider Council, established in 1979. In 2002, he coproduced the documentary Amigos Car Club for San Diego County TV and, in 2013, coproduced the award-winning documentary Everything Comes from the Streets. Rigo is a former board member of the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park and currently serves as a board member of the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center. He is currently a professor of practice at the University of San Diego, where he is teaching a course on immigration.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 9

Introduction. Overview and Characteristics of the Lowrider Movement 13

1 Las Raíces: The Early Roots of Lowriding in San Diego, 1950-68 21

2 Clicas: Foundational Lowrider Car Clubs, 1969-71 37

3 The Affirming of Lowrider Identity in San Diego and Tijuana, 1972-74 61

4 The Old and the New: Car-Hopping, Blessings and the Legacy of Lowriding, 1975-77 82

5 Made in the USA and Women Lowrider Car Clubs, 1978-79 95

6 From the Streets to the Car Show: The End of the Foundational Lowrider Era, 1980-85 103

Conclusion. The Future of Lowriding: Taking to the Streets in a Global World 115

Glossary 119

Bibliography 121

Index 123

About the Authors 127

Editorial Reviews

"The general public is not aware that Lowriders are actually part of the history of San Diego as early as 1950. They are also unaware of how misunderstood the culture of Lowriders has been. This book is not only informative, but also provides insight into the standards and the culture of Lowriders. It also gives a clear picture of how and why Lowriders have affected the world of cars and even bicycles." San Diego Free Press


"The positive impact of lowrider culture is something I have witnessed in my own community in Southeast San Diego. Lowrider car clubs were vital to the success of the Halloween Trunk or Treat and the Holiday in the Hills events sponsored by Project REO in Paradise Hills, and are involved in countless toy drives and fundraising events throughout San Diego and Tijuana every year.

For anyone who'd like to learn more about this fascinating subculture and check out some cool cars, cruise on over to Barrio Logan for Chicano Park Day on Saturday April 22. Or, at the least, pick up a copy of San Diego Lowriders." San Diego CityBeat

From the Publisher