Slideshow: La Vida Lowrider

The word lowrider is used to describe a vehicle that is customized, primarily to be low to the ground.


While enthusiasts in Española, New Mexico claim that the phenomenon began there, Chicano lowriders in Los Angeles maintain it started here, with the pachuco zoot culture of the 1940s and that it accelerated in popularity after WWII, with the rise of the automotive industry in Los Angeles. 


Lowrider history

In 1958, Ron Aguirre, a Chicano from Los Angeles, installed the first hydraulic system in a 1957 Chevrolet Corvette. These parts were a valuable asset to the lowriders because they could ride as low as they wanted on the boulevard, then return their cars to a legal ground clearance with the flip of a switch if they saw the police.


Gypsy Rose

The next car is the historic Gypsy Rose. A 1964 Chevy Impala and its owner is Jesse Valadez of the Imperials Car Club. Gypsy Rose first achieved national attention in 1974 when it was shown cruising down Whittier Blvd during the opening credits of "Chico and the Man," the television situation comedy starring the late Latino comedian Freddie Prinze. As Jesse remarks: "It's one of the most well-known lowriders and anybody that knows lowriders knows about it."

El Chavez Ravine Truck

The first car that we're looking at is El Chavez Ravine Truck. It's a 1953 Chevy truck that was commissioned by the musician Ry Cooder and was customized by the oldest lowrider car club in Los Angeles, the Dukes car club.


Where Dodger Stadium now sits, Chavez Ravine was actually a neighborhood that was populated by Mexican immigrants, Italians, Chinese, and even one African-American family. The residents had to leave against their will in order to make way for private development.


Dodger Stadium opened up in 1962 and although it has since been embraced by the Chicano and Latino community, many consider the Chavez Ravine story an important reminder of how Chicanos in Los Angeles have struggled for a place of their own in the city. 


The Passion

This next lowrider is a 1988 Volkswagen Jetta called The Passion. It belongs to Amor Barute. It was customized by the De Alba family of Montclair, California, and the car belongs to the Elite Car Club.


Amor wanted religious images on the car and the movie The Passion of the Christ had just premiered, so murals by Saul Elias include Jesus, Pope John Paul II, the Virgin Mary and bible pages. 


The Passion took a total of seven years to complete and according to Greg De Alba, "It represents a generation of lowriding that is rare to see today."


Mr. Cartoon Ice Cream Truck


The next lowrider belongs to an important Los Angeles artist, Mister Cartoon. 


After stripping the truck down to the metal and applying the candy tangerine paint, Cartoon patiently freehanded the detailed murals.


"When you do murals on most lowriders, a good muralist is thinking of keeping the car classy by not putting too much mural work on it," said Mister Cartoon. "This was different. The more murals, the better," he added.


The murals on the ice cream truck are inspired by Cartoon's childhood in San Pedro. 


Cartoon likes to feature urban clowns in his art because, as he says, "Many homeboys, they may appear happy on the outside, but they actually carry a lot of pain inside. 


Dressed to Kill

The next lowrider is a 1971 Buick Riviera, entitled Dressed to Kill. The owner is Joe Rey of the Lifestyle Car Club.


This Riviera is another legendary creation from Joe Rey, whose other famous car, Las Vegas, was also featured in Arte & Estilo at the Petersen Automotive Museum in 2000.


Dressed to Kill has been featured several times in Lowrider magazine and made its Hollywood screen debut in Corvette Summer in 1978. 


Lowrider bikes

According to Lowrider Bicycle magazine, the first lowrider bike was a Schwinn Stingray customized by George Baris for the 1960s television show "The Munsters."

This lowrider bike is entitled Dodger's Finest and its owner is Joe Amezcua from the Classified Bike Club. 


Two and half years in the making, the bike is actually two 1967 Schwinn Stingrays chopped and formed into a tandem, or two-seater “trike.”