(This is the final of a Four Part series)

By Sherehe Hollins

Part 4

    The lowrider lifestyle revolves around the love of a unique style of building and restoring cars into eye-catching masterpieces of moving art. Each month lowriders can be seen stopping traffic and making heads turn from the South Bay to North County, in route to community gatherings club barbeques, car shows, or simply cruising the streets, bajito y suavecito. Regardless of the motive, lowriding is vital to San Diego because it is a vehicle through which diverse communities come together for a common good.

    On the last Sunday of every month car enthusiasts and lowriders gather at Luzita’s taco shop on J Street in Chula Vista to show their rides and enjoy the laid-back family-style atmosphere. Complete with a DJ spinning oldies, and Luzita’s serving up Sunday morning menudo. The gathering, initiated in 2002 by Magic 92.5’s radio personality Xavier the X Man, is just one of many events that unifies lowriders throughout San Diego.

    During the 13th annual Viejitos Picnic at Dennis V. Allen Park, club members invited diverse clubs to showcase their rides and share in their mission to spread peace and unity, promote family values, and community involvement through lowriding. Viejitos members welcomed all styles of rides from Classics, Bombs, Customs, to Euros; and in traditional style cooked up and served carne asade, arroz y frijoles to attendees.

    Rigo Reyes of Amigos car club says, “Community service is a part of who we are because we are a part of our community.” Their tireless efforts do not go unnoticed. Community members call upon lowriders regularly for help with benefits and fundraisers. The X-Man insists that San Diego’s lowrider community is like “one big family”. 

    Although, each club has its own niche and differing perspectives, what keeps them unified is their shared passion for lowriding, and love for using their passion to help strengthen their neighborhoods. As a respected figure in the public eye the X-Man has been able to use his status and radio shows to call upon San Diegans to support the numerous activities that lowriders are involved in. 

    Whether organizing car shows as a fundraiser for local schools, coordinating toy drives throughout the County, or donating proceeds to the Emilio Nares foundation (which provides a network of support for kids with cancer) the lowriders involvement in community service serves as a reminder that lowriding is more than flashy beautiful cars, crafted with creative vision and masterful handy work; their dedication and support for various causes is a driving force behind educating, empowering, and unifying the San Diego community at large.

    For the past 8 years the X-Man’s Cruise for the Cause car show has attracted thousands of community members for one goal, to get people registered on the national bone marrow registry. Cruise for the Cause raises awareness around important health concerns such as the under representation of African Americans and Latinos on the registry. This is an alarming fact considering that a successful bone marrow donor is most often found within one’s own ethnic group. 

    Cruise for the Cause is important because it encourages others to give the gift of life. This year Cruise for the Cause will take place at Otay Ranch Town Center in Chula Vista on August 14th from 10am-3pm. Cruise for the Cause and the many community service activities that lowriders participate in provides a positive role model for younger generations.  Rigo says, “lowriding is important to the San Diego community because little kids in our neighborhoods look up to us and see lowriding as an alternative to the reality of our barrios. For many of us, lowriding allowed us to focus our attention on something more positive.”

    Rigo believes that for many youth their love for lowriding begins with the introduction to the lowrider bike. This holds true for the X-Man, who has always been involved in low-riding, whether building low-rider bikes at nine years old, helping neighbors clean their Bombs, or Djing, emceeing and serving as a judge at lowrider car shows. The X-Man affirms that, “Lowriding is more than a hobby, it is a way of life!” Rigo believes, “The lowrider culture is both a legitimate art and lifestyle”, and is hopeful that new school lowriders will preserve old school traditions, and carry on the legacy of lowriding for generations to come.

PHOTOS THAT WERE NOT PUBLISHED IN THE PRINT EDITION OF LA PRENSA SD.