Putting Community First in the LA Lowrider Game
In First Class (So Califas Chapter), the car club that Bouncer and his tribe (this includes blood relations and persons living in his neighborhood) belong to, American cars like the Chevy Impala and Cadillacs are customized into low-slung, gleaming cruisers. The hydraulics that send the cars into vertical syncopations, a nod to what came before but also a promise of continuity linking present to the past, mesmerize the viewer. Although lowrider culture has existed for a long time, it is but one of the facets of a Chicano history that includes recurring struggles for social justice, equal access to education and promoting traditions through dance, music and lore.
There’s all kinds of car clubs, we all unite as one. We get together, you want a plate, help yourself. We don’t play that shit. Unity.
