Latin Alliance Car Show
By ricky carrasco
2 Jul 2009
When I was a kid, an older cousin of mine used to custom paint cars as a side business. He did it well enough to have some of his client's cars in Lowrider Magazine. When his wife's stock Volvo stationwagon was not good enough, he made it a candy apple red bombshell. On a whim, he bought a beat up old BMW 4 door and turned it into a slick ride, oil black with just an obscene amount of gold flakes with matching rims, 30 years before that became de rigueur.
When my girlfriend and I were driving up to this car show, she mentioned that she was surprised that I would go to such a thing. I have never been part of the Lowrider/Gangsta culture, nerd/ teacher/ "artist" / English major that I am. Truth be told, I am a bit intimidated by the people, but I am older, wiser, bigger so I know to just mind my business. This subculture has always fascinated me because it is outlaw by nature, Mexican/Chicano in its roots, and fiercely proud.
Every one of these rolling works of art have been meticulously planned out and executed, and lovingly maintained. They're also expensive as all hell. A simple two tone paint job will run you easily $4K. By the time a full restoration, paintjob, rims, interior, sound system, hydraulic system and a thousand little details are done, $50K easily has been spent. Most of these cars and people have to abide by certain rituals and codes of appearance, conduct, and behavior. I bought a pink bandana for Jackie that she spent almost ten minutes folding it and refolding it until it hung appropriately as a "flag" from her jeans. I've never had that kind of discipline:)
Some are daily drivers, some are weekend bar hoppers, some may never see a green light, all are family to someone here and I hope to just do the cars justice.
If you know the make and model of the cars, please comment so I can change the info. A couple more pix at my deviant space.
(BTW I drive a 12 year old Malibu with coffee stains, so I'll stick with just taking pics)
1 response
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Joe Schaf gave props (4 Jul 2009):
Great Story & Pics! Gets My Yeah! Vote!
