Low & Slow: Lowrider Culture On The Border

Low & Slow: Lowrider Culture On The Border

In El Paso, Texas or Chuco, Tejas, the Lowrider is more than a weekend hobby. Lowriding is a way of life. It is not subculture to the Mexican American experience but part of a complex form of lived history and visual culture. It is a unique iteration of a deeply rooted tradition in auto-mobility. In El Paso, the lowrider could trace its earliest roots to the 1940s, most notably after the Second World War. Arguably, the trend originated in California and made its way to Texas. With the resurgence of full-scale car production after the war, affordable vehicles allowed the working class to access their own ranflas. By the 1970’s, lowriding was a well-known past time representative of a unique brand of “Americanness.” Lowriders were also part of a larger expression that included pachucos/pachucas with their zoot suit styling and cruising. This included an affinity for listening to “oldies.’’ The lowrider lifestyle with all its panache and florid expression is also a form of self-determination in the American visual landscape: a belief that Mexican-Americans resist mainstream aesthetics in favor of their own canon. In other words, to ride on one’s own terms, low & slow with ‘stilo. Low and Slow: Lowrider Culture on the Border has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Area: Central / Downtown

Source: El Paso Museum of History

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History

Comments

Add a comment
Thank you for your comment

Report this entry

Choose the most important reason for this report

Your name

Your email address

Optional detail

Thank you for your report

More from the same community-collection

Civic Center, El Paso, Texas in 2002

The colorful cylinders in the picture were part of the civic ...

Insights Science Museum in 2008

This picture from 2008 features the Insights Science Museum. ...

Light Fixtures Outside the Chavez Theater

This picture from 2008 shows the light fixtures which were ...

Chavez Theater with Palm Tree

This photograph shows the Abraham Chavez Theater, taken from ...

Chavez Theater at Night

This picture shows the Abraham Chavez Theater (El Paso, Texas) ...

City Scape with Old City Hall - 2012

This photograph from 2012 shows parts of El Paso's city scape ...

Close-up View of Old City Hall

This picture from the Thanksgiving Day in 2008 shows the old ...

Close-up View Chavez Theater

This picture was taken in 2008. It shows the uniquely designed ...

Chavez Theater in 2008 - El Paso, Texas

The image shows the Abraham Chavez Theater in 2008. It is ...

City Scape with Chavez Theater

This photograph from 2011 was taken from the top of a parking ...

El Paso Museum of History

The picture shows the El Paso Museum of History, which opened on ...

El Paso Museum of History

The picture shows the El Paso Museum of History, which opened on ...

Coach

This coach was exhibited in the Museum of History.

Carriage

The carriage was exhibited in the Museum of History.

Chalk Works during Chalk the Block 2010

This picture shows several chalk works made during the Chalk the ...

Winner at Chalk the Block 2010

This picture shows the work of Laura Mena, the 1st Place Winner ...

"Rex Awakes" during Chalk the Block

This chalk painting was called "Rex Awakes" and presented by Bob ...

Artists during Chalk the Block 2011

Two artists are working on a picture made from chalk during the ...

Painters durante Chalk the Block 2009

On this fotograph one can see painters during the Chalk the ...

Large Ballons during Chalk the Block 2009

These large balloons have fotographs of different people and ...

Ice Cream Scone during Chalk the Block 2009

This ice cream cone is being drawn by Reginald Armstrong during ...

"Warmth, Giant Black Toobs" at Chalk the Block 2009

This balloon design called "Warmth, Giant Black Toobs" was ...

"Pink Tethertwin" at Chalk the Block 2009

This picture shows "Pink Thethertwin", a giant balloon sculpture ...

home.search_collection