San Antonio International Airport last week unveiled an exhibition showcasing cars, bikes and memorabilia that highlight the creativity and artistry of the city’s long-standing lowrider culture.
“Cruising into History — A Celebration of Lowriders in San Antonio,” curated to honor Hispanic Heritage Month, is on view through Oct. 25 in the airport’s Terminal B.
The items on loan to the airport come from local lowrider clubs. The autos on display are adorned with vibrant, candy-colored paint, striking geometric patterns and cultural symbols. The bikes are similarly eye-catching, and some even feature homages to deceased family members.
“When you come to this airport, you are going to know that we have a majority of Latinos in this city, and I think that’s something to celebrate,” civil rights activist and educator Rosie Castro said during a ceremony launching the exhibit.
“[The bright colors] that’s part of our culture too,” added Castro, the mother of San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro and former San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro. “All the colors, the vibrance, it shows the excitement within us.”
Lowrider culture revved as the postwar boom in American auto manufacturing led to a growing secondhand car market, according to Denise Sandoval, a professor of Chicana and Chicano studies at California State University, Northridge. Sandoval discussed the origins of the moment in the 2012 short film “A Rolling Canvas.”
The culture arose in the Southwest and Southern California, a symbol of Latino cultural identity. Mexican Americans were part of a growing middle class, and thanks to higher educational attainment from the G.I. Bill, many had additional income to pump into transforming secondhand cars into rolling works of art and self-expression, according to lowrider historians.
Later, African American car enthusiasts adopted the lifestyle, and low-and-slow cars became intertwined with the West Coast’s hip-hop culture.
‘We beautify everything’
Early adopters of the culture saw the transformation of used muscle cars as an opportunity to leave a Mexican American stamp on one of the definitive American-made products.
The culture also grew alongside the rise of the Chicano movement. Car enthusiasts spoke to their own experiences by creating unique paint jobs and using symbology that represented Latino culture, from Aztec imagery to motifs representing day-to-day neighborhood life.
“In our culture, one thing we have learned to do, we never waste anything. We don’t throw away anything,” Castro said. “We make it beautiful. We beautify everything.”
Following a record-breaking summer, the airport expects nearly a million visitors to pass by the exhibit. And that’s good news for curator and lowrider advocate Clint Westwood, who worries the culture has been undervalued due to its connection with the Mexican American community.
“It’s about time our culture is being highlighted and being put on a stage like this,” he said at the opening.
While the artistry of the cars is front and center, Joe De La Rosa, owner of a 1959 Chevy Impala, one of three cars displayed in Terminal B, said he wants people to understand that lowrider culture is also a family experience.
“I think that one part of the story that does not get told is that cruising is a pastime,” said De La Rosa, a member of the Lonestar Lowriders club. “It is an experience that a family can do together that is not expensive. It’s something that we enjoyed together.”
Family affair
For Arturo DeHoyos, owner of a 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme on display, cruising is akin to a day at the spa.
“A lot of people go to spas and stuff like that to relax, things like that, you know, get ready for the next week … but for us, it’s just about getting in the car,” he said. “No schedule, no nothing, just relax and [cruise].”
DeHoyos’ plum-colored Cutlass features detailing and fixtures that wouldn’t look out of place inside a Venetian chapel. Each layer of paint and detail represents DeHoyos’ individuality.
On the car’s trunk is a striking mural of famed Mexican ranchera singer Vicente Fernández.
The portrait isn’t just a tribute to the singer’s music but to the memories his music brings back for DeHoyos. DeHoyos said Fernández’s music evokes times spent with his family, including uncles, his father and his grandfather.
DeHoyos hopes the car stays in his family and is passed down to future generations. He also wants each to add its own flair, keeping the vehicle alive as an evolving piece of art and representation.
“I am still in awe,” he said. “I am just thinking about growing up as a little kid, playing with the model cars [to having one] of my own.”
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This article appears in Oct 4-17, 2023.