admin “They say that (lowriders) are gangsters; that we’re drug dealers or low-life people who have nothing else to do,” Alejandro “Chino” Vega, the owner of CL Customs, an automotive customization shop in the San Fernando Valley, tells Somos. But as a 40-year lowriding veteran, Vega says that’s never been the culture’s ethos. Instead, he says, lowriders tend to cruise the streets safely and put on events for their community. It’s camaraderie, not criminal activity, that guarantees them respect. And Vega would know. In the short time I’m with him, a dozen people waved, gave a nod, or down-right stopped him in his tracks to say hello.
Lowrider Culture Redefines & Reclaims Chicano Luxury
