[Low rider car and bicycle]
Lauren Pacheco (interview): “The lowriding movement is really a cultural expression that has its origin and roots in the Mexican-American Chicano community, and it’s a marvel of mechanical innovation. It is the beautiful art or artistry and the creative practice of muralism and storytelling and upholstery. And it’s really a, you know, no pun intended, a vehicle for uplifting a cultural identity.”
[Lauren Pacheco, co-founder of Slow and Low Chicago Lowrider festival looking through picture book]
[Daniel Marquez, USO Car club member on his lowrider bicycle next to dad’s lowrider]
[Luis Martinez, USO Car club member, wiping down his lowrider bicycle]
Luis Martinez (interview): ” It just starts with some metal. They’re just metal tubes. And to me, it’s it’s my way to expressing my art and what I can do with my own hands.”
[Luis Martinez, USO Car club member, wiping down his lowrider bicycle]
Luis Martinez (interview): “To me, the bike is basically like where all the young ones start. A lot of people start with the bikes, then eventually they move on to cars.”
[Luis Martinez’s lowrider bicycle spinning on turntable]
Luis Martinez (interview): “This one is original from original lowrider from 2003, is when I got it. At that time they there were just built out of magazines.”
[Details of Luis Martinez’s lowrider bicycle]
Luis Martinez (interview): “I did a lot of work to this. So it makes me proud to see people, you know, saying, hey, this is a really nice bike or like to me show off my work that I’ve done.”
[Luis Martinez, USO Car club member, wiping down his lowrider bicycle]
Lauren Pacheco (interview): “I think what’s really fascinating about the ways in which expression is sort of presented through the cars and the motorcycles and bicycles is, you know, the sort of touch points that individuals have with Americanism, right? Being an American.”
[Daniel Marquez playing with this dad’s lowrider car]
Daniel Marquez (interview): “We would either go on a cruise with my uncle, or we would go to actual car shows. And my mom would be there, I would be back there all squished with my legs.”
[Daniel Marquez showing a picture of him and his dad]
[Daniel Marquez and dad next to bicycle]
Lauren Pacheco (interview): “What I find the most fascinating and sort of lovely part of the lowrider movement is how sort of family oriented the community is, right? And so in many respects it’s this sort of generational sort of passing down, right. Either sort of the ideology of it, or an actual object, a car or a plaque. And that is really, in my opinion, the most sort of precious part of this creative practice.”
[Daniel Marquez with his lowrider bicycle]
Lauren Pacheco (interview): “The lowrider movement has allowed the Mexican-American community, the Chicano community, to really find a position in and an American story and an American history.”
[Lauren Pacheco looking through picture book]
This script was provided by The Associated Press.