Get Low At Cal State Northridge Lowrider Car Show Next Saturday

Cal State Northridge is hosting their first lowrider show this weekend, the culmination of a lowrider exhibit that’s been on display at the university library.

Denise Sandoval is a professor at the Chicana/o Studies department. She curated the exhibit, called The Politics of Low and Slow, which opened in September 2022.

Sandoval has researched and engaged in lowrider culture for the past 20 years and she’s curated other lowrider exhibits before, like at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles and the Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh, in North Carolina.

The Politics of Low and Slow on display at Cal State Northridge's University Library.

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Courtesy of California State University, Northridge

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For the CSUN’s University Library website, Sandoval described the culture of lowriding as instrumental to understanding Chicana/o/x history.

History of lowriders in the San Fernando Valley

“When you look at the history of lowrider culture in L.A. like back in the day in the '70s, lowrider car clubs would have car shows on university campuses, like MECHA would have car shows here at CSUN," Sandoval told LAist, referring to El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, a student organization.

Cal State Northridge would host car shows and even Chicano music concerts on Devonshire Downs, a separate piece of land owned by the university.

Lowriding culture has been part of the eastern Valley’s history that dates back to post-World War II. You can find lowriders cruising along Laurel Canyon or even Van Nuys Boulevard. The art of adding advanced hydraulics, pimping out the interior, and doing a paint job to a classic car has spanned decades. Not even the COVID-19 pandemic can stop cruisers from rolling along Van Nuys Boulevard. 

Some lowrider vehicles are illegal in California, and many cities have banned cruising. There’s currently a proposal from California lawmakers to end lowrider restrictions on vehicles and end limits on cruising on the streets.

“We're sort of moving away from some of the negative stereotypes that lowriding had in the past," Sandoval said, "and we're also on the cusp right now of the state, you know, striking down the cruising ordinance that's in existence, right? So I feel like there's a lot of exciting things happening."

A new tradition

Sandoval hopes that this will be the first of an annual lowrider car show at CSUN.

For Sandoval, lowriding is more than a reason to bring the community together, but to “celebrate our presence in the San Fernando Valley, our presence in the greater Los Angeles area.” Cal State Northridge’s Chicana/o studies department will be celebrating its 55th anniversary next year.

“We have also played a very important role in not just educating Chicanos, but everybody about Mexican American history," Sandoval said.

And even the lowrider culture is changing with more women starting their own car clubs.

Sandoval will give a tour of the exhibit that features flyers from car clubs, artwork, photos, covers of Lowrider Magazine, and more pieces of lowrider history.