Since its start on the streets of Mexican-American neighborhoods in Southern California after World War II, lowrider culture has always had a bit of an outlaw nature — whether actual outlaws were involved or not. They were Chicano cowboys who set their own style rules when it came to cars and clothes.
Growing up in San Jose in the 1970s and ’80s, I watched with fascination as lowriders made their cars do tricks with their hydraulic-fueled suspensions as they cruised Story Road or rode in the Cinco de Mayo parade — even after the city imposed a ban on cruising in the early ’80s. So it’s been a welcome surprise to see the lowrider community go from being reviled to tolerated to downright embraced as they are today.
Visitors look over cars on display during the annual San Jose Lowrider Day at City Hall on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, in San Jose, Calif. The event commemorates San Jose’s repeal of the decades-long ban on cruising in 2022. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose will again show its lowrider love over Labor Day weekend as the annual Lowrider Day festivities take over City Hall Plaza on Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. The plaza and surrounding streets will be filled by hundreds of cars, thanks to the organization and outreach of the United Lowrider Council and City Councilmembers Peter Ortiz and Anthony Tordillos.
It should be quite a party with music from DJ Mike D from Bayology Radio, Dayna Donna, Amen and Scooby Valdez, as well as performances by Lee Oskar and Lance Ellis with Cisco Kid, the Santana Tribute band. Oskar, a legendary Danish harmonica player, performed on WAR’s “Low Rider,” the memorable anthem to cruising culture that celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1975.
Lowrider Day celebrates the lifting of San Jose’s decadeslong ban on cruising in 2022, a charge led at City Hall by then-downtown Councilmember Raul Peralez, who drove a lowrider in his younger days. Though the ban hadn’t really been enforced for years, that step really helped change people’s perceptions of the lowrider community and recognized a lot of the charitable work they’ve done over the years through their clubs, including food drives and toy drives.
And now, some lowriders might even get a tax break. SB 1392, also known as “Leno’s Law,” is awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature and would exempt collector cars — made between 1976 and 1985 and primarily operated for shows, parade and the like — from smog check requirements. Collector cars made in 1975 or earlier are already exempt.
“A classic car that spends most of its life in a garage and comes out for a parade, car show or charity event is not the same as a daily commuter, and our laws should recognize that,” said state Sen. Dave Cortese, who authored the bill. “SB 1392 brings common sense back to the smog-check system, protects a treasured part of California culture, and gives classic car owners a fair shot at preserving these pieces of history.”
While Cortese wasn’t speaking specifically about lowriders, they’re a “treasured part of California culture” in my book.
DELAYED REACTION: The San Jose Parks & Recreation Commission didn’t have enough members available to hold its special meeting this week, in which the commission would have made its recommendation for a new name for Plaza de Cesar Chavez. The Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services Dept. proposes the commission recommend “Plaza de San Jose,” which came out on top in an online ranked-choice survey.
The new date for the postponed meeting — which will be a special, special meeting, I guess — is Sept. 9 at 5:30 p.m. at the Roosevelt Community Center at 901 E. Santa Clara St. Let’s hope none of the commissioners gets sick over the Labor Day weekend or we might have to be dealing with this issue into 2027.
GALAXY OF DIFFERENCE: I didn’t make it to GalaxyCon in downtown San Jose this year — even my schedule has limits — but from what I’ve been hearing, that might have been a lucky break for me. While plenty of attendees seemed to have had a good time at the pop culture gathering last weekend, others were vocal online about it being underwhelming compared to the past two years.
The convention’s popular “After Dark” events didn’t take place as expected, fans griped about other aspects — like signage and the overall vibe — and actress Jamie Pressly was reportedly escorted by security out of the Signia by Hilton hotel the day before the convention began and canceled her planned appearances.
GalaxyCon has already announced its 2027 dates (Aug. 20-22), so let’s hope it rebounds from a seemingly clunky third visit to San Jose.
HURRICANE WATCH: Luxury buses are a common sight in the San Jose area, as many tech companies still use them to shuttle employees to and from the office. But Reddit users speculated why a fleet of them was headed to downtown San Jose with a police escort. The consensus answer was that it was the Miami Hurricanes football team, who were to play at Stanford on Friday night. Rumors abounded the team was staying at the Signia by Hilton hotel downtown, but I didn’t spot any obvious football players in the area Wednesday night. Maybe I should have swung by Little Italy, where Poor House Bistro is known for serving Hurricanes.