{"id":470211,"date":"2026-09-20T19:24:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T19:24:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/470211\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T19:24:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T19:24:17","slug":"just-in-my-blood-lowriding-is-a-family-affair-at-mission-districts-annual-parade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/470211\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Just in My Blood\u2019: Lowriding Is a Family Affair at Mission District\u2019s Annual Parade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lowriders took over the streets this weekend as part of a celebration of riders\u2019 Latino culture. <\/p>\n

Sep 20, 2026<\/p>\n

Updated 11:51 am PT<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A lowrider hops off the ground at the King of the Streets annual lowrider parade in San Francisco\u2019s Mission district on Sept. 19, 2026. Lowriders took over the streets this weekend as part of a celebration of riders\u2019 Latino culture.\u00a0(T\u00e2m V\u0169\/KQED)<\/p>\n

Chad Oliver said he\u2019s embraced lowriding <\/a>as a lifestyle since he was in high school. Now in his 50s, he holds his grandson with as much pride as when he talks about his cherry red 1978 Cadillac Coupe DeVille.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a historically criminalized<\/a> culture strained by decades of now-lifted cruising bans across California which enthusiasts say targeted Mexican Americans. But through those like Oliver \u2014\u00a0 and hundreds of others with lowriders on display at the annual Mission District parade \u2014 that tradition still thrives<\/a> today.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always been in my life. It\u2019s a lifestyle,\u201d Oliver, of Manteca, said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be in my family for as long as I\u2019m around.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The front bumper of a 1978 Cadillac Coupe DeVille at the King of the Streets annual lowrider parade in San Francisco\u2019s Mission district on Sept. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"Chad Oliver and his grandson Lorenzo pose for a portrait in front of his 1978 Cadillac Coupe DeVille at the King of the Streets annual lowrider parade in San Francisco\u2019s Mission district on Sept. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

The San Francisco Lowrider Council celebrated its 45th anniversary by hosting its lowrider parade on Saturday. The event, days after the start of Hispanic Heritage Month came complete with a \u201cKing of the Streets\u201d hopping competition along with a car show and an art exhibit.<\/p>\n

Oliver\u2019s grandson, Lorenzo, came with his parents in a pinstriped 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass they\u2019ve had for about two years. Antonio Esparza, the boy\u2019s father, said the parade is always \u201cthe best feeling you ever have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, if you ain\u2019t got a car, jump in with someone,\u201d said Esparza, who came from Sacramento for the event. \u201cAll these is family.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Antonio Esparza (left) and his wife Blanca Esparza (right) pose with children in their family at the King of the Streets annual lowrider parade in San Francisco\u2019s Mission district on Sept. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"Children watch the King of the Streets annual lowrider parade from a parked car in San Francisco\u2019s Mission district on Sept. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

Attendees Saturday often noted they made the ride to San Francisco\u2019s event because shows across the state didn\u2019t have the same vibe. David Gomez is a San Jose native who came out with his son Mateo, 12, in a dark blue 1994 Lincoln they\u2019ve been building together. Gomez, who now lives in Redding, said they typically go to other shows where they live and in Northern California.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut they don\u2019t do nothing like they do out here in the Bay Area and Sacramento,\u201d Gomez said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Drivers rode down streets in the neighborhood in carefully painted cars and motorcycles, blaring music and prominently displaying flags of Mexico and other countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"A custom street sign which reads, \u201cFrisco King of the Streets\u201d at the King of the Streets annual lowrider parade in San Francisco\u2019s Mission district on Sept. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"People gather for the hopper competition at the King of the Streets annual lowrider parade in San Francisco\u2019s Mission district on Sept. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

David Peralta, though, was among Mission District natives who said the sight of the cars reminded him of how \u201cthe neighborhood used to be\u201d before the displacement of some Latino neighbors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just in my blood,\u201d Peralta said. \u201cWith all the cars and all the Mexican people coming out. You know, some of them got moved out \u2014 but we\u2019re back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Peralta grew to love cars thanks to his older brothers and seeing them cruise back in the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"David Peralta poses with his car at the King of the Streets annual lowrider parade in San Francisco\u2019s Mission district on Sept. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"A \u201cHomies\u201d doll is mounted on a car with the Mexico flag at the King of the Streets annual lowrider parade in San Francisco\u2019s Mission district on Sept. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"Parade participants fly the Mexico flag as they drive down Mission Street at the King of the Streets annual lowrider parade in San Francisco\u2019s Mission district on Sept. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"Lidia Rioss wears makeup traditionally worn on Day of the Dead, a holiday celebrated in Mexico dedicated to honoring deceased family members, at the King of the Streets annual lowrider parade in San Francisco\u2019s Mission district on Sept. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew when I got older, I was going to get me one,\u201d Peralta said, adding that he\u2019ll be passing his current car on to his 14-year-old son.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Molly Seret showed up in her red patina painted 1963 Biscayne Wagon \u2014 the first car she ever got at 15 \u2014 and stood out among the drivers as one of the few women<\/a>. Her story was the same.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up, my dad had a shop, so I spent a lot of time in a shop as a child,\u201d Seret said.<\/p>\n

\"\"A biker rides his motorcycle as flames come out of his exhaust at the King of the Streets annual lowrider parade in San Francisco\u2019s Mission district on Sept. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"A couple takes a selfie with parade participants in their car at the King of the Streets annual lowrider parade in San Francisco\u2019s Mission district on Sept. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

Julian Nunez, who came in his baby blue 1998 Lincoln town car, took an interest in cars too because his dad always had cars around him and the two worked on them together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just do it for the crowd,\u201d Nunez said. \u201cIt\u2019s fun being the center of attention sometimes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lowriders took over the streets this weekend as part of a celebration of riders\u2019 Latino culture. Sep 20,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":470212,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-470211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470211\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/470212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}