WOMEN OF LOWRIDING
This article was reprinted from my book Lowrider: History, Pride, Culture , but you can get a free summary of the history of lowriding at Lowrider magazine .
Since lowriding's birth in the '40s, women have rolled right with the Movement, and not just in the shotgun seat. Of course, female automotive enthusiasts have always faced special challenges, and the quest to roll low was no different. Like early hot rodders and kar kustomizers, lowriding's pioneers bought their first cars with the G.I. Bill, a government subsidy that most women didn't have access to. Moreover, until the late '60s, women weren't expected, or in some cases allowed, to work. Chicanas, born into the lowridingcultura, faced even higher hurdles.Most young Mexican-American women celebrate their quincanera (15th birthday) with a lavish party, rather than with the car that their brothers traditionally received. Thus, throughout early lowriding history, women with their eyes on the prize had to defy tradition and get a job to earn their own ride. They would make only a fraction of what a man did for the same work, but these few, persistent lowriders eventually rolled onto the boulevard alongside the best of them. Despite their efforts, however, the majority of Chicanas in the '50s and '60s still had to settle for the shotgun seat.
Not that this kept young women out of the scene. "I was in a girl's club called the Fortunettes of Orange County," remembers Duke's-Orange County officer Linda Lopez, of the Southern California cruising scene during the late '60s. "We didn't really have cars. We were just a girls club."Female social clubs flying colors were becoming a common sight on California boulevards throughout the late '60s. During the early '70s, as the Women's Movement met the Chicano Movimiento, more women started enrolling in shop classes along with home economics. Getting a job to pay for your lowrider, and working on it yourself, was suddenly acceptable. Although female lowriders were still at a disadvantage--most were working to buy their first ride, while their brothers were simply trying to customize the car that they already had--women's social clubs were suddenly mobile.
"I was the one with a lowrider car," continues Linda Lopez. "My '60 Chevy Impala was all original. Then, after that, I bought myself a custom '65 Impala that was lime green with teardrops on the side. It had Cragars on it." Soon, several all-female lowrider clubs were on the streets, by the mid-'70s boasting some of the finest rides around.
The Lady Bugs, an all Volkswagen club, was among the most influential Southern California clubs on Whittier, male or female. It officially began in 1974, but under the leadership of sisters Yvonne and Suzie Vallego, was reorganized in 1977 as the area's premier female lowrider club. That patented Volkswagen rattle announced the arrival of president Suzie's candy burgundy '70 Bug, looking good with its elaborate pinstriping, vice president Candy Carvalho's '73, "Candy's Apple," and the rest of the custom crew.
Throughout the late '70s, it was hard to miss the Lady Bugs cruising the Boulevard or parked at the Two Guys Shopping Center. Their commitment to the club went beyond the Cragars, which were on every dropped Bug, no matter how stock the rest of the car. "You may drink or smoke at all activities, but not to the extent that you make fools of yourselves," read one of the bylaws. "You are not only putting yourself down but all of us as well. Remember, we are ladies!"The Lady Bugs became an inspiration to young Chicanas throughout East Los Angeles who wanted to build a classy car. It was still difficult for female lowriders to feel like they belonged--most major clubs, like the Imperials and Lifestyle, were off limits to women who wanted to roll.Although it seems as though anyone could start a club, keeping certain people out of the most popular, well-connected clubs was tantamount to making the most valuable lowriding resources around off limits. "When you have talented people in the club," explains Klique president Mando Estrada, "it is much easier to build a quality car, because the money and the overhead and all that is cut in half. Labor is done by the members themselves." As women's quality customs cruised into the shows anyway, taking center stage without some prestigious plaque in the rear window, it became apparent what the boys were afraid of.
"Some of the guys from other clubs would get mad," remembers Tejana cruiser Sandra Velo, whose '71 Buick Riviera, "Chola One," was the toast of Dallas, Texas, in the early '80s. "They had problems with a woman beating them in certain categories, like Best Chrome, Best Hydraulics, Best '70s Custom and, almost always, Best Paint." Eventually, however, more progressive cruisers began to realize that a woman's ride could bring their club pride."Fernando and Julio Ruelas finally said, 'You know, there's nothing wrong with a woman owning a car,' " laughs Linda Lopez, the first female member of the Duke's-Orange County. "Women enjoy the same things that men do. Some people just like cars and some people don't."
A few other lowrider clubs, notably the Uniques-San Jose, were beginning to accept women, although most female lowriders preferred to work with other women. In Salinas, California, Caroline Acosta of the Brown Satins was lowering cars for not only her club, but lows owned by members of the Latin Pearls and Shades of Brown. The Brown Satins were getting involved with more than the boulevard, however. They had realized, like so many of their male counterparts in that political era, that together they had a voice in their Northern California community.
And, when the Brown Satins and their campaneras wanted to show and shine in Northern California, they knew that the biggest and best events were put on by Five Star Productions. These shows were different than those thrown by other promoters. "We didn't have wet T-shirt contests and all that. We concentrated on family entertainment," remembers Biney Ruiz, owner of Five Star Productions. Biney, the single mother of five daughters, was throwing the first lowrider balls and shows in 1973, when the Low Rider crew was still in college. Biney began by organizing these events as benefits, but soon realized that she could support her family with them.
"I had problems, though, when I would go down to radio stations to buy advertising or try to secure facilities for the dances and shows. I had to fight to get my commercials on the air." Biney remembers. "I didn't know whether it was because I was Hispanic or because I was a woman." But, once they realized that she had the cash to back up her ideas, they were usually willing to give her a chance. By the mid '70s, her events at Hellyer Park were legendary, the sight of many historic events that shaped lowriding.
Classics-Santa Ana president Robert Rocha led a caravan up to one of Biney's shows, and was so impressed that he decided to throw Southern California's first lowrider happening. And, it was after her lowrider ball that night that Robert showed New Style C.C. president Andy Douglas how to "hop a tallboy," inspiring him to open the first full hydraulic hop in history.Low Rider Magazine was originally funded by a loan from Lolita Madrid, Sonny's mother, who was one of the few people who believed that a Chicano magazine could succeed. Although LRM usually featured male-owned rides--in America during the '70s, a woman could expect to make 50 percent of what a man did for the same work, and this lower average income made for mellower customs--some women's cars did make it onto the cover. "La Nena," the '47 Chevy Stylemaster on the cover of Volume 2, Number 4, was built by a 22-year-old Chicana by the name of Nena Aguilar. She had had her first taste of lowriding back in 1970.
"I remember we were planning our Cinco de Mayo festivities in high school, and my suggestion was a car show," remembers Nena. "I was put in charge of the show, and that was the beginning of lowriding and me." A taste of trophy gold was all it took to send an otherwise level-headed Chicana into the full custom zone, and as the '70s came to a close, that's where many women found themselves.
Lee Gonzalez' '69 Chevy Camaro, "Every Girl's Dream," made the cover of LRM's July 1979 issue, working her hydraulics and electronic sunroof for best effect. "Lee, from Fresno, has cruised home with 17 trophies from top car shows up and down California," wrote Roberto Rodriguez. "Having cruised in this jewel--you can believe me--there are less than a few rides that get as many looks as Every Girl's Dream." From full-custom interior--complete with chandelier, car phone and, of course, a chain steering wheel--to the unique grille and candy apple paint job, this was full-custom. And, all of the work was done by Lee and her uncle, thank you very much."Lowriding is just a way of showing people what you can really do," explained Theresa, of Lady's Touch Car Club in Stockton, California. "It's something that you work really hard for. It's a wonderful feeling."
Cover quality rides like Lee's and Nena's were lost among the many fine female-owned street sweepers on the cruise from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to National City, just south of San Diego, California. Articles in the big lowriding magazines of the day covered these strips, recording many female faces behind the wheels of low rides.One of those fine '56 Chevrolets out on the Phoenix, Arizona, belonged to one talented customizer with political savvy, Low Phoenicians Car Club member Josie Lopez. The striking low--which featured dual custom and chromed pumps, suicide doors, heart-shaped Frenched antennas and gleaming red pearl paint--was called "To Be Different," which was what Josie dared to be. Her collection of First Place trophies, including First Place Semi Custom at a highly competitive LRM Phoenix show, just wasn't enough to satisfy this woman. She helped organize, and became the director of, the Arizona Lowriders Association (ALA). Thanks to their efforts, Arizona successfully defended the right to cruise and use hydraulics (at under 15 miles per hour) on Central.
One woman who wasn't worrying about hydraulic laws, still fully enforcible back in Califas, was Elisa Torres, who found a '63 Impala rusting away in Phoenix back in 1982. By 1984, she was hopping her ragtop a respectable 23 inches (the World's Record at the time was 25 1/2 inches) in single-pump competition. But, pressures from the police finally forced Elisa to remove her hydraulics for the daily drive, a sacrifice that so many Califas cruisers were having to make. Lowriders were becoming an endangered species as the cruise closed down, forcing the finest rides off the road.
Linda Lopez' '47 Chevy Fleetmaster, "Golden Dream," which boasts that center car quality that so many bomb customizers struggle to achieve, has won fans throughout her hometown of Santa Ana, California. "My husband took my car out one time to put gas in it," she reminisces with a smile. "A police officer drove up next to him, looked at it and asked, 'Does your wife know that you're driving her car?' My husband just said, 'No, officer, but I am taking it home right now.' "But, in lowriding, as in life, the battle for equality is not yet won. Elsa Murillo, whose '51 Chevy Deluxe, "Lady Luck," ranks among the best Northern California bombs, is still holding out for a male bikini model. Sacramento, California, lowrider Gina Jimenez couldn't find a club willing to accept women, so she started her own, Sweet Temptations. We can only wait for that one headstrong woman to challenge the illegal attitudes of America's top lowriding clubs, earning her plaque and writing her own chapter in the history of lowriding. Until then, the women of lowriding will continue to do what they have always done.
"I noticed this beautiful '58 Chevy parked out in front of my credit union, so the owner and I started talking about cars," remembers Linda Lopez. "She told me that she was having a hard time restoring it. So, I connected her with a friend of mine who takes care of parts, who could help her find what she needed. And I told her, 'Whenever you get your car ready or you want to join a club, you will be more than welcome.' "
