Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Lowriding in the Context of Mexican-American History

2022; RELX Group (Netherlands); Linguagem: Inglês

10.2139/ssrn.4238790

1556-5068

James C. Spindler,

Latin American and Latino Studies

Conventionally, a "Lowrider" is understood to be “a motor vehicle having customized hydraulics that lower the chassis close to the ground” (“low rider, n”). Although true, this definition only reflects a small portion of the whole content of the word. While, yes, a Lowrider is definitely a car, or even a bike, lowered in a specific manner, the person who drives that vehicle is also called a Lowrider. To take this term to an even broader level, any person who lives the Lowrider lifestyle or who is involved with Lowriders (vehicles or people) could be considered a Lowrider. In this paper, I aim to explain what the Lowrider lifestyle is: the life of the underdog, the legacy of a people who set out to be different and fought back when they were challenged because they knew what they believed in – the preservation of their identity – was their right. What follows in this paper is that context.