La Vuelta is a biweekly car cruise in Barrio Logan that runs through the summer. The event has become the heart of lowrider culture here in San Diego. These days, the customized slow- and low-to-the-ground cars and bikes can be found almost anywhere. Lowriding has become a culture created by Chicanos and exported all over the world. It’s big in Japan. No, seriously. Not to mention in Brazil and other lowrider hot spots. But at the border, the lowrider scene is a lifeline. For lots of people here, lowriders are much more than just a hobby. The culture that’s coalesced around lowriders on both sides of the border has offered some people here salvation. It’s given new meaning and purpose to peoples’ lives — from deportees in Tijuana to military veterans struggling with PTSD in San Diego. In this episode of "Only Here," a KPBS podcast about art, culture and life at the Western Hemisphere’s busiest border crossing, a story about lowriders as life rafts. Only here can you find such a crucial lowrider culture on both sides of the wall.
Lowriders are big in Japan.
These days, the customized, slow and low to the ground cars and bikes can be found almost anywhere. Lowriding is a culture created by Chicanos and exported all over the world.
But at the border, the lowrider scene is a lifeline. For lots of people here, lowriders are much more than just a hobby.
The culture that’s coalesced around lowriders on both sides of the border has offered some people here salvation. It’s given new meaning and purpose to peoples’ lives — from deportees in Tijuana to military veterans struggling with PTSD in San Diego.
In this episode of "Only Here," a KPBS podcast about art, culture and life at the Western Hemisphere’s busiest border crossing, we bring you a story about lowriders as life rafts.
Only here can you find such a crucial lowrider culture on both sides of the wall.
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A 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air owned by 'Lil Joe. Photo courtesy of Jose Atonio Martinez.
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Photo courtesy of Roberto Villegas
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An 85 Monte Carlo named “Big Bad Wolf." Photo courtesy of Ernie Sanchez Jr., III.
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A 1984 Buick Regal named "Goldilocks." Photo courtesy of Alejandro Sanchez.
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Photo courtesy of Junior Ortiz.
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"Mary's Monte." Photo courtesy of Andrew Lopez.
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Photo courtesy of Jose Pulido.
