Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
The San Jo Lo Down is San Jose’s first podcast on working class culture, politics, and life–at work, at home, and at play. SJLD is a show about and for the incredible, diverse, talented, inspiring working people of our communities. Though we’ll have content on local music, politics, art, night life, events, and more, the podcast will feature the lives and perspectives of people like you, without whom San Jose would grind to a halt.
Sorry. I used to that Spanish.
Speaker 2:From San Jose can tell you that car culture runs deep in the Bay Area, and nowhere is this more obvious than in local low riding culture. Low riders are usually classic cars that are restored and redesigned into incredible works of art through crazy paint jobs, creative interior designs, slapping sound systems, and hydraulics that drop the cars to the ground, like called scrapes, or give them the bounce or three wheel motion that was made famous in golden era West Coast rap. San Jose has the unique distinction with Los Angeles as a unique as an original home to low riding culture. The debates over this are pretty serious, by the way. People get very in their feels about about who started this and where it originates and who gets to call it home.
Speaker 2:But historians suggest that it all started in LA in the forties following World War two as part of a broader cultural Chicano social movement at the time. But then San Jose is where much of the scene seemed to have developed over the following decades. For example, Lowrider Magazine, one of the several outlets that spread lowriding culture around the country and later around the world, was founded by San Jose State students in 1977. This is year my old ass was born, Carter was still president, and the original Star Wars had just come out in theaters. This is not to say that low riding culture faced no adversity in San Jose.
Speaker 2:In fact, cruising had been outlawed outlawed in San Jose for decades because of its connections, real and imagined, forms of crime, rebellion, and protest. This is until September 2022 when low riding community organized and convinced city council to lift the ban, which is now celebrated on the first Sunday of every month as Low Rider Day in San Jose. To learn more about our low riding culture and to celebrate March's Women's History Month, we're kicking it in the studio today with Christina, Angel, and Mia of the Duignas Car Club. Alright. Welcome, everybody.
Speaker 2:We're really, really excited to be with today's guests. I mean, we're excited for all of our shows, I I would say, but this one in particular, we've been really excited about. And, actually, I'm I'm not gonna lie. So I I was out this weekend at the the International Women's Heritage Festival, and my wife and I were out there and checking out the cars. Right?
Speaker 2:And and I was so excited to see that our guests were out there, and I'm so excited to introduce them to you if you haven't heard of them already. And, of course, I'm talking about the ladies of the Dunya's Car Club. And would you mind introducing yourselves to our audience?
Speaker 3:Sure. Thank you. First off, we're really happy to be here as well. My name is Mia.
Speaker 4:My name is Angel. I work in finance. And something, about me, I've had my car for twenty one years.
Speaker 2:Does this car have a name?
Speaker 4:Yes. Saturday Love.
Speaker 2:Oh, it's beautiful.
Speaker 5:I'm Christina. They also call me Kooks. I think that's probably more of the name that everyone calls me, so we'll go off that.
Speaker 2:All right, Beth. I I can work with that. It's easy for me to remember. What do you do what do you do outside of, your your car?
Speaker 5:So I I am a HR payroll manager for automotive group.
Speaker 2:Oh, bet. Mhmm. How long have you done that?
Speaker 5:I've been doing that over well, I've been automotive for twenty years. Mhmm. And I've been in HR payroll for about eight years now.
Speaker 2:Alright. So Cartier and Gentle?
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Right? And how about yourself, Angel?
Speaker 4:I've been in finance for over twenty years also.
Speaker 2:Beautiful. Beautiful. And you enjoy it?
Speaker 4:I do. I love it. Mhmm. I love helping people, you know, make their dreams come true, drive off in their dream car and stuff.
Speaker 5:So but also get that money back too.
Speaker 2:Also, you're also a car tangential.
Speaker 1:Yes. Oh, okay.
Speaker 4:Okay. I've done so many roles, so yeah.
Speaker 2:Alright. Alright. How about yourself?
Speaker 3:I have two cars. One of them's name is Paloma because it's all white. It's an all white '60 '4. Mhmm. And I have a 1965 Chevy named La Malavida.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's beautiful.
Speaker 3:Which means the bad life in Spanish. That's beautiful. Thanks to my mom. And I actually work in mental health at James Lick High School.
Speaker 2:Oh, very cool. So what kind of things do do at James Lick?
Speaker 3:I run programs for students, the clerk at the mental health and wellness building, so I work with the social workers and therapists.
Speaker 2:That's very important work. We appreciate that. So let's just jump right into it. So I'm wondering, first of all, if you remember the first time you fell in love with cars.
Speaker 4:I was I was a kid. I was, like, three, three or four years old. I think it was probably the first time we, like, really went out, all of us, me, my brother, and my sister with my mom and her car and her '77 Monte, and it was just, like, you know, it was amazing.
Speaker 5:Well, I just I just started enjoying it back when I was probably, like, 12. My mom we used to bug my mom and be like, let's go cruising. We used go on King. She used to take us in her car. So me and my, like, two friends, we used to put a tape of old some oldies on, and she would just drive us around.
Speaker 5:So that's how I got into the the cruising scene and, you know, enjoying just being out there.
Speaker 2:So for the squares out there, what's cruising mean?
Speaker 5:Cruising is just get get in your ride and just go for a dip, go for a drive, you know, and just see all the car. Well, back then, there was a lot more cars out there, a lot of old school cars, and so music playing and
Speaker 2:Give me give me a year. What are we talking about back then?
Speaker 1:Don't know. We're
Speaker 4:show our age.
Speaker 2:Mean I have
Speaker 1:to show
Speaker 2:my age on here all the time.
Speaker 5:Like, nineties.
Speaker 2:Okay. Okay. That's golden era. You feel me? That's fine.
Speaker 4:You gotta claim that. No one's like golden age. Right?
Speaker 2:Be embarrassed. That's golden era stuff. See, the crew wouldn't understand this, but us here at the table, we understand golden era. It's alright.
Speaker 5:Thank you.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That was great. How about yourself?
Speaker 3:For myself, I don't remember what age I was, but I was I know I was in elementary school because it was in the nineties, and I was born in '86. So We're rubbing in. She's the other guy. She's the other guy of the group. I was just kidding.
Speaker 3:But I do remember it was the big influence was music. Yeah. So I I was huge on music. We did have my brother
Speaker 2:You gotta put some names to that. What kind
Speaker 4:of Right.
Speaker 2:We're talking about?
Speaker 3:Well, gangster rap.
Speaker 4:Yeah. That's my favorite music.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I'm I'm a huge I'm a huge Long Beach fan.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:Okay. Love Nate Dogg. I love, just the dog pound. I'm I've always been a huge fan, easy e.
Speaker 2:I saw some, like, 2,000
Speaker 3:Another rivals. Yeah. Tupac, like, I don't know. Corrupt was big for us back then. I was also really influenced by, like, Us Doos, Booyah Tribe Okay.
Speaker 3:Music like that. Yeah.
Speaker 2:So All right. See, I want we we wanna get into all this. Yeah. I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm really curious about how all of you fell in love with this. Right?
Speaker 2:I'm really curious about what you fell in love with. What about cars and low riding culture, like, drew you in? Like, what actually hooked you? You know what I'm saying?
Speaker 4:Yeah. For me, I think it was more like, you know, the family aspect of it. My mom was a very young mother. Mhmm. 18 with three kids, married, divorced already.
Speaker 4:On her quinceanera, she got her 1977 Monte Carlo. She loved cars. My cousin, my uncle at the time, had a, a 1964 Chevy Impala and had started a car club in Sunnyvale. And back then, women really couldn't be in car clubs, so she would cruise along with them. And then, you know, when she got her car and stuff, it was, like, everything to her.
Speaker 4:And, she put hydraulics on it, and she got some tree spokes, you know, and, we didn't have a lot of money. So for fun, me, my brother, my sister, we would get in the car and go with my mom cruising everywhere. So, you know, for me, it's more the nostalgia, you know, being with your family and stuff and just cruising. I heard when I was a baby, the only way they can get me to fall asleep was to go around the block, so I think that stuck with me.
Speaker 1:So Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3:But still happens till this day.
Speaker 4:Oh, yes.
Speaker 5:Oh, man.
Speaker 2:So I guess beyond that, I'm also really curious about how you learn. Right? So who taught you how to work on cars? Like, how did you get, like, the actual skill sets? Right?
Speaker 2:I mean, did you take classes at all? Does it just pass down knowledge from, like, person to person in the family? Like, how did that work for all of
Speaker 3:Yeah. I think a lot of it is just you have to watch and learn, you know, big influences in the neighborhood. We always had mechanics, you know, come to the house or my cousins. But till this day, I still have it's the same people, you know. I don't let a lot of people touch my cars.
Speaker 3:I don't. And when I shop for them, I always seem to have really good luck. So I definitely have shout out to my cousin Tony. He's he always comes through for me.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, shouts out to Tony. I I feel like, you know, that's part of the bond with it too, right? Is it's that's, like, your you know what I'm saying? Like, yours in the
Speaker 1:sense that
Speaker 2:you've created it, you've spent blood, sweat, and tears into it. You know what I'm saying? It's it it, like, really is, well, I'm I'm a nerd. Right? So I'm a I'm a drop some nerd shit right now.
Speaker 2:It's like what Marx talks about in terms of, like, putting a little bit of us into our work. Like, the what makes us human is our creative productive capacities. And, ultimately, when we apply those creative productive capacities, we put a little bit of ourselves in our work.
Speaker 1:Right? Definitely.
Speaker 2:And so a little bit of you is, like, literally in the car, right, in that in that sense.
Speaker 3:Definitely holding the flashlight for my dad. Yeah.
Speaker 4:For me, was me and my sister, I got my 65, and then a couple months later, she got, another car, a 72.
Speaker 2:A 72 what?
Speaker 4:Yes. 70 two So, you know, we would've, together, just messed around with our cars in the garage. You know? We we didn't really know how to do much at the time. So I always have a master of taking things apart, but putting it back together not so much.
Speaker 4:And and one thing that, you know, was awesome was seeing my mom. If something went wrong, I don't I don't know. You know, I don't recall. I think from my my uncle Gus, my mom learned on how to, you know, fix her hydraulics. And and my mom always liked to be dressed up, so she would carry a jumpsuit with her in her trunk so she could bust out and work on her car or whatever.
Speaker 4:And I think it's just something that, you know, you don't see a lot sometimes from women. I'm big on YouTube university. And, you know, so I think just trial and error. There was, I love the look of the red rims with with hubcaps. I'm not sure if you guys are familiar, but, you know, back in the days, even still now, that your car would be you know, mine was beige, and then your rim would be red.
Speaker 4:Red was a very popular color back then, and then you'd have your hubcap. So me, I I love the look, and I wanted the look. So I told my sister, let's just go buy some red spray paint, you know, and spray paint them ourselves and stuff. Right? I didn't know much at the time.
Speaker 4:I barely had gotten my car. My sister had a couple of cars before that, but we didn't really weren't too, you know, hands on. And so, spray painted the hubcaps red, and we were all excited, and we put the hub I mean, the rims. And then, we put the hubcaps on, and we came downtown cruising. And next thing you know, like, we hear a noise, and we're like, what is that?
Speaker 4:What was that? And the hubcap had off, and my sister jumps out of the car, she's over there because they're expensive.
Speaker 1:I don't
Speaker 4:know if you know, but, I mean, shout out to hubcap city. But, you know, they're they're, they're expensive, and my sister's over there jumping out of the car trying to get it and stuff. Like, I didn't know at the time all the prep work and stuff like that that goes into painting something.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 4:You know? So, I think it was more trial and error. And not only that, it was, you know, learning something together. You know? I like to work on my car still now, and it took me five years to fix, rebuild my car, and put it back together.
Speaker 4:I tried to do a lot of it myself, and then recently, I came to terms with my sister telling me, you know what the real problem is? I tell everybody this because I think it's hilarious because it's true. And I'm like, what's the problem? She's all you think you know how to do everything, but you don't. Which is true.
Speaker 4:And sometimes you
Speaker 2:have to older sister or
Speaker 4:younger sister. She's a younger sister, but she puts me in check. Let me tell you. She's I'm scared
Speaker 1:of her. So
Speaker 4:but, you know, it's it's it's fun, you know, learning something new, whether you're hands on yourself or if you take it to someone like Mia said, you know, trusting someone, having somebody, you know, work on your car and stuff is still it's hard sometimes. You know, we we've Mia's had her car for a very long time too, so I know it's it's hard for us to to trust people sometimes.
Speaker 2:So it sounds like, a lot of it's just within the community, right? Like Yeah. Helping each other out mutual aid, you know what I'm saying?
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:That's that's I think that's a really interesting aspect of the of the scene, right? Because I I would think you would need, like, a great deal of professional experience or help or or whatever. But I guess between YouTube and being able to to get help from friends, you feel me, and ask ask other neighbors and other folks, I guess I guess that makes sense. So I have a question too. So are you keeping it in the family?
Speaker 2:Are you passing it down for generations? Right? Like, I I I you have a 12 year old daughter.
Speaker 5:Yes, I do. She said that it's gonna be hers.
Speaker 2:Oh. Oh, she's already claimed it.
Speaker 5:She said that. I'm like, we'll see. You know? But I probably I don't have funds on selling it, so if she wants to be in it
Speaker 2:But is she showing an interest in, like,
Speaker 5:cars and things
Speaker 1:are seen?
Speaker 5:So her thing, she's super shy right now, that age. Okay. You know? So when she's in the car, she's like, Everyone stares. And I'm like, well, that's what happens.
Speaker 5:You know? Yeah. Yeah. You know? So, yeah, she could she could hop in the driver's seat one day.
Speaker 2:Okay. Okay. So I'm really curious, obviously. I wanna know about the car club. And I'm really curious about something.
Speaker 2:I mean, I wanna know all about it. Right? Like, how did you start it? Why did you start it? What's the purpose of it?
Speaker 2:Like like, why does it mean so much to you? But I'm also really interested because, you know, it it's it's unique. You know, it's Women's History Month. It's March, and this is a women's club specifically. And like you said before, you're like, if we if we had a car before, we were kinda on the outs.
Speaker 2:Right? Like, we couldn't really participate the way we wanted to. So I'm real curious about, like, when did that start to change, and why did you choose to make this, like, a women's car club specifically? And one of the reasons I'm asking is because, you know, I'm a child of the golden era as well, right? So, like, I grew up with all that same imagery in the '90s and all that, and that's how the rest of us in the rest of the country that weren't on the West Coast, like, knew about Lowrider culture and all that.
Speaker 2:Was from Lowrider Magazine, you feel me? Like, music, And I gotta say, like, women in that culture as it was presented to us were not the drivers. You feel me? Yep. They were on the hood of the car, not Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And not behind the wheel. Yep. So that's fascinating to me. Right? Like, I just I'm real curious of you to respond to all of that, right, however you think is is appropriate.
Speaker 4:Okay. Well, for me, I had been in two other car clubs before. I was the only woman. And, you know, sometimes, obviously, men and women don't always think alike, you know, or or, you know, sometimes we don't see eye to eye on things and stuff, and it was still kind of, more, you know, our community is still more male dominated. You know what I mean?
Speaker 4:And it was like you said, you know, the girls on the car, the model, stuff like that. But in reality, we've always been there, wives, girlfriends, whatever, but mainly in the background, you know, or or as a model or something. But I my mom had a '77 Monte Carlo back in '77, and, you know, nobody would let her in the car club because she was a woman. You know? So, me growing up and seeing, you know, my mom be a strong person, a strong woman, and, hey, you could do whatever it is you want no matter what, It's not.
Speaker 4:I followed my dream of wanting, you know, to get a '65 Impala. And then after I went into those two car clubs, you know, and kinda seeing how things were a little bit different sometimes, and then, you know, hearing couple of comments, by some men calling me me and another girl one time, pencil pusher secretaries. You know? So it kinda drove me to really wanna start the club throughout the years when I was in the other clubs. I told my sister I always asked her because she had cars.
Speaker 4:Hey. Get in the club with me. Get in the club with me. And she was always like, no. No.
Speaker 4:She's like, when you start your own car club, this and that. You know? So, you know, I've always thought about something, a all women's car club, but I never thought I'd go about it, you know, until I was in other car clubs. And then people just giving me that drive and that want to do something, and my sister telling me that comment. So I'm like, I'm a show you.
Speaker 4:So then I called her one day, I go, guess what? She's like, what? I go, we're gonna start an all woman's car club, so you're gonna be in it. And she's like, no. You know?
Speaker 4:Because she was more solo loved, wanted to do her own thing. Things Things are a little bit different, you know, when you're in a car club. You know, you have a lot more people, you're always together. You know, we cruise together, we do everything pretty much together. We're like another family.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Tell me a little bit about that. What does it mean? Like like, what does it mean to be a member?
Speaker 4:Well, you're you're part of something. You're part of a group, you know? And for us, though, a lot of the car clubs is just about you have a nice car you're in, or you have a car you're in. For us, and I think this is what makes it so special, is that we all have a passion, our culture, our lifestyle for low riding, but also for community. Like, with Mia, what she does with kids and stuff, you know, I I think it's awesome how her you know, Mariah is is all interested in it and everything else.
Speaker 4:You know? I think it's just our car club is is something more than just about the cars. It's more family, culture, and the community.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. Christina, mean, I'm really curious Mhmm. What what you think about this as well. Like, what does the car club mean to y'all? What does membership mean?
Speaker 2:Like, what is that like?
Speaker 3:For myself, I think I've I've seen myself grow a little bit as far as confidence. Before, I wasn't really confident as, like, doing things like this, you know, or being in pictures. I'm I'm still working on it, but, they definitely give me confidence to just show up and show out. You know what I mean? And and it's because of our leadership and, you know, the entire board, they're just kinda everyone's really motivating and stuff, and they like to push us to do good stuff.
Speaker 3:Get us in trouble. You
Speaker 1:know? So
Speaker 2:how how long have you how long have you known, sort of the OGs and the group?
Speaker 3:I actually met them around 02/2019, maybe. Yeah. Around 02/2019. So not as long as everyone else in the club, but, yeah, I just yeah. I think it's 02/2019.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:Sorry. I kinda messed up there.
Speaker 2:No. It's alright.
Speaker 1:It's alright.
Speaker 3:I'm gonna edit that part. Just shunned in
Speaker 1:that deal.
Speaker 2:Right? So when and end of your life. Right? So so it sounds like you I mean, in a relatively short time, you've grown quite a bit from being a part of this club. Right?
Speaker 2:Right. Okay.
Speaker 3:Right. So we became friends.
Speaker 4:Yeah. And she had a badass car, and I seen her on Instagram. So I was like, I gotta be her friend.
Speaker 3:We both had a 65
Speaker 4:or Yeah. We both have a
Speaker 3:65. Yeah.
Speaker 4:So it kinda went from there, and, you know, she was cool and stuff. So
Speaker 2:So you were a a high ranking draft pick.
Speaker 5:And I and
Speaker 3:I used to go to these car shows by myself.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah.
Speaker 3:Or I would take, like, my little boy. I have a nephew that's kinda like my son.
Speaker 2:That doesn't sound shy to me.
Speaker 3:It doesn't sound shy to me, but I wouldn't talk to anybody. Oh, okay. Just show up. But But I don't talk to anybody, and I think everybody
Speaker 4:She still doesn't. She still doesn't.
Speaker 1:That's so low key courage, right?
Speaker 2:Because like you said, you're already asking for attention when you roll up in something like that. You don't have to do much.
Speaker 3:Right. Like, I knew what I had at home. I went for inspiration, and I went just to show up. I mean, you have to have this in your history of of life, really. You know what I mean?
Speaker 3:You have to say at some point, I went to car shows, you know? Something has to inspire you. So definitely, my nephew just asked me, I think yesterday. He was like, how old were you when when you went to your first car show? And I was like, Ma, you were, like, two?
Speaker 3:And he was like, What do you mean? He's like, You went with me for your first time? I said, Yeah. I had nobody to go with, you know, the relationship that I was in before that. And my friends, we always dreamed about it, and we would pretend that we had lowriders when we were really young and stuff.
Speaker 3:But, I mean, they look at me now and they're like, Wow, you really did it. You know, the people I grew up with, it was a different culture. So they're like, You actually did it. And I'm like, Yeah, Not you guys. You know what I mean?
Speaker 3:Like
Speaker 2:You're allowed to swear on this podcast.
Speaker 3:Okay, motherfuckers.
Speaker 2:I'm a
Speaker 4:go tell my son. No.
Speaker 1:I'm a see. I mean, as as
Speaker 2:as Aurora can attest, I I don't even I don't censor in the classroom.
Speaker 3:Say whatever you want.
Speaker 4:Yeah. I'm I'm here we go then. Yeah.
Speaker 3:No. I remember I remember my ex reaching out to me one time, and he was like you know, I hated when he would message me randomly. And he's like, wow. You're really doing it. And I'm just like, yeah.
Speaker 1:I've been doing this
Speaker 2:for a while.
Speaker 3:I've been trying so hard for such a long time, but I'm grateful for
Speaker 1:what I'm
Speaker 2:Well, mean, one of things I'm already picking up, and this is gonna be kind of whack. I mean, it's kind of an obvious thing maybe, but these cars are so obviously such an aspect of expression
Speaker 3:for everyone. Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Sort of, like I said, like, it's a part of you in there.
Speaker 1:It's how you're sort
Speaker 2:of speaking to yourself Yeah. In a lot of ways, which I think is amazing. It's certainly a language I can't speak shit. So, Christine, how about yourself?
Speaker 5:Well, Angel's my cousin, so I you know, when I heard that she's doing her kart club, I'm like, I have to get a car now, because I had a car before she had created the club, but then when I got pregnant, I sold it. So then when she did that, like, was like, okay, you have to make sure I get a car now, and then actually, Lynette, her sister, is the one that helped me find my my car right now, so I jumped on that, and right away, I just had to be part of it because I feel like I know she's gonna have this representation, that's gonna do great, you know? So I had to join.
Speaker 4:Mhmm. She really had to. We told her.
Speaker 3:I had
Speaker 5:no choice.
Speaker 4:If you don't
Speaker 5:Gotta come out of pocket. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. Speaking of the cars, I was hoping each of you could give a description of your car and tell us about your relationship to it. And I mean a real description, like like, give me your description like you're trying to sell it to me. You feel me? Like like like, tell me what what it's about.
Speaker 2:You know what mean? Like, I've never seen it before, tell me about tell me about your car and your relationship to it.
Speaker 4:You guys want me to open
Speaker 1:a second?
Speaker 3:Go ahead.
Speaker 4:Me mean, when I first bought my car, it was cameo beige, all original from another woman who lived down the street from me. Called in sick to work. Me and my sister were there, and we were looking through the potpourri. Old school kinda like Cali trader, I guess, you know, but on paper. And, we've seen it.
Speaker 4:1965 Chevrolet Impala for sale. And we went over there, and I looked at my car or, you know, the car, and I was just like, man, like, this is a dream come true. I had always wanted a '65, and I wouldn't even drive the car. I made my sister test drive the car. So he was cameo beige for a long time.
Speaker 4:I let my bar my brother borrow the car one year, one time for Cinco de Mayo, and he blew the rings on my car. So I needed to rebuild my motor. So then, I got my motor rebuilt, and my sister's like, you know what? It's about time you paint your car. You know, you need to paint your car.
Speaker 4:So I'm looking at colors, and I was gonna go with speed Speedway blue, a Toyota Tacoma color. And I decided, you know, I wanted a color that people knew it was my car, a woman's car. My mom loved prints. My favorite color is purple, so I bought, you know, I painted it purple. And I want everybody to know and, yes, he's a he, but he's purple.
Speaker 4:He's beautiful. I recently got it repainted. I got a mural on the trunk of my mom. She passed away in 2019 when we first had started the club. So, and he's a fucking badass.
Speaker 4:My car is a badass, and and he's purple. And when I drive by, people notice him.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Who wants to go next?
Speaker 3:I'll go next. My '19 also 1965 Chevy Impala, I bought it in Fremont. I bought it from the third owner. The car sat for over fifty years from the original owner, and he kind of gave me the history on it. And he was the third owner, but when I saw it, I got it off of Craigslist.
Speaker 3:So it it was $3,400 on Craigslist.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow.
Speaker 3:And actually, no. It was 4,000 on Craigslist. I talked him down to 3,400. And because he said so when I showed up, it was me and three other guys, And they were just kind of looking at it. He had a huge warehouse, and he had, like, 20 cars in there.
Speaker 3:So he sold it because his wife was like, you need to get rid of these cars. Way too many. You know, his his boys wanted the Monte Carlos and all these other cars. It didn't turn on. The car didn't turn on when I first got there.
Speaker 3:And it's me and these other guys, and I'm looking at it, and I'm looking around, and I'm just kinda, like, seeing his work, you know, the the hinges. Everything was nice and smooth. And one of the a lot of the guys, actually, most of them were like, does it turn on? And he said, no, it doesn't turn on. And they're like, all right.
Speaker 3:And they just walked out. And there was something about that car. And of course, my cousin Tony's with me, he was like, you have to look at it. Like, you have to look at it. Just wait till these guys leave.
Speaker 3:And so finally, left. And sure enough, he's like, all it really needs it just needs a little fix on the ignition. And I said, Okay. He's like, you just hook up the linkage. And he's like, you'll be ready to roll.
Speaker 3:But these guys didn't even ask. They just saw, oh, it didn't turn on. Okay, and they left. And so I kind of talked him down on the price, and he's like, if you pick it up tomorrow morning at seven in the morning, I'll give it to you for $3,400 And boom, I was there. I called in to work, and I showed up, picked up my car, and that's it.
Speaker 3:So it's on its second round of rebuilding right now. Now that I'm older, I try to upgrade it a little bit better. And so, yeah, it's not home yet, but it has different detail. It has murals. It tells a story, definitely.
Speaker 3:So I can't wait for it to come out.
Speaker 2:Tell me about it. Do you what's the mural?
Speaker 3:The murals, a lot of them are there's some roses in there, which are my favorite flowers. There's a placard on there that has sunrise and sunset from my best friend who passed away. There's, Pop's Mini Mart on story on, King And Ocala, which is a mini mart we all grew up on in that area. I have the 1 0 1 sign on there. I have the 280 sign on there.
Speaker 3:I have a couple SJs. I have the street signs from when I grew up. It has a lot of different things. It has some ghost patterns, and it has some leafing done as well.
Speaker 2:Well, this is exactly why why I'm asking. Right? So because it tells the story. Like, it definitely is telling me a lot about, like
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 2:How this is an expression of you, but also an expression of San Jose.
Speaker 3:Right? I'm gonna get in trouble for saying all that.
Speaker 2:That's alright.
Speaker 4:And what what color? You just coloring?
Speaker 2:Don't worry about it. It's alright. It's alright. So, I guess I also do wanna kinda go in that direction, if that's okay. We're real curious about sort of the extent to which so let me back up.
Speaker 2:There's this whole historical debate Mhmm. Right, about where low riding culture originates. Is it LA? Is it San Jose? Right?
Speaker 2:So this is a huge sort of debate. We talked about it in the intro a little bit, just kinda lay it out for for the audience, but I'm real curious sort of where you landed on that debate. But also, even beyond that, you know, tell me a little bit about how lowriding is part of San Jose culture. Like, what is lowriding in San Jose? Like like, is it really a part of, like, who we are as a city and as a region, like, terms of, like, our culture, our sort of regional expression?
Speaker 2:Like, to what extent is low riding part of San Jose?
Speaker 4:I like, so I'm a talkaholic, so don't get me started.
Speaker 5:She's really good at talking.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I mean, y'all I'm I'm
Speaker 2:sure y'all jump in. Know I'm saying? Go ahead.
Speaker 4:Well, I mean, we're from Northern California, so, of course, we're gonna say Northern California. I'm born and raised in Sunnyvale, but always, you know, came cruising to San Jose. So for me, Sunny Madrid, he went to, you know, San Jose State. Lowrider magazine was born here. For me, it's here.
Speaker 4:You ask somebody from down south, and they're gonna tell you down south. You know? I think for us, I mean, there's always gonna be a debate, but at the end of the day, it's it's just about how we fell in love with the culture, not where where you were or or anything like that for for me.
Speaker 2:So, again, like, how is how is low riding part of San Jose culture? Like, how would you show that to somebody who's not from here?
Speaker 4:Santa Clara Street. Take them to Santa Clara Street, and they'll see all the cars cruising. I mean, you know, back in the days, we used to go cruising Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. You know, there every day, you would just go out there. You didn't need a flyer.
Speaker 4:You didn't need an event. You know, we'd be out there just cruising. You'd see a few, you know, cars on the boulevard and stuff. So I would just take them there and and and let them see all the beautiful cars and see how we all gather together and and admire each other's cars and conversate. You know?
Speaker 4:I think, it doesn't matter who you are, what ethnicity, where you're from, it don't matter. Me, for myself, if there's a low rider on the side of the road or maybe even a old school, you know what I mean, I'll be like, oh my god. Do they need help? And then sometimes my manager will be like, keep going, everybody. Keep going.
Speaker 4:But, you know, like, it's more community. Right? Yeah. Exactly. You know?
Speaker 4:So, but I think for San Jose, like, just take them to Santa Clara Street. It's everybody knows that everybody's gone down there. Everybody's seen it. People have complained about traffic sometimes. It's not it's just a a staple.
Speaker 4:You know?
Speaker 2:Christina, mean, what do you what would you say? Like, how was it part of San Jose or vice versa?
Speaker 3:I think, for myself, it's more as far as myself, like, it's a piece of me because I I come from, like, story inking. And so a lot of times, when I do take people on tours or I take them cruising, people that come from other states or other countries have asked me, because they're like, Oh, California. You know? Have to find a lowrider. My sister they're an
Speaker 2:international ambassador.
Speaker 3:-My sister has a lot of friends that are from other states or out of the country.
Speaker 1:And she But but
Speaker 2:real talk. I mean, low riding has spanned the globe now.
Speaker 1:Know what Like,
Speaker 2:there's low rider clubs in Japan. There's low rider clubs. You know I'm saying?
Speaker 3:Like Right.
Speaker 2:That's real talk. I apologize.
Speaker 3:No. It's it's true. But it's so nice. They show up, and then, you know, my sister has all these friends. My sister is not involved in lowriding at all, but she's a huge supporter of my dreams.
Speaker 3:You know? And so she's like, oh. So, like, my sister has a lowrider, and they're like, what? And then they're like, oh my god. Please.
Speaker 3:Like, can you ask her if she can take us cruising? And she's like, oh, yeah, she'll do it. And so I've done it, it's really nice to show up to Keegan's story and just talk about the history, talk about the development of everything, you know, around us, the buildings, everything's changed, you know, from back in the '60 the seventies, you know, my parents got here in the sixties, and they talk about, you know, the houses that were being built and the roads and the pavement, and and everything's evolving. And I think Lowrider history is also evolving in the same way that we're kinda taking over. You know what I mean?
Speaker 3:And and it's nice to see the power of the people, like, grow that and instill that into their children and then make it part of the festivals. Dia de los Muertos, Cinco de Mayo is not going anywhere. You guys might as well accept it. Now the city has accepted it. Things like that, of course, we're always going to run into something, which is normal in every aspect of life.
Speaker 3:But I think that the development, it's just it's there. We're seeing it. We're seeing the color. We're seeing everything show up. Everything's custom, and it's beautiful.
Speaker 2:And, Christine, I wanna get you on this as well, but you just segue for us perfectly. Wanna ask I wanna push you on something you just said. So so, again, for the audience that doesn't know, sort of cruising in San Jose was outlawed for many decades. And so, like, for a long time, so a lot of what Angel and others have been talking about has technically sometimes been been breaking laws, been rebellious. Right?
Speaker 2:And just recently and by just recently, I mean, 2022 the city finally lifted the ban.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:So the ban was lifted, and to commemorate the lifting of the ban, the first Sunday of every September, yeah, is a Lowrider Day. And so that's that's gonna be commemorated now every year. But this was a longtime sort of organizing struggle of the Lowriding community in San Jose and of the and really, frankly, of the whole sort of ChicanoLatino community in San Jose, broadly speaking, to push back on that ban. And I was really curious, to be honest, because that ban's only been in place for a couple of years, So I'm real curious about the reality of it.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:So I wanna know about, like, why was it originally banned and what was that life like? And I wanna know that after it's supposedly lifted, whether or not things are actually different for the treatment of the community.
Speaker 4:It's different from when the police want it. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 2:So you made a face on, made
Speaker 3:sure be clear. Yeah.
Speaker 5:Go ahead.
Speaker 4:And and you know what? When you say, oh, I wanna know if things actually changed. And my eyes, no. No. They haven't.
Speaker 4:The only difference is that now when the city decides to let us host events, then they're like, oh, come out. We wanna see the cars. We want we want this. We want that. But when we're out there cruising, Cinco de Mayo a couple years ago, I wasn't here.
Speaker 4:I was in LA. It was pouring rain, and they had cops all lying down all the streets, and this was after they had lifted the band.
Speaker 2:Where are we talking about?
Speaker 4:Santa Clara Street.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 4:You know? So for me and my eyes and I know, you know, everyone has their own opinions and everything, but for me, no, nothing's really changed except for when the city decides that they wanna let you, be out there showing off your cars and, you know, paying for the permits and and all these other things. That's just my own feelings towards it. Even when the band was here, we still cruised. We still stayed out all night.
Speaker 4:You know? She was, we were all out there. You know? So I I don't think it it's any different. Like she was saying, you know, they were out there, you know, cruising around.
Speaker 4:She was bringing people out here and stuff, so nothing's changed.
Speaker 5:Yeah. I mean, yeah, we were always out every weekend. So even when the band was before it was lifted, we did what I mean, we're not causing trouble. We're just going out, a good time, cruising the streets, you know, seeing other people out there. And then when they lifted the band, it's like the same thing.
Speaker 5:They're still gonna pull you over regardless if they want to for whatever reason, they still they're gonna do what they wanna do.
Speaker 4:So Yeah.
Speaker 5:I really don't know if it really changed much.
Speaker 2:I feel like you got feelings about this, man.
Speaker 3:Can you sense that? I feel like I agree with them not letting us cruise. They'll block off. They're still fencing Roosevelt. They're still in control of a
Speaker 2:lot I'm curious about the, like, how be specific. Like, what is it that you're experiencing? What is it
Speaker 3:that they're doing? So they're still fencing rolls about, they're still blocking off the streets. They're making us drive into the highways and the freeways, and the ramps are closed, things like Keeping
Speaker 2:you off the main drags
Speaker 1:in the
Speaker 2:neighborhoods, right? Making you dip off into the side street or onto
Speaker 3:the freeway. Where we've actually made history, right? These popular streets. A lot of them have kind of turned into Monterey Street, right? Monterey Highway, if you want to call But I think and I hope nobody gets offended by this, but I think that the ban was lifted so that they can bring politics into this picture.
Speaker 3:And at all these events, we have someone from the city show up and, hey, take a picture, and yeah, we're supporting you. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate them. Council members that show up to our events, that's huge because we're uniting. But the actual cruising cruising part of it, I'd have to agree. It hasn't really changed.
Speaker 3:Their involvement is there Counselors
Speaker 2:are sitting in the passenger seat.
Speaker 3:Right. They will, they will on Low Rider
Speaker 4:When there's parades,
Speaker 3:you Rider Day.
Speaker 4:You
Speaker 3:know? Which is fine. Like I said, we appreciate that. But that's really the only time that we see this. Other than that, I don't really have much to say about it.
Speaker 3:I just do what I do, you know?
Speaker 2:I am super curious about this, though. Right? I mean, like, do they find threatening about it? I mean, you know what I'm saying? And I wanna I don't wanna use this, like, ambiguous bullshit, they.
Speaker 2:Right? So we're talking about, you know, SJPD. We're talking about the city broadly. We're talking about the powers behind city politics as well, who, as we all know, help to determine who gets labeled as criminal and who doesn't, right, regardless of who who's lived here for how long and through how many generations and Mhmm. Whatever that may be.
Speaker 2:Right? So I'm on the politics of the issue, and we don't spend too much time there if you don't want, but I'm genuinely curious. Right? Why had there had to been a ban for so long? Why are they still doing this even though the ban is technically lifted?
Speaker 2:Like, what about cruising in low rider culture here is a threat?
Speaker 5:Well, it has that stigma, you know, behind low ride people that low ride and the cars and the type of people maybe it brings out. You know, sometimes it does bring out a different type of a crowd, but the actual, like, people that take their cars out and low ride, we ain't trying to start no problems. We pay, you know, money to have our cars looking nice. Don't wanna get our cars all messed up You can rent up on them and drama or fights and bottles thrown at our cars or anything like that.
Speaker 4:And most of the time, we have our kids with us. Yeah. You know?
Speaker 5:That's another thing.
Speaker 4:So why would we wanna have that around our children and stuff? But like, you said, you know, sometimes it brings out people, spectators, and stuff like that who aren't always on their best behavior, but we have no way to control that. You know, just like they have, I think it was last year when they did the parade for Cinco de Mayo, and there was a stabbing, and they were blaming it on the Cinco de Mayo event when it wasn't even spectators from the Cinco de Mayo event.
Speaker 1:I remember that.
Speaker 4:You know? So I think that they sometimes us, you know, Mexicans, Chicanos, Chicanos, you know, our culture, who we are, sometimes they just wanna sit there and point fingers at us and make us look like bad people, but we're not. You know, we're all we all have you heard our jobs. You know, we're we're blue collar people. We we work hard for what we have.
Speaker 4:You know? And if you know, you know, is about the community. We do we did a back to school drive. We did a toy drive. We do a annual breast cancer raffle, every year.
Speaker 4:To date, we've already donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation over $17,000. And it's not just. We recently did a, a diaper and wipe drive. A lot of these car clubs always do toy drives every year to think for them. Now there's, a Easter drive, always giving back to the community since they've been around.
Speaker 4:Now we get more eyes on us. Like she said, the politicians come out or whoever comes out, council members are like, hey. This and that. And we appreciate that, you know, but everybody does it. Everybody in our community gives back and tries to help.
Speaker 4:We have fundraisers for all these things, so it's like, you know, but you still wanna kinda make us look like bad people or suppress us, but we're not going nowhere, and we're gonna get bigger and better.
Speaker 1:On
Speaker 2:that note, so if there's, like, young women, teenage girls, you know, you feel me, that want to get into this, they want to get into cars, they want to get into low riding, they want to get into, you know, want to pursue having their own car or learning how to work on their cars, what would you tell them?
Speaker 4:I'd be like, I'll come pick you up. Now I can pick now I can pick them up, but before I mean the Camry, you're like, Okay, let's go.
Speaker 2:Real talk. We'll we'll have the, you know, contact information for the club on IG and all that on on the show description, and we'll have some other other links and and resources there for folks who wanna get down and learn more about the club, learn more about the culture. But I'm just kinda curious, like, for our listeners, right, if them or their kids or whatever, like, wanted to get into this, like, how do you suggest they get started? Like, should they just start go out, start kinda looking for cars? Do they Yeah.
Speaker 4:Well, it depends on their age.
Speaker 2:YouTube University.
Speaker 4:You know
Speaker 2:what I'm saying? Like, what what how would you suggest, growing this culture? Right?
Speaker 4:Yeah. We were at a car show here in San Jose. We also started a bike club because a lot of our daughters, little girls, were there at the shows with us. They love the culture. They love the cars, and they want something of their own.
Speaker 4:So we decided, let's do the bike club. 2022, we started a bike club. Right now, we have now nine members. This girl came up. She was a teenager.
Speaker 4:She was like, hey. I love I love you guys. Oh, you guys are so awesome. I wanna be a part of your
Speaker 2:bike Custom custom bicycles.
Speaker 4:Yes. Loreda bikes.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 4:Yeah. She was like I think she was, like, 16 at the time. And she's like, I wanna be a part of your bike club. I said, Do you have a bike? She's like, Yes, I do.
Speaker 4:Said, Come on in. Come on. Beautiful. We're we're a family. We're, you know, we're it's all about embracing our culture, our children.
Speaker 4:You know? Who's who's gonna take on from here? Who who's gonna still share the love that we that we have for our cars, for the community, wanna do good? So for us, we're always very welcoming. Yes.
Speaker 4:It is all females. But, I mean hey. Even little boys, if they wanna come along, you know, some of our members, their nephew, he has a low rider bike. He loves it. He's always out there.
Speaker 4:We're never gonna say no to anybody. You know what I mean? But I think it's just, you know, sharing the love that you have with with whoever it is.
Speaker 2:Me or Christina?
Speaker 3:I I work with a lot of girls, and that question comes up a lot because I do take my car to work sometimes just to kinda Mhmm. You know Flex. Yeah, flex. They enjoy it. And so they do ask questions like that.
Speaker 3:I'm going to look at it at a more of an education side of it. So it's not easy to buy a car, right? It's not even easy to buy your first car to get to work. A lot of the things that I tell these girls, and this kind of stems off Career Day, we just had a Career Day the other day, And I talked about some of the things that I did in my past, my previous career, and I always just tell them to hustle. Find something that you love.
Speaker 3:If you're artistic, make money off of that. I was able to build I was able to buy my car and build it twice because of my hobby that I started when I was 14. I was a little girl, and, you know, I started doing hair. Now, twenty six years later, you know what I mean, I I I've I've been able to do so many things with that, with the fact that I had a side hustle. So for me, that's the biggest thing.
Speaker 3:A side hustle excuse me. A side hustle, invest. Invest in something, anything that's going to make you money so that you can pull money out of that. Like, for instance, buy a house or just buy something, stocks even. Take out that money, you know, so that you don't get a loan.
Speaker 3:It's okay to get a loan. You can go to the bank. If you have good credit, There's nothing wrong with getting a loan.
Speaker 4:I'll approve you. Yeah.
Speaker 3:And she'll approve you. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I know where I'm going from.
Speaker 1:You know
Speaker 3:what I mean? But but work for it. Like, there's nothing wrong with having a full time job and a hustle. Like, everybody's like, Oh, you have to put everything into it. No, you don't.
Speaker 3:You just have to start young, and you have and somebody has to tell you that when you're young. Because if they tell you that when you're 40, it's really hard to start right now.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, that was one of the one of the you know, it literally is one of my questions on here. I'm trying trying to feel like Mia's reading my
Speaker 1:script. She
Speaker 3:keeps getting at
Speaker 1:on my question.
Speaker 4:She said she was blind. You determined that was a lie. Yeah.
Speaker 1:On the exam.
Speaker 2:No. But for real, I mean, you know, I mean, because this is this is working class culture. Right? Like like, I I'm I don't think I'm off when I'm saying, like, we're not talking about rich folks Mm-mm. Tech typically in low riding culture.
Speaker 2:Right? We're not talking about, you know, our tech execs in low riding culture. Right? So part of the question for me is, like, you gotta really love it. You know what I mean?
Speaker 2:Because you're hustling, fam. It's it's not like it's easy to survive here as it is. Like Yeah. Cost of living here, cost of housing here, and everything like that. So I I mean, one of my my questions was gonna be, like, frankly, how do you afford it?
Speaker 2:Right. Like, how do you afford the time, the tools, the materials? You feel me? Like like and then of the few times you do have to pay somebody to work on it that as well.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And you gotta buy the car, right, the original. And it looks like that's one of the place where a lot of the skill comes in is, like, getting a great deal on a great car that you can you know, like you said, like, your experience was. But, yeah, like like, there's gotta be some, like, side hustle attached, it seems. Yes?
Speaker 4:Yes. Yeah. And you and Go ahead.
Speaker 3:Sorry. No. I was just gonna say that this is all part of the same thing, the involvement of cultura Mhmm. And and work and art and color. It's all connected some way somehow.
Speaker 4:Yeah. And I think, you know, being raised by my mom, you know, showing, oh, let's be you know, work hard. She went to school full time, worked full time, you know, just so that you can get what you want, you know, whether it's the low rider bike, whether it's a low rider, you know, going to school or or working and and maintaining your lifestyle of whatever it is you you wanna buy. You know? Now kids kids of days want their iPhone 14 or 15 or 16 or whatever they're on now.
Speaker 4:Yeah. But you know what I mean? I think just in general, but it it is we're lucky because we had our cars for a very long time. We got them at really good prices. If you wanna go buy the same car now, it's gonna cost you a lot more money.
Speaker 4:Well, of course, with inflation, I mean, me for myself, I used to live in Sunnyvale. I had a family home there. I couldn't afford to buy a a home here. I had to move to the Central Valley. You know, you gotta make sacrifices.
Speaker 4:I wanted to get new interior, then, boom, my air conditioner went out, so I had to pay for Yeah. You know? It's it's also making sacrifices, you know? But it's it's just working hard at whatever it is you wanna do. Like, she was saying, you know, her hobby turned into a career that she was great at, and she was able to, you know, pave to get her car.
Speaker 4:She she has two beautiful cars. You know what I mean? It's it's it's a lot of hard work. You know? It doesn't come easy.
Speaker 4:So you just have to be determined.
Speaker 2:Well, again, it just strikes me how much, like, sort of and I don't wanna sound, like, corny with this, like, some sort of YouTube dipshit, but, like, there's a there's a lot of, like, growth involved, fam. Like like, I can I can see just through this conversation, like, how much you you've gained in your life out of being involved in the culture, right? Right. Sorry. I just wanna point
Speaker 3:that Yeah. And not and not just growth, but obstacles as well.
Speaker 1:Yep. Ocean. Yeah.
Speaker 3:And they know that, and a lot of people actually know this, but I'm the only low rider in my family. And there's and then it's I have a huge family. My brother had a car. He had a Cadillac for a little while, but
Speaker 4:he Just a Cadillac.
Speaker 2:I was gonna say,
Speaker 1:She had a Cadillac. You just find a snap on her face when she sees a Cadillac?
Speaker 3:Don't mean
Speaker 4:it like that. I
Speaker 5:just do
Speaker 3:I think it just goes back to reflect on on a really hard time. He was that that part of my life was really difficult because my brother was on drugs and stuff. And so I don't really like to talk about it, but I remember him. You know, he had a Cadillac. My brother, Chaka.
Speaker 3:Shout out to all the old school people from King and Story. And, you know, Sergio had a bomb, and and Poncho had a Caprice. And, like, I would see it, but I was never allowed to be a part of it. So it was always like, you know, get dressed in the house, whatever. Like, you know, it was there was things going on that I couldn't be a part
Speaker 2:of Sure.
Speaker 3:Which I respected. I still do. But my dad doesn't allow it to this day. I'm like, sorry, guys. I can't go because my dad doesn't let me take out this car.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean? And it sucks because he has the property. He has the land for me to park my cars. I don't have that here. You know what I mean?
Speaker 3:So I I have to respect it. There's there's there's respect that needs to remain there until I can have my own place, then I can do whatever I want, right, with my cars. But, yeah, a lot of it has been obstacles as well.
Speaker 4:Yeah. And especially as women doing and the writing and stuff. You know? But yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm not gonna lie. I wanna ask you about this.
Speaker 4:K.
Speaker 2:This, thing with your pops is interesting to me. Mhmm. You mind
Speaker 3:if I machismo. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I mean, like, what what's explain this
Speaker 3:to What's the deal? Yeah. Well, kinda like these politicians. My dad loves to profile. My dad is very judgmental.
Speaker 3:I love my dad to death. He is everything to me.
Speaker 2:And shout out to pops, right? Exactly. Shade thrown at all.
Speaker 3:No, it isn't because everybody who knows my dad and my dad's pretty known on this side of town. I had a I just oh my god. I had a guy at my house the other day helping me with my hydraulics, and his poor dog, you know, has to go to the bathroom. And we have big dogs in the back. So I locked him away.
Speaker 3:My dad wasn't home, and he's like, oh, my dog has to pee. So I was like, oh, yeah. Bring him in the yard. So the dog's peeing. Well, my dad shows up.
Speaker 3:He's like, why are the dogs locked up? And I'm like, well, there's this guy working here. And he's like, but they don't need to be locked up. And I'm like, okay, but can he's like, just put them in this other little gate, right? It's like chicken wire.
Speaker 3:And I'm like, oh my god, these are two German shepherds. I'm like, fine, but there's another little dog right here. Well, he didn't pay attention to me. He lets the dogs out and they just go at it through this little chicken wire fence. And I'm like, oh my god.
Speaker 3:And this guy's like, oh, shit. And my dad's like, get your dog and put it in the car. I was like, oh my god.
Speaker 4:I was
Speaker 3:like, I'm so sorry. He's like, no. It's cool, man. I'm sorry about that. And I was like, oh my god.
Speaker 3:My dad doesn't care. My dad has he does not care about your feelings. He's very machista. My brothers are machistas. Everything is like the woman's in the house, the woman cooks the food, the woman cleans.
Speaker 3:You know? That's how I was raised. My dad's from Mexico. So But
Speaker 2:it sound but I guess this is what's so fascinating to me, though. Like, it sounds like it on some level, he accepts it, though. Right? Because he knows you do it.
Speaker 3:Well, he
Speaker 2:You keep it for
Speaker 3:a Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3:But He has no choice.
Speaker 4:You hear that?
Speaker 2:That's what Absolutely. What's interesting to me. Right?
Speaker 3:It's there
Speaker 2:there's a there's a paradox there. Right? It's like so you have this, you traditional, you know, like, what you
Speaker 3:used to look at your big old brocha. Yeah. Like
Speaker 2:which, again, no no shade thrown
Speaker 4:at all.
Speaker 2:No longer. But at the same time, like, he's not totally stopping. You know what I'm saying?
Speaker 3:Like Right.
Speaker 2:Like, so you you so I guess what I'm trying to say is this is, like, you've clearly been able to establish some level of independence with this. Right?
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:Like Like, there is some level of which you've been able to figure out, like, no, this is who I'm gonna be Right. And everyone's gonna live with that.
Speaker 3:And I think it it it has a lot to do with the fact that you think something of us is one thing, but I have never done anything to my dad to make him think or to make him see that I've I've failed him. I mean, I've I've bought my own house. I got married. I did that whole thing.
Speaker 2:Sure.
Speaker 3:Where in you know, what part of this do you not like? Like, nobody's doing anything to you. I'm not damaging your house. I'm not nothing. Everybody that shows up to my house is respectful.
Speaker 3:It's so hard for me to get a detailer, you know what I mean, to come to
Speaker 4:the house. I'm like, I can't.
Speaker 3:They call me and they're like, do you need work? And I'm like, no. My dad's here. He has
Speaker 4:to wait
Speaker 3:till he goes to Mexico. Like, I can't do it. Yeah. So it's it's just but at the end of the day, my dad's my best friend. Like, what what is it?
Speaker 3:I don't know, but it's just the image. It's the image that he he's not gonna accept it. But, you know, yesterday, he he fixed my battery. He was just like, I fixed your battery. And I was like, okay.
Speaker 3:Thank you. So, like, slowly, even when I post a picture of him working on it, your cousin, I remember one time, was like, what? Your dad's helping you? I'm on. No.
Speaker 3:He's just putting the plate on. There's
Speaker 4:a screw.
Speaker 3:He's just screwing that. Yeah. So little things like that. My I know my dad loves us, and we're not bad kids. You know, we gave him hell at some point in life, but it wasn't that deep to where, like, you have to hate it that much.
Speaker 2:Sure. Sure. What do you think, Christina? Same issue.
Speaker 5:With my father?
Speaker 2:No. No. No.
Speaker 4:No. Well, let's talk about
Speaker 1:my uncle. Sorry.
Speaker 2:No. I mean, in in terms of, like Sorry.
Speaker 5:Oh, we can talk about
Speaker 2:my father. Of my this question of my cheese. Right? This question of of, you know, this really just being the territory of men. You know what I mean?
Speaker 2:This is not really, really your place,
Speaker 1:so to speak.
Speaker 5:So on Saturday, when we were gonna go to the heritage day, a lot of us met up, and I I'm bringing it up because it's so fresh. We all met up at Walmart, and there was probably, what, like, 12 females with their cars. Right? Impala's, Cutloose, Monte Carlo bombs. And so Truck.
Speaker 5:There was, you know, people that are coming around just looking at the cars, and there was this one guy that was just staring. He's like, wow. And then another lady's husband was like, yeah. Can you believe they're all, you know, they're they're all female owned, you know? And he's like, no.
Speaker 5:Like, he was in shock that they were all owned by females. He just couldn't he couldn't, like, understand that this is what's going on, you know? So to me, it's, like, it's crazy how in shock you could be. Like, why is that so shocking to you?
Speaker 1:You know?
Speaker 2:Does it make it all that much sweeter
Speaker 1:for you, Yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Like, we're both of us.
Speaker 2:I'll see
Speaker 1:you and Bethel. You know? Mhmm. Okay.
Speaker 2:So, look, this has been a great conversation. And audience, they were all telling me, I don't know about I
Speaker 1:don't I
Speaker 2:don't know. I'm kind
Speaker 1:of nervous. I'm really
Speaker 4:We're shy.
Speaker 1:And I'm
Speaker 2:not really good. I'm shy. Y'all have been amazing for this conversation, and wanna thank you for your time. Before we get out of here, I wanna do a quick, quick speed round. Okay.
Speaker 2:Okay? So I'm gonna ask the question and just fire back the answer. You know what I mean? So first question for all three of you. We'll just start with me, and then we'll go down the line.
Speaker 2:So dream car.
Speaker 3:My dream car is I already have a 1964 Chevy Impala Super Sport and a 1965 Chevy Impala.
Speaker 4:Okay. 1965 Chevy Impala.
Speaker 5:My dream car probably would be a 'sixty three Impala.
Speaker 2:All right. I got to ask. Why is that the car? Right? So I feel like if I asked a hundred people in the culture, 85 of them are gonna say, you know Impala?
Speaker 2:Sixty three to sixty five Impala.
Speaker 5:Why? The backlights.
Speaker 4:They're beautiful Chevys, and they run great.
Speaker 3:The value. The value, the history Okay. For myself.
Speaker 2:Okay. All right. Next question. Favorite street or neighborhood to cruise?
Speaker 5:Santa Clara Street. Santa Clara Street.
Speaker 3:King And Story.
Speaker 2:Okay. Is there a is there a controversy here?
Speaker 3:No. I don't think so necessarily. Everybody usually heads that way. But if you know if you know,
Speaker 5:like, the cruising, it's like Santa Clara, King's Story, flip a bitch, do the same thing.
Speaker 2:Okay. Yeah.
Speaker 5:That's what
Speaker 2:it was. Okay. Alright. Favorite song to slap on a cruise?
Speaker 4:Saturday love, of course, by Cherrell.
Speaker 3:Midas touch by midnight star.
Speaker 5:I would say outstanding gap end.
Speaker 2:Okay. Okay. All oldies. Alright. All with oldies.
Speaker 2:I was curious too, especially for me. I was like, we're gonna get an old school.
Speaker 5:You'll stay,
Speaker 1:Nate. You'll
Speaker 3:get everything from me. You'll get Charlema Sanchez.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Let's let's switch those. So y'all gave oldies. Alright. Can't be oldies. It's gotta be somewhat contemporary.
Speaker 4:Contemporary?
Speaker 1:Never mind.
Speaker 2:Mean I mean, in terms of time, like like like modern. You feel me? Like
Speaker 3:Modern. To
Speaker 1:well, we don't we
Speaker 4:We don't listen to none of that.
Speaker 1:Golden Era. Remember?
Speaker 4:Kendrick Lamar. Kendrick Lamar TV or something, I think. It has to be Kendrick Lamar.
Speaker 2:But never mind. We we
Speaker 3:My own pocket were you
Speaker 5:talking to?
Speaker 3:Take it you. By Snoop Dogg.
Speaker 1:Yes. He said the
Speaker 4:first exhibit. I want
Speaker 1:I just wanna
Speaker 2:point out she knew the assignment. She knew the assignment right away. She knew
Speaker 4:exactly what I meant. Super loud.
Speaker 2:Alright.
Speaker 1:And I gotta get the like, okay.
Speaker 2:You got somebody 20 something in the car. You know, whatever. Wait. Alright. You answered the question.
Speaker 1:Good to hear you. Now
Speaker 2:we ask all of our guests. Best restaurant in San Jose.
Speaker 4:I like El Gruelencia, San Antonio and King because you can look at your car, people drive by, and get some good taco.
Speaker 5:I agree.
Speaker 3:My favorite place is actually, Mariscos San Blas, Julian, and, what is that, 30 Third by the chain tracks.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:Horrible shopping center. Super ghetto. Super ghetto. Lock the doors. Parking.
Speaker 1:But why
Speaker 3:is it the spot
Speaker 1:why is the
Speaker 3:Oh, the food is amazing. They have, like, 20 TVs. You can watch everything there. The fights there. They used to have paletas.
Speaker 3:They don't have paletas anymore, but they have Wait.
Speaker 2:Did they show UFC am boxing? Yes. Oh, bet.
Speaker 4:Yeah. You can do that. And they
Speaker 3:have they've they remodeled the whole thing. Thing. So you feel like you're in Vegas. You're, like, sitting in a booth. I was like, no.
Speaker 3:We're the club right now.
Speaker 4:You're making me wanna go there now.
Speaker 3:We've done karaoke.
Speaker 2:What's name
Speaker 3:of Marisco San Blas.
Speaker 2:Okay. Yeah. Okay. Alright. So shouts out.
Speaker 2:Shouts out. We always put that in episode two. And we and that's one of our favorite questions asked all of our guests, too, and we we we're we gotta do something with it at the end, like like, don't know, compile all the joints, like, compile all the restaurants, like, say hello say hello down restaurant list or something like that. Because everyone, like, lists these, like, amazing local joints. Right?
Speaker 2:Like, so I've already been sold on one, so shouts out for Hanoi on the East Side. So so we had our our nurses episode. We had a couple of the nurses that won a successful, nurses' strike, several months ago. And these were badasses. You feel me?
Speaker 2:Like, these women, like, held strong through COVID.
Speaker 4:He's trying to face down everything.
Speaker 2:Talk about, like, such a fun interview, such fun some fun folks. But one of the nurses was like, you have to go to Foe Hanoi. They're the only joint that has and by the way, I I don't I can't put this in stone. I've heard they are the only joint with, like, house made noodles, and I've had them there amazing. So we that's, like, my joint now.
Speaker 2:You know what saying?
Speaker 4:Yeah, sounds good.
Speaker 2:So it's also a little bit selfish, right? So we're
Speaker 1:asking everybody for ourselves.
Speaker 2:But,
Speaker 4:So just bleep ours out then.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1:yeah. Well,
Speaker 2:it's one of our favorite parts of the show. But like I said, this has been a super fun interview, and I hope the audience really appreciates this the way we do. I know I have a newfound appreciation for the extent to which lowriding is really a part of San Jose culture broadly, part of our history, part of who we are as a city. And I'm hoping that our audience will respond and have some things to say about the episode. I just want to thank our guests again from my heart and and and and for the rest of the crew and from San O Lowdown, and we hope to follow-up with you at some point in the future.
Speaker 4:Nice. Thank you for having us. Thank you. Thank you. You.
Speaker 4:Although, we could've talked for, like, five more hours.
Speaker 2:So we just wrapped up our interview. Our guests have made their way out of the studio, and now I'm just hanging out with some of my pals, Sanho Lowdown Squad members, Nick, producer, man on the the boards.
Speaker 6:Sorry. Should we
Speaker 2:Joaquin and Alora. Joaquin and Alora, how you doing?
Speaker 7:What's up?
Speaker 6:Are we just practicing? I'm sorry.
Speaker 2:No. We're we're doing this now.
Speaker 7:Keeping it
Speaker 6:going. Okay. We're just going? Alright. I'm doing alright.
Speaker 6:How about you? Okay.
Speaker 7:Good. I mean, we just got to, like, see this awesome interview. I mean, like, these people were, like, truly professionals. Like, they didn't I don't know if they mentioned this in the show, but they were on Kelly Clarkson. They met Jay Leno.
Speaker 7:Like, they are professionals, and it was a pleasure to watch it happen.
Speaker 2:Yeah. We're small fries. They graced us with their with their presence on the show. We we're we're super thankful. No.
Speaker 2:No. In all seriousness, I I thought they were great, and I I really happy that they decided to share share their stories with us and share some time. But, Laura, how'd you feel about the interview?
Speaker 6:It was fun. It was really great meeting them in the parking lot, getting to chop it up with them a little bit, get to know more about them, and then hearing what they had to say about the culture and their upbringing. Then there's the day to day badassery that is just them and their club. It was really cool. It was really fun, and,
Speaker 3:yeah, it was necessary.
Speaker 2:So I wanna also thank Joaquin. This we all have him thanked for coming up with the idea for the episode. Joaquin, what made you come up with this idea for us?
Speaker 7:Oh, stop. You're gonna make me blush. No. I mean, when we were, like, you know, spitballing ideas for this month's episode, was just thinking, like, in the back of my brain, I'm like, who could really like fit this scenario and like, who would I like to highlight? And, you know, when it came down to we wanted to talk about some badass local women doing their big one in San Jose.
Speaker 7:I instantly thought of the Duenas Car Club. I mean, my manager, I think she's like Angel's Tia or something. They have some type of familiar relationship and she was like, always talking about the Duenas, we all sometimes like donate coffee for their events that they do. So they just were like the first ones to come to mind and I was so like glad to be here and like talking with them and like listening in to you guys having that conversation because one part that really stuck out for me that like really shows how like local these these people are are was when Mia was talking about like the mural or the design on her car and when I'm like, when she said she has Pop Smart like painted on her car, I was like, okay, I know exactly where that I go there after school, growing up, to get ice cream, like, that's some local shit
Speaker 1:right there.
Speaker 7:Could you speak of, like, how impactful it is that this kind of club, like, exists in San Jose? Like, I don't know. What makes you excited about this episode?
Speaker 6:That it is San Jose. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:Like, that
Speaker 6:question about, you know, what makes low riding, you know, San Jose. And to me, that that is San Jose. Yeah. You know, growing up, and, like, they were talking about their experiences of Getting in the car with your cousins your aunts and you know just driving around putting on Sunday night oldies and that was just It's just what we did. Know We didn't need anything else.
Speaker 6:We just needed a car. We just needed each other. We just needed the music, and we just needed San Jose.
Speaker 7:You're, like, living in the moment, and it's, like, appreciative of what that is and, like, the, like, the stories and, like, the memories of it. You know what I mean? Yeah.
Speaker 6:Yeah. Just cruising the landscape and seeing other every, you know, other families doing it and people like, you know, my parents met cruising, and I'm a product of cruising.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. Mhmm.
Speaker 6:This is like Yeah. Like, I don't know. It's like, just even me just going out of my house. It's like, I can't be in my car without being in that mindset. Or it's like, no matter how shitty I feel, I just bump some oldies.
Speaker 6:I roll down my window. I stick my arm out. I say what's up to people crossing the street, and, you know, like The freedom that I provides. Yeah. And just that connection.
Speaker 6:Mhmm. Like, hey, what's up? I see you. You see me. What's up?
Speaker 6:Like, that's just so San Jose, and that's what I appreciate about San Jose.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Mhmm.
Speaker 6:That's why I go out of my house. Otherwise, like, whatever. I don't need any of this shit. It's like, nah, dude. Like
Speaker 2:Yeah. I mean, I felt like the whole thing was, like, very San Jose, you know, which is which is obviously, you know, what we're looking for in the show. And, you know, I I think it's, for us, like, one of the pleasures of the show is to get to document all these things about our city and about our region, the people, their lives, you know what I mean, the stories and and everything. So, yeah, I'm just I'm just super thankful that we got to meet them and and looking forward to hopefully being able to connect with them again in the future. And and so with that, I wanna thank our audience for joining us for another episode, and we'll look for you look for you for the next one.
Speaker 2:Alright, y'all.
Speaker 6:Cool. Thanks. Later. Later, skater.