Lowrider culture in Modesto will now be officially recognized each year, following a proclamation by the City Council that designates the fourth Saturday of September as Lowrider History Day. The announcement was made at a council meeting where community representatives accepted the proclamation.
The proclamation was received by Jerry Thompson of the Modesto NorCal Lowrider Alliance, Francisco Mireles and Dolores Chacon from the NorCal Lowrider Community, and Johnny Garcia, CEO of the Stanislaus Latino Chamber of Commerce.
“Car culture is at the core of Modesto’s identity,” said Mayor Sue Zwahlen. “As the culture expands, it continues to transcend boundaries and generations of Modesto diverse communities.”
Francisco Mireles shared his long-standing involvement with lowriders since his teenage years. He described how lowriding has become a family activity: “It’s not just gangs and violence anymore. You got families involved in lowriding. You got women involved in lowriding. It’s a multigenerational thing,” Mireles said.
He also noted changing attitudes among law enforcement agencies: “That’s monumental,” he said, referring to support from organizations like the Modesto Police Department and California Highway Patrol—something he said would have been unlikely in previous decades.
The first annual History of Lowriding Holiday Festival is scheduled for Saturday in downtown Modesto from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., organized by the NorCal Lowrider Community with help from the Stanislaus Latino Chamber of Commerce. The event will feature car displays including both lowriders and hot rods, performances by Aztec and folklorico dancers, mariachi music, and lucha libre wrestling.
“We try to make this more of a community but also a cultural event,” Thompson said.
In addition to outdoor festivities, there will be a free screening at 2 p.m. at The State Theater of “Lowriders,” a film about an East Los Angeles street artist navigating family dynamics tied to car culture.
A festival after-party is planned at The Doghouse Taproom in Ceres from 5 to 11 p.m., featuring live music and a DJ set.
Domingo Perez recalled his experiences with lowriding since the 1970s: “We’re excited to make this as big as we can for the first time.”
Lowrider culture began among Mexican Americans in Southern California after World War II. Cars were customized with lowered suspensions, bright paintwork, chrome details, custom interiors, and hydraulic systems that could lift or bounce vehicles—a style further shaped during the Chicano movement as an expression of cultural pride.
Dolores Chacon reflected on these traditions: “We took pride in fixing up our cars and our bikes with friends, family and forming core memories further ingraining the lowrider culture in the community, social clubs, holidays and special occasions.”
Cruising has been part of local tradition for decades; George Lucas’ film “American Graffiti,” set in Modesto, helped establish cruising as central to city identity—leading eventually to regular festivals focused on classic cars.
Regulatory challenges arose when California allowed cities to ban cruising starting in 1988; Modesto enacted its own ban two years later. Perez remembered that era brought negative attention from police officers toward cruisers.
In July 2023, however, city officials voted to lift their cruising ban—a decision followed statewide when Assembly Bill 436 was signed into law later that year by Governor Gavin Newsom. This removed all restrictions on lowrider cruising across California beginning in 2024.
Thompson credited local advocacy efforts for helping change perceptions around lowridership: “It was a big accomplishment,” he said about lifting restrictions. “We’ve been trying to get this lowrider community out there because they’ve had the stigma for years…this is finally starting to show the fruits of everybody’s labor.”
He added that communication between law enforcement and car enthusiasts has improved locally compared with other parts of California: “They listen with intent…the lowrider community listens back with [the] Police Department with their concerns.” For most events now held by enthusiasts groups within city limits—after notifying authorities—the response has generally been positive.
“There’s some bad apples out there [among lowriders]. They’re still trying to make the community look bad in a way,” Thompson said. “But majority of them have made those strides…they are working and improving.”
