Low and slow wins the race

The impact of the United Lowrider Council of San Jose, CA

A group of four Hispanic men and a Hispanic woman standing next to each other facing the camera at an event booth.

San Jose’s lowrider culture cruises on. | Photo provided by David Polanco

On Wed., Aug. 31, hundreds of San Joseans came out to City Hall for a huge celebration marking the end to a 30-year ban on cruising, which disproportionately targeted San Jose’s Chicano community.

Efforts to repeal the ban were led primarily by the United Lowrider Council of San Jose (ULCSJ), whose members were at the center of this historic moment.

We spoke with ULCSJ President David Polanco about the organization’s mission, its charitable work, and the role it’s playing in a growing lowrider movement across California (and beyond).

This article has been condensed for length — click here for the full version.

A drone video showing hundreds of lowrider cars parked in the street in front of City Hall. — The August 31, 2022 celebration was a huge moment in our city’s history.

👀 Changing perceptions

For David Polanco, there wasn’t a clear “first experience” in the lowrider community — he was always helping his dad work on vintage cars, or enjoying music playing out of his cousins’ lowriders at family get-togethers.

However, he acknowledges that not every San Josean has these positive associations — through the years, lowriders were associated with sideshows, altercations, and gang activity.

“You can say that about most events and cultures in one way or another,” argued David — who noted excessive policing of the Chicano community after the 1986 cruising ban went into effect. “But to be zeroed in on as a culture and as a community, [...] it really wasn’t right.”

Beyond repealing the ban, one of the ULCSJ’s biggest missions has been to share the positive aspects of the culture with the broader San Jose community.

Bags of donations and supplies on the ground in front of a United Lowrider Council of San Jose banner. — The ULCSJ has become known for their community service in recent years.

🤝 A pillar of the community

During the height of the pandemic, the group stayed busy with birthday cruises, car shows for essential workers at Kaiser Permanente, and farmworker supply caravans.

But David notes, "[The lowrider community has] been doing this stuff for years [before the council], but it never got highlighted [or recognized] by the city officials.”

He believes that the biggest turning point was Estella Inda’s lowrider exhibit at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library (which inspired the new East Side Dreams exhibit).

"[With] everybody embracing us at that moment, it was like perfect timing — we just needed to step through the door as it was opened for us.”

Click the button below to read the expanded article + learn more about the ULCSJ’s next big projects.

KEEP RIDING

Celebrate San Jose's lowrider culture with your friends + neighbors.

Click here to have your event featured.

Monday

Karaoke Nights | Mon., Sept. 26 | 9 p.m. | O’Flaherty’s Irish Pub, 25 N. San Pedro St. | Free entry | “Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world...”
Tiki Mondays | Mon., Sept. 26 | 3-9 p.m. | The Bywater, 532 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos | Free entry | Enjoy special happy hours deals + tropical-inspired drinks and food. 🍹

Tuesday

Sharks vs. Anaheim Ducks | Tues., Sep. 27 | 7:30 p.m. | SAP Center | $19+ | 🏒
Veggielution Farm Box Packing | Tues., Sept. 27 | 8-11:30 a.m. | 20 Barack Obama Blvd. | Free | Volunteer with San Jose’s Food Relief Program and provide high quality groceries to those in need.

Wednesday

Downtown San Jose Farmers Market | Wed., Sept. 23 | 3-7 p.m. | 350 S. First St. | Free entry | Shop seasonal produce + local crafts — free parking available. 🥬
Rocky Dale Davis | Wed., Sept. 28 | 8 p.m. | San Jose Improv, 62 S. Second St. | $25+ | Viral TikTok + Instagram videos have brought this stand up comedian over 1 million followers. 🎙️

Thursday

The Adventure Zone | Thurs., Sept. 29 | 7 p.m. | San Jose Civic, 135 W. San Carlos St. | $39.50 | Join this family of podcasters as they solve puzzles + slay monsters in this role-playing game.

Friday

Aki Kumar | Fri., Sept. 30 | 9 p.m. | Mama Kin, 374 S. First St. | $8 | Retro Bollywood songs meet the blues. 🎶
Kevin Hart: Reality Check | Fri., Sept. 30 | 7 p.m. | SAP Center | $65+ | Join this Hollywood superstar + stand-up comedian at this stop of his nationwide comedy tour. 🎤

Saturday

Sebastian Maniscalco | Sat., Oct. 1 | 7 p.m. | San Jose Civic | Prices vary*

We have a monthly guide filled with events + activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

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100+ MORE EVENTS

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RELEASE YOUR STRESS

Weather

83º | Partly cloudy | 7% chance of rain

Ranked

We’ve got something to taco ‘bout. San Jose recently ranked No. 2 of the 50 best taco cities in the US. We scored high for our plentiful supply of taco stands + trucks, coupled with their affordability. DYK, we have 6.9 taco spots per 100,000 residents — 245% more than the average. 🌮 (Clever)

Job

‘Pipe’ down — we’ve got an announcement. After replacing the role in 2021 with a DJ, the Sharks need a new seasonal organist to play at select home games. If you’ve got what it takes to enter The Tank + tickle the keys — apply today. 🎹

Traffic

If you’re driving through Santa Clara tomorrow, expect heavy traffic around Levi’s Stadium due to a soccer match between Mexico + Columbia in the lead up to the FIFA World Cup. Expect detours around Tasman Drive, which will be closed at 9 a.m. ⛔ (NBC Bay Area News)

ICYMI

In case you missed it... masks will no longer be required on BART effective Sat., Oct. 1. As of now, all five counties that BART serves do not have indoor mask mandates — though, the decision could change depending on a county’s individual mandate status. (KRON 4 News)

Try This

While Great America has bid adieu to its Halloween Haunt in favor of its family-friendly “Tricks and Treats” festival — Six Flags Park in Vallejo is kicking off its Fright Fest with new attractions. There will be five new haunted houses, three scare zones, two shows, and much more. 👻 (NBC Bay Area)

Biz

The Mercury News recently sat down with Scott Knies, the longtime executive director of the San Jose Downtown Association — now set to retire in November after 34 years in the role. Scott talks everything from the pandemic’s economic impact, to the forthcoming BART + Google developments.

Travel

According to a new J.D. Power report, San Jose’s Mineta Airport dropped in its regional airport rankings since 2020 — now being listed as No. 21, compared to OAK’s position at No. 18. The most common issue was a lack of dining options + a surge of new passengers. ✈️ (Silicon Valley Business Journal)

Environment

Some familiar red trains are going green. On Saturday, Caltrain officially revealed its new electric fleet. Once it goes into operation in 2024, carbon emissions will be reduced by 97 percent. ⚡ (NBC Bay Area)

Regional

Construction has begun on Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s upcoming luxury hotel, La Bahia Hotel and Spa. The Spanish Colonial Revival-style hotel will feature fine-dining restaurants, a pool + spa, and lots of ocean views. It is expected to be completed late 2024. 🛎️ (Silicon Valley Business Journal)

Health

Did you know? Our allergy triggers change and evolve over time as we age. Read: You might have new allergies you don’t even know about — to find out your most updated allergy triggers, take Picnic’s easy, at-home allergy quiz. Pro tip: Picnic can prescribe customized allergy medicine for relief, too.*

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Let’s roll with Rick

13 questions with creative ambassador Ricardo Cortez

Rick made this pedal car that runs on auto-mode to lift + lower on its own. | Photo via Ricardo Cortez

Chica-New Media artist Ricardo Cortez (aka “Tijuana Rick”) is one of San Jose’s six 2022 Creative Ambassadors and is producing a program that celebrates our city’s cultural diversity, while incorporating S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) and San Jose’s history of lowrider cars.

Since we’re already talking about lowriders today, we wanted to revisit our interview with Rick about what inspires him, and what he loves about this city.

Q: What about San Jose inspires your art?

A: San Jose has always been the epicenter of innovation for me, you know? Not only in agriculture from back in the day, but technology being in Silicon Valley and even lowriding. A lot of innovative builders of lowriders came out of San Jose and advanced the technology of hydraulics. There [were] so many shops out here […] in the 1970s that really created this explosion of this culture.

I’m really inspired by [the] nostalgic history of San Jose — not only my own nostalgia growing up in the ‘80s […] but also listening to older stories of what San Jose used to be like, before I was born.

And so all that nostalgia is what inspires me, but then also, like a fleeting nostalgia. So what I tried to do with my inspiration through San Jose is find those items that have lasted the test of time, whether it be a memory or a physical space.

12 MORE QUESTIONS FOR RICK

THE WRAP

	Today’s issue was written by Nicole. Editor’s pick: TKTKTK Missed Friday’s newsletter? Here are 30+ ways to give back to San Jose.
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