People celebrate one of the best performing lowriders during the hopping competition on 24th and Mission Streets for “King of the Streets,” the world’s first televised and streamed lowrider parade in San Francisco, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2025. The parade brought hundreds of lowriders to the Mission District with thousands of spectators. Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight LocalPosted inArts & Culture
Photos: Lowrider parade brings thousands to S.F.’s Mission
Thousands of admirers packed Mission Street on Saturday to see more than 500 glossy lowriders cruise through San Francisco’s historic Latinx neighborhood. The event, organized by the San Francisco Lowrider Council in partnership with the Mission Merchants Association, marked the world’s first-ever televised lowrider parade.
Timed with the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, the parade was an ode to the melting pot of Latin Americans who live in San Francisco and across the Bay Area. Cars gleamed with pinstriped paint jobs and colorful artworks, while others waved Salvadoran, Peruvian, and Mexican flags. Some participants traveled as far as Fresno, San Jose and even Los Angeles to be part of the celebration.
The highlight of the event was the “King of the Streets” hopping competition, where drivers used hydraulic systems to make their cars leap off the pavement. The car that achieved the greatest height won a $10,000 prize. Thousands gathered around a barricaded section near the 24th Street BART Plaza to watch the spectacle.
In the 1980s, police targeted Latinx youth for cruising their lowriders. Saturday’s parade marked a different era for lowriding culture, one where it is celebrated as art, culture and community, breaking down stigma and offering a powerful way to honor Latino heritage.
A lowrider makes its way through Mission Street for “King of the Streets,” the world’s first televised and streamed lowrider parade in San Francisco, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2025. The parade brought hundreds of lowriders to the Mission District with thousands of spectators. Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight LocalPeople watch the hopping competition on 24th and Mission Streets for “King of the Streets,” the world’s first televised and streamed lowrider parade in San Francisco, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2025. The parade brought hundreds of lowriders to the Mission District with thousands of spectators. Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight LocalTop left: Lowriders showboat through Mission Street in San Francisco, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2025. Top right: A young boy named Benny sits in his makeshift 1964 Chevrolet Impala as lowriders cruise through Mission Street in San Francisco, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2025. Bottom: Lowriders make their way through Mission Street for “King of the Streets,” the world’s first televised and streamed lowrider parade in San Francisco, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2025. The parade brought hundreds of lowriders to the Mission District with thousands of spectators. Photos: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight LocalPeople huddle around the pit during a lowriding hopping competition on 24th and Mission Streets for “King of the Streets,” the world’s first televised and streamed lowrider parade in San Francisco, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2025. Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight LocalThe lowriding hopping competition kicks off on 24th and Mission Streets for “King of the Streets,” the world’s first televised and streamed lowrider parade in San Francisco, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2025. The parade brought hundreds of lowriders to the Mission District with thousands of spectators. Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight LocalA lowrider enters the pit to participate in the hopping competition on 24th and Mission Streets for “King of the Streets,” the world’s first televised and streamed lowrider parade in San Francisco, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2025. Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight LocalPeople measure a lowrider’s maximum hop during a hopping competition on 24th and Mission Streets for “King of the Streets,” the world’s first televised and streamed lowrider parade in San Francisco, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2025. The parade brought hundreds of lowriders to the Mission District with thousands of spectators. Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight LocalLeft: People gather around for the “King of the Streets,” the world’s first televised and streamed lowrider parade in San Francisco, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2025. Right: People watch the lowriding hopping competition on 24th and Mission Streets for “King of the Streets,” the world’s first televised and streamed lowrider parade in San Francisco, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2025. Photos: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight LocalSome details from a lowrider parked near the 24th BART Plaza during “King of the Streets,” the world’s first televised and streamed lowrider parade in San Francisco, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2025. The parade brought hundreds of lowriders to the Mission District with thousands of spectators. Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight LocalPeople wait for the next lowrider to join the hopping competition on 24th and Mission Streets for “King of the Streets,” the world’s first televised and streamed lowrider parade in San Francisco, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2025. Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight Local
Pablo Unzueta is a first generation Chilean-American photojournalist documenting health equity, the environment, culture and displacement amongst the Latino population in the Bay Area for El Tecolote....
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