Although women were not guaranteed the right to obtain credit in their own names until the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, women have long claimed their place behind the wheel.
For decades, Latinas have cruised boulevards, restored classic cars, customized rides and helped shape lowrider culture — even when people assumed the cars belonged to men.
That legacy was on display June 6 at the de Young Museum, where more than 20 lowriders lined the museum’s lawn for a celebration of women in lowriding. The event included a car show, short documentary screenings and a panel discussion highlighting women lowriders from Southern California to the Bay Area.
Among them was Lily Cooper, a South San Francisco resident who grew up in the Mission District in an immigrant household. Cooper has owned her pink 1964 Buick Riviera for six years, but said people are still often surprised to learn the meticulously maintained lowrider is hers.
For women interested in joining the lowrider community, whether by building a car from scratch or modifying an existing ride, Cooper’s advice is simple: “Just do it. It’s a lifelong project. It’s endless. There are so many possibilities and so much that you can do with your own ride.”
Cooper said she is proud to be part of the lowrider community and hopes her daughters will carry on the tradition.
The celebration was held in connection with Rose B. Simpson: LEXICON, a special exhibition at the de Young. Simpson, a mixed-media artist born and raised in Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, grew up near Española, a city widely known as the Lowrider Capital of the World.
In LEXICON, two of Simpson’s lowriders are displayed alongside her sculptures, bringing the worlds of lowriding and fine art into the same museum space.
Simpson said she is thrilled to see lowriding recognized in a museum setting, noting that the artistry behind the culture has not always received the respect or visibility it deserves.
For women interested in entering the lowrider community, her message is straightforward: “Don’t let anything stop you. It requires a lot of hard work and dedication, but we can do it. This is nothing we can’t do if we put our minds to it and put in a little bit of elbow grease.”
For Valerie Tulier-Laiwa, lowriding has long been tied to San Francisco’s Mission District.
Texas-born and Mission-raised, Tulier-Laiwa first fell in love with lowriding during a San Francisco State University class trip to East Los Angeles. She later joined the Frisco Latin Queens, the first and only all-women’s car club in San Francisco.
Tulier-Laiwa said San Francisco’s mix of Latinos from across Latin America, along with Chicano culture, gave women in the city more freedom within the lowrider community.
“Generally speaking, we grew up pretty empowered, so we know we can do things,” Tulier-Laiwa said. “So I was able to be in a lowrider club.”
Tulier-Laiwa, an advocate known as “Mama Bear,” said she enjoys seeing women in their lowriders, whether they are fixing them, driving them or investing in customizations.
“What I was able to do back then with lowriding, when it first started in San Francisco, was to set the groundwork for generations to come,” Tulier-Laiwa said. “And now those generations are here, and lowriding is now part of mainstream culture.”
With women’s car clubs now growing in popularity, Tulier-Laiwa said she is proud that women lowriders “give the men a run for their money.”
“They don’t have to depend on men car clubs,” she said. “They don’t have to ask permission.”
Angel Romero has owned her purple 1965 Chevrolet Impala, nicknamed “Saturday Love,” for 23 years.
In 2019, Romero founded Dueñas, an all-women’s car club based in Sunnyvale. As the club’s president, she said women lowriders are still often overlooked.
“I’ll be in the driver’s seat, my boyfriend will get out to pump my gas, and people will be like, ‘Nice car, bro!’” Romero said. “They automatically assume it’s his car. But you know what? This one is mine.”
Romero’s Impala was displayed in front of the de Young Museum during the June 6 celebration. For her, the event reflected the power of women coming together through lowriding.
“Latinas are powerful,” Romero said. “But when we all get together, us women unite. The sisterhood, my car club… we would not be where we are today without the unity.”
Ruby Ramirez has owned her 1950 Chevy Fleetline Deluxe, nicknamed “Xingona DeAquellas,” for 19 years. Ramirez, a member of Frisco’s Finest Car Club, said her favorite place in her Chevy is the driver’s seat.
It is where she feels in control, especially when she turns up the music and goes for a cruise.
As a woman lowrider, Ramirez said people are still too used to seeing men as the assumed car owners. But women lowriders, she said, know their cars and know the culture.
“We aren’t just a pretty face, or a girl behind the wheel,” Ramirez said. “We know about our cars. We drive our cars.”