As Hispanic Heritage Month begins, events in cities like Chicago, North Carolina, and Massachusetts have been canceled over fears they could be targeted by ICE raids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In San Francisco, organizers are taking a different approach. The San Francisco Lowrider Council will host the first nationally televised lowrider parade this Saturday, Sept. 20, airing live on CBS. The daylong celebration also includes a car show and the \u201cKing of the Streets\u201d hopping competition, with a $10,000 prize on the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe cannot live in fear,\u201d said Roberto Y. Hern\u00e1ndez, who founded the San Francisco Lowrider Council in 1981. \u201cWe are not doing anything wrong. We are not criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lowriding in San Francisco has long been tied to resistance. When police banned cruising on Mission Street in the early 1980s, Hern\u00e1ndez was arrested more than 100 times and beaten by officers under then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein\u2019s administration. He later sued the city and SFPD, winning a federal civil rights case that restored the right to cruise and forced reforms at Mission Station, including officer removals, new training practices, and the creation of Raza Park and the Mission Recreation Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year\u2019s parade will bring hundreds of lowriders with pinstriped paint jobs bouncing down the streets, while the sound of oldies fills Mission Street \u2014 between Cesar Chavez and 17th Street \u2014 from 1 to 8 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Local businesses are also joining the celebration. La Corneta Taqueria will debut the \u201cLowrider Taco,\u201d made with two tortillas layered with cheese, spicy carne and pineapple on top. La Reyna Bakery will serve a lowrider pan dulce as a tribute to the iconic Gypsy Rose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lowrider culture may be new for some, but for many Latino-Americans it\u2019s in their blood, passed down from generation to generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dominique Topete, a 31-year-old mother of two and member of the all-women Due\u00f1as Car Club in San Jose, remembers driving in her mom\u2019s lowrider when she was growing up, driving her own passion for lowriding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s more than just cruising,\u201d Topete said. \u201cYou\u2019re in a car and you\u2019re just driving around, but it\u2019s the laughter, the singing of the songs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of her favorite parts now is seeing her kids’ interest in cars, and listening to their questions about hydraulics, painted pinstripes and chrome on lowriders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so full circle for me,\u201d Topete said. \u201cIt\u2019s something that I grew up with, and I know that I\u2019m passing it down to my kids. The fact that they love it as well just brings warmness to my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Event Schedule: Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For more information, visit sanfranciscolowridercouncil.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The event includes a parade, car show and a hopping contest with a $10,000 prize.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88922,"featured_media":67861,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"small","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25374],"tags":[],"coauthors":[25474],"class_list":["post-67859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-culture","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n\n