Armando Lara-Millán was about to join hundreds of polished, modified and brightly colored cars in Sacramento when the back windshield of his new lowrider flew onto the highway.
Lara-Millán’s destination was the third annual Lowrider Holiday Celebration where cars like his lined four blocks of Capitol Mall Sunday afternoon. Without a windshield, Lara-Millan went from participant to spectator.
“It’s all good,” Lara-Millán, an associate professor of sociology at UC Berkeley, said. “It’s all part of the game.”
The Lowrider Holiday Celebration was organized by Cruising for Community, a volunteer organization committed to sharing lowrider culture with the public. Lowriders — customized vintage cars, often with height adjustable suspensions and intricate artwork along their bodies — are a cultural product of Mexican American and Latino communities, according to Carlos Molina III, lead organizer of Cruising for Community.