Lowrider aficionados mix love of food, cars
In the trunk of a 1959 Chevrolet Impala, a mixture of grilled meats called discada sizzled in a pan.
The trunk was detached from its former car body and retrofitted as a barbecue grill, complete with a propane tank underneath. Pasadena’s Originals Car Club brings the grill to car shows across the state to showcase its love of both classic cars and good food.
Moses Obregon, treasurer of the Originals Car Club out of Pasadena, said they cook enough discada “to feed an army,” he said.
“We like to put our own tastes and special flavor in the meat; we do the same with our cars,” he added.
Meat cooking, corn tortillas warming, parked classic cars in every style and color with Tejano music playing in the background — that was Saturday afternoon at Knights of Columbus Park for the “Lowrider MeatUp,” a celebration of Houston’s car culture, hosted by the Lowrider Network and Quaker State
Motor Oil. Other stops on the tour include Bakersfield, Calif.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and an upcoming event in El Paso.
The event supports “Lowrider Roll Models,” a YouTube series produced by Lowrider Network to bust stereotypes surrounding lowrider culture. The video segments highlight the personalities behind people who love lowriders and classic car modification.
“These are doctors, lawyers, firefighters who love this as a hobby and are contributing in their own local communities,” said Joe Ray, editor of Lowrider Magazine. “This was where lowriders originated — here in communities at the park with food and just people having a good time.”
Sotero “Shorty” Villarreal, owner and operator of Shorty’s Hydraulics, said Houston was chosen because the car culture is thriving and focuses on family. He helped start Latin Fantasy Car Club and has owned his shop for 25 years.
For Villarreal, cars are about family. Since having a kidney transplant last fall, his sons do most of the heavy lifting at the shop. He remains involved in the community and will run the 28th annual “Shorty’s Toy Drive” in December.
Lou Herrera, longtime president of Aldine’s Low Masters Car Club, started tinkering with classic cars as a teenager. His role model was Louis Vargas, who would drive a 1951 pickup with hydraulics through Independence Heights in the 1970s.
“I was a kid, 15-years-old, and I would see him come down the streets, and I just thought it was the coolest truck,” he said. “He was a big influence in my life; we spent a long time together building all kinds of stuff. There was a lot of trial and error — a lot of blood, sweat and beers.”
There are 21 members with 16 different cars in the Low Masters, which is celebrating 40 years in 2020. The club is made up of machinists, welders, fabricators — all of them come together to build or modify, to create something beautiful.
He said the beauty of a good car show is meeting new people, getting fresh ideas and coming together to celebrate what you love. His showpiece is a 1935 Cadillac LaSalle with a Chevy Chevelle engine, and he said it fits all the categories for a car show: lowrider, classic hot rod or a rat rod.
“We can hop on the freeway and do 80 mph,” Herrera said. “With how rare it is to see old cars going that fast, people will try to keep up and lean outside their windows to film us from their cars. It gives you the most awesome high.”