Words and images by the Courier newsroom
During the last school week, while most students would be working on assignments, sophomore Luciano Madrigal spent his time working on his 1964 Ford Fairline for an event that had not been put on since before he started school.
“I washed, polished, installed a new antenna, cleaned the whitewall tires, and installed a new speaker,” said Madrigal. He wasn’t the only one. Numerous classic car owners, both young and old, put the final finishes and last details into making their cars shine. These cars were all scheduled to be on display at James Logan High School.
On Friday, September 19th, de Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) brought back the lowrider car show at Meyers Parking Lot to showcase some of the classics owned by members of the community to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month. The car show was brought back after a break of 14 years.
The MEChA car show celebrates the general car culture of people of all ages, while celebrating the national Hispanic Heritage Month and the rich culture we have in our local area.
Car culture, a ‘timeless’ staple of American culture which has skyrocketed since the ‘50s, faded quietly, coinciding with the indefinite pause of the James Logan lowrider show in 2011.
“It stopped because throughout time, car culture started failing,” said senior Aniza Cruz. “Not a lot of people were into it at Logan… It’s not just for Chicanos. It’s for every other culture that’s out here.” Cruz’s message about cultural inclusion was reflected at the car show — a melting pot of James Logan students from diverse cultures and ideals showed out to take in the lost culture. The revival of the car show in such a diverse American community exemplifies the influence of lowrider culture outside of the states, despite its waning presence in our popular culture.
From 4th to 7th period, the show of 17 cars was organized and led by MEChA advisor Marisa Villegas along with the members of MEChA in the teacher’s parking lot.
“There’s a real, real big affinity in the African-American community for lowriders, as well as outside of the United States,” said MEChA adviser and Ethnic Studies teacher Marisa Villegas. “The community that has the largest affinity and the second largest car club culture, lowrider culture, is Japan. The Japanese know their stuff. It is amazing. It is so inspiring. They let folks know where this culture comes from, but they feel it in their soul in a way that is just so unique.”
The MEChA car show is about more than just cars, it’s about community. Its ability to bring different people from diverse cultures together highlights the need for more car shows and similar events at a time where it feels we are more divided than ever.
“And we’ve had it for so many years throughout Logan and other schools,” says Villegas, “We wanted to bring it back to our school to create the community, to be united again… To just bring our community together, not just … bring us, but bring our community together.”
A CELEBRATION AFTER FOURTEEN YEARS
Starting back up traditions, MEChA de Logan reunited the local community in a time of such harsh division. The event was more than flashy cars– it highlighted the intergenerational art form of car modification and the connection between lowrider cars and the Chicano community.
Villegas explained the connection between low riders and the larger Chicano community. “It’s always been a way for our people to demonstrate this art form,” Villegas says. “Oftentimes, clubs get identified as gangs, and this is a way to combat that, to put positive energy into an art form. Invest money in the vehicles, learn how to care for them, learn how to fix them yourself”.
Manuel Miramontes, a returning alumnus and President of the Bay Bombs Car Club, shared some insight about the community that the car shows cultivate. He describes how the Decoto neighborhood features a community brought together by cars.
“I would say every five houses probably has an old car in there,” said Miramontes. “A lot of guys are self-taught mechanics, like myself, but I’ve been one of the biggest helpers to get the cars going for the community.”
BRINGING BACK THE POSITIVE
Villegas described the event as an exciting event where everyone can get along. “The idea that we can do this at a high school and everyone’s getting along, genuinely admiring the cars, learning and growing, shows that high school students can pull this off and do a great job at it.”
Before we left, Villegas left us with her final thought. “I think it’s something that’s been missing, and especially with the climate we’re living in right now, with a very anti-immigrant, anti-Latinx in particular, but we know all of us right, all immigrants are in danger… Needing something positive in the community right now, it’s really important to have events like this.”
“A lot of things prevented us from doing this event in those 14 years,” said senior Jessus Ochoa, one of the organizers of the event, on why they stopped hosting the car show. Many people were devastated when they said there was not gonna be another MEChA car show 14 years ago, and the resurgence of the show brought a lot of the community back together.
The car show is hosted by MEChA de Logan (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán). The purpose of the organization is to unite and fight for justice, promote higher education, and strengthen the Chicanx/Latinx community through activism and awareness. The event took place on September 19th, 2025 at James Logan High School. This was the first time the annual event returned to Union City in 14 years, as many people wondered why it stopped.
“It actually takes a lot to start this event, there were so many complications that went into bringing it back,” said Ochoa. Ochoa adds that as much as they wanted to bring it back sooner, there were too many complications that held it back. Although there were a lot of things that blocked this event from returning, MEChA de Logan felt that they needed to bring it back for the community.
With such a big event like this, a lot of manpower is required. “[It] takes a lot of discipline to make sure everyone’s on track with what they’re doing… group effort, a lot of people went into this,” Ochoa said, emphasizing the significance of teamwork. An event like this really brings the community together, allowing the community to develop deeper connections and explore their roots.
Baile Folklorico, traditional Mexican dancing, is another significant part of the Latinx culture. The different styles of dances from different regions of Mexico, such as Jalisco and Sinaloa, emphasize the sense of community that this style of art fosters. “Honestly, I was so bored,” said junior Jazel Morales, a baile folklorico dancer. “I would go home and do nothing, like I needed something to be passionate about, and I’m really passionate about this.” This dance gives an insight into more of the Latinx culture, evident through the colorful clothing worn during the dance as well.
FOR THE COMMUNITY, BY THE COMMUNITY
The car show wasn’t just about Logan itself, “a lot of these cars that are out here, they’re coming from Union City, Hayward, and all these vendors too, they’re all coming from [the] same place”, said senior Jose Zavala, who played a significant role in setting the event up.
The event itself took lots of time and effort, “We started in early September, late August, and ever since then, it’s just been nothing but work, work, work, 24 hours a day”, said Zavala. More than just time, money was needed to set up the event, “We’ve been fundraising as much as we can and whatever we can. We just [dumped] money into it”, said Zavala.
The community was MEChA’s most important factor for hosting the event,“I just hope that it is known that this event is for the community, rather than making money,” said Jose.”
A good majority of people who volunteered at the car show did so to fundraise and promote the Toy Drive, which intends to give toys for children whose parents can’t afford them. “We help our community when possible..” says Marc Perez, a member of the Bay Bombs Car Club as well as a participant during the MEChA car show at Logan before it shut down. “14 years ago, I was actually a student here in Logan and now I am able to participate here now that I have a car,” Perez said.
He was one of the many participants informing Logan students and others to come support their 23rd annual Toy Drive for kids in the Union City community who are less fortunate. Perez said, “Part of the car show is the toy drive, and that’s how we contribute to kids that can’t afford them.”
THE APPEAL OF THE LOWRIDER
Lowriders hold a special place in Latinx culture. It’s a way to say that they are different and proud of it when they were in a place that didn’t appreciate them.
“We got regular cars and made them different,” said Luciano, or “Lucky,” Madrigal. A part of Latinx culture was redesigning cars and making them look more lively. As more people showed exclusion towards the Latinx culture, the more they tried to stand out and be different. They turned regular cars and made them their own brand, accepting them as part of their culture.
“Everyone didn’t like how we were different. So, some guy was like, well, if I’m going to be different, I’m going to look different all the time,”said Madrigal. So through the 1940s and 50s, low riders became a thing, growing with popularity in the Latinx culture. Since arriving here, Latinxs have always been treated differently but share rich culture in the form of the lowrider.
A local James Logan alumnus, Fernando Gonzalez, and many of his friends got the opportunity to sit back and relax while showing off their old school, low rider cars at the JLHS MEChA Car Show Festival on September 19th, 2025. Car show culture is big, but what’s even bigger is the ability to form meaningful connections and friendships by just bonding over a hobby/interest.
The classic lowriders shown at this local school car show were actually just cars from a community friend group. “We get together one day, we say, Hey, we’re gonna be here this weekend, and then I send him the information,” said Gonzales when asked about how he spread the word on the car show, “He signed up real quick, I sent a few other people.”
Besides the many cars on display, the event had vendors selling food and merchandise as well. Many vendors were small businesses promoting their stock to the many students exploring the car show. At the center of the event was an area cleared for the traditional Mexican dances to be performed. Speakers played the music for the whole parking lot to hear.
James Logan holds multiple events throughout the school year to give students plenty of opportunities to explore new things. But many events are expensive to put together. When asked if the Car Show was making money from the event, Gonzales said, “No, we’re just friends hanging.”
Not only did Fernando and his friends attend this local car show at James Logan High School, they continue to meet up at many other car shows around the Bay Area to have fun and build an even stronger bond. “We keep in touch by social media or just over the phone,” said Gonzales. What may seem like a small, leisurely pastime can turn into something substantial. It could lead to strong friendships and creation of community.
The Bay Area is of high importance to the Latinx community. It’s where some of them started off, and they built their lives along with low rider cars, incorporating them to their heritage. Why just lowriders? To show off the Latinx community and its heritage. This car show demonstrates the different aspects of culture within their community. How this culture sees that to some people they are different and accepts it.
“This land that we’re standing on is kind of, like, important to us,” said Madrigal. “Same thing with L.A. There’s a reason why this is the Bay Area. It’s just a lot more open to differences.”
