European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 15, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 sunday april 15 2007 to a 0 d5 u c o too Good for the Road w Low riders head indoors to compete dazzle enthusiasts Alejandro Chino Vega is the proud owner of an award winning Candy Green 1979 Monte Carlo it goes by the name Orgullo Mexicano and has a distinctive Aztec flavor but dont expect to see Vega cruising in this sparkling Lowriner on Whittier or Crenshaw boulevards any time soon he has spent tens of thousands of dollars customizing his mexican Pride for Competition not to flex its Hydraulic might on the streets in five years he has entered More than 30 shows and brought Home More than 100 trophies including three Lowriner Magazine car of the year awards the most prestigious Honor in the Industry these Days the most he Ever drives his prize Possession is the 20 feet required by contest judges to certify the car is operational no worry he says the car is built to ride Low not Long its Gas tank holds Only 1 Gallons Low Riding a craze that was born on the boulevards 50 years ago in mexi can american communities across the Southwest has been driven indoors the result of aging enthusiasts crack Downs on cruising and the emergence of corporate sponsorship but the transformation goes deeper when the streets were closed says Ralph Fuentes editor of Lowriner Maga Zine there was no place to go Owrid ing was dying car shows Fuentes says have aided in its resurrection Low Riding has a Badboy image says Fuentes whose Magazine Spon sors an annual tour of a dozen shows nationwide drawing 130000 people and 5500 cars but if you look beyond that image there is a wonderful Way to see a multicultural Cross Section of America Low Riding is about different cultures getting together few families even owned cars in the Small town near puerto vallarta mexi co where Vega grew up Money was scarce and so was food but his father taught him to scuba dive As a Way to make a living in 1988 when he was 15 Vega left Mexico with a group of Young men and made his Way North to los Angeles and then Pacoima they slept in a car for several Days before finding a crowded apartment to share Vega enrolled in Auto repair classes at a local occupational Center in the North Valley and then one Day he saw his first Lowriner it was Candy Apple red a Cadillac and belonged to a Guy named Tito he says i wanted to have a car like that eventually i got one a 64 impair and when Tito saw it he stopped and said hey that better than mine he fold me to get some rims vegas passion for Low riders led him to open a Small shop in Sylmar near los Angeles specializing in installing the Vega carries his trophy one of More than 100 he has won for his car in the past five years and gets a kiss from wife Messinia Hydraulic pumps used to Raiser lower a car at the flip of a switch soon he was competing in car hopping contests and winning his 1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass set a record jumping 53 inches then Vega and his younger brother Joaquin set their sights on another category winning the car of the year at Lowriner magazines super show in Las vegas the nations largest Lowriner event which earlier this fall Drew 19000 people and nearly 700 cars in 2002 the first year they entered the 79 Chevrolet Monte Carlo the car didst Start and was disqualified the next year they came Back and won top honors they repeated the Victory in 2005 and again in 2006 the roots of Low Riding can be traced to the pos world War ii economic Boom that swept mexican american working class communities in the South West says Denise Sandoval a Chicano studies professor at California state University Northridge Low riders known at that time As pachuco cars were part of a car Cul Ture that took off in the 1950s White kids were interested in hot rods and Speed Sandoval says but latinos wanted cars to look sleek Low and slow Badito y Suav Cito in East and South los Angeles enthusiasts lowered their cars by putting bags of Concrete in the trunk or wrapping chains around the coils in the wheel base even heating them with a blow Torch until the use of hydraulics came into fashion multiple Coats of paint were de Rigueur custom wheels Chrome and Hood murals were added for artistic Appeal Over the past decade the thirst for Low Riding has gone International fun eled largely by an explosion of hiphop music and videos featuring Low riders As the car of Choice Low riders Fuentes says Are part of the culture in Britain Japan Guam and even saudi Arabia where a member of the Royal family is said to have Pur chased two a Ford Galaxy and a Chevrolet impair Lowriner Magazine has been circulated throughout the Middle East by thou Sands of troops in Iraq he adds families Are including copies of the Maga Zine in care packages and its being passed around it has been about five years since Vega and half a dozen close friends launched the Effort to capture the big prize Worth in Money but much More in name recognition his cars seats upholstered in soft velour rotate the engine was upgraded with fuel injection the car was outfitted with six Hydraulic pumps to make the car go up and Down the custom built machine has no steering wheel or Gas pedal to meet Competition requirements it has a manual Brake and electric switches turn the vehicle left or right Back and Forth Vega recalls in Denver i once drove about 100 feet to get out of the rain and that the farthest Hes Ever driven the car los Angeles times photos Alejandro Chino vegas 1979 Monte Carlo named Orgullo Mexicano or mexican Pride attracts attention at Lowriner magazines super show in Las vegas