Joaquin Murrieta, Lowriders, and Pancho Villa
Joaquin Murrieta, Lowriders, and Pancho Villa
In today’s Daily Chela newsletter….
Spotlight: Lowriders
Pancho Villa Myths
Watch: Joaquin Murrieta
Podcast: VP Debate Party
Why Is Scarface Popular?
More News and Links
Lowriding: America’s Most Dynamic Underground Tradition
The airbrushed murals. The candy paint. The warm breeze that slaps you across the face when the hydraulic pump springs you high into the heavens, all as curious onlookers gather on the corner to point and admire.
Nope, nothing beats the excitement and attention you get when bouncing up and down the boulevard in a swooped-up lowrider.
I know this because I’ve owned my fair share of lowriders. My first car was a 1967 Chevy Impala with baby blue vinyl interior. My second car was a dropped 1990 Lincoln Continental that scraped the pavement when pulling into the gas station. My first bike was a lowrider Schwinn with gold plated forks and mirrors (the gold was fake, of course).
But lowriding was about more than chopped suspension coils and white wall tires. Like many Mexican Americans, it was about pride, family, community, la raza—preserving an outlet to compete and express cultural heritage through art.
Perhaps nowhere has lowriding remained more popular than in the west. Lowriders not only originated in the densely populated Mexican American towns of the west during the 1940s, but continue to thrive until this day through annual car shows and competitions.
California alone is home to hundreds of small businesses that specialize in pin-striping, airbrushing, upholstery, hydraulic pumps, and other customizations. These businesses provide incomes for families, create jobs, and promote solidarity among car enthusiasts.
The spirit transcends generations. For many in the lowrider community, customizing cars is a family affair, a chance to banter and bond, an opportunity for fathers to pass knowledge and skill sets down to their children.
One might think of it as a modern twist on the old Soap Box Derby races of the 1950s. Likewise, lowrider competitions between families and rival clubs not only serve as an outlet and escape from the lure of gangs, but a way to channel and showcase talent.
I’ve seen the benefits firsthand. In the town where I used to live, local lowrider clubs work with city officials each year to organize a lowrider parade through downtown. The event, which lasts three days and celebrates Chicano and traditional Mexican culture, concludes with traditional bands, music, and food.
Unfortunately, lowriders are often viewed in a negative light. Rather than associate lowriders with work ethic and family, people associate them with poverty or street gangs, negating the real value car competitions bring to working class, predominately Mexican American communities.
But lowriding is nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, lowriding is something to be proud of, a peaceful recreational activity that leads to stronger communities, creates a sense of accomplishment, and builds camaraderie.
One might even call it America’s most dynamic underground tradition.
Brandon Loran Maxwell
Contributing Opinion Writer
More Informative Things For You…
Myths and Legends Of Pancho Villa
Pancho Villa—born Doroteo Arango—is one of Mexico's most fascinating historical figures, living and fighting between 1878 and 1923. Hundreds of books and articles have been written about him, each portraying Villa as either a hero or a child-eating ogre, depending on the author’s perspective.
This was true even during his lifetime. Many of Villa’s deeds were spread by word of mouth and transformed into legend. One such tale, for example, claims that General Villa dug up a dead man, put him on trial, and had him shot (again) to ensure proper justice.
No other figure in Mexican history has had as many fantastic, perplexing, and even terrifying legends circulate around them. Below are some of the strangest stories, uncovered by American and Mexican scholars.
Video: Charley Trujillo Discusses Joaquin Murrieta and Tiburcio Vásquez
In this behind the scenes clip from “American Homeboy,” Chicano professor and author Charley Trujillo discusses Mexican outlaws Joaquin Murrieta and Tiburcio Vásquez, both who have been the source of much speculation and misinformation over the decades.
Tuesday Podcast: VP Debate Party and Reaction
This Tuesday, Join Brandon of the Daily Chela and Paulie of the Latino Slant for a live VP debate watch party, followed by debate reaction, political analysis, and commentary.
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Why Is The Movie “Scarface” So Popular?
Tony Montana, or Scarface, was one of the first major Latino film characters that people respected and feared. The movie’s lines are oft repeated, people rap about it, name themselves after him (Geto Boys rapper Scarface, anyone?), and awkward teenagers still wear T-shirts with the movie’s original poster like it’s 2003.
It’s not lauded by everyone, however. Scarface is controversial, offensive, and over the top. Still, it offers Latinos a chance to see their story of the pursuit of the American dream in all of its depraved ugliness.
Scarface was critically panned when it was released in 1983, but it eventually became a hit over the years, like Office Space but more violent and with less Geto Boys (another shoutout to rapper Scarface).
The Real Story Behind “The Three Caballeros”
When reminiscing old classics from the Disney vault, we usually bring up “Bambi,” “Pinocchio,” “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” or other great animated achievements that the Walt Disney animators brought to life.
However, one movie that seems to have gone under the radar for Disney fans is the 1944 animated/live-action hybrid “The Three Caballeros,” starring Donald Duck and his Latinx co-stars, José Carioca from Brazil, and Panchito Pistoles from Mexico.
If you grew up in a Latinx household, chances are you vaguely remember this obscure and experimental cartoon where Donald Duck dances around Latin America with a Brazilian cigar smoking parrot and a Mexican gun-toting rooster.
If it wasn’t for Disney+, people wouldn’t believe this movie even existed.
Did Davy Crockett Really Die Fighting At The Alamo?
The Battle of the Alamo, Texas, is one of the most beloved and cherished episodes in the history of the United States, a building block in the construction of the nation, often told with the solemnity of a Battle of Jericho.
At the center of that narrative is the mythical figure of Davy Crockett, the explorer and freedom fighter who, according to the most widely accepted version, died fighting for Texas’ independence in 1836 against the Mexican hordes.
We could leave it there and forget about unnecessary entanglements. After all, Crockett is a real historical figure and it is true that he died in The Alamo, in the days when General Antonio López de Santa Anna razed the place.
But details matter, especially in the construction of colossal historical figures like Crockett, who stands out for his purity and his brave death as a warrior. That is why, a few decades ago, the discovery of an unknown diary written by one of General Santa Anna´s captains, a man named Enrique de la Peña, produced a heated controversy—to say the least—and a war of accusations that has not completely died out.
Watch now: American Homeboy Movie
American Homeboy explores the complex origins of pachuco and cholo culture which sprouted from American soil more than 100 years ago in response to wartime sentiment, social alienation, and government discrimination only to become a pop culture phenomenon.
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