CCC hosting lowrider exhibit

CLOVIS - Take a little trip, take a little trip and see the lowrider exhibit at Clovis Community College before it cruises away.

Through Thursday, the college hosts "Lowriders, Hoppers & Hot Rods: Car Culture of Northern New Mexico," which opened in 2016 at the New Mexico History Museum and "seeks to elevate that culture beyond its common stigmas and stereotypes to celebrate skilled craftsmanship and commitment to family and community."

It's the first exhibit from NMHM at CCC, said art instructor Carolyn Lindsey, and it invites the public to appreciate the lowrider as an art form and "symbol of Hispanic cultural identity," according to the college's event flyer.

Most know of lowriders as a car with a suspension lowered to within inches of the ground, or the person who drives one. But there's more to it: as the exhibit explains, "each vehicle embodies a story, sometimes memorializing through a painted mural a lost loved one or telling a story of struggle and redemption. They radiate a promise to never forget extended family, personal identity and home."

The installation features photographs, books, write-ups on lowrider culture and a glossary of terms for the unacquainted (an essential one is "bajito y suavecito," low and slow).

They can't quite fit any actual cars inside the gallery, but you might find some in the parking lot depending on who comes out.

Mike Jones, Saul Molina and Dayday Carrera attended the exhibit reception Tuesday evening and told The News they all had visions of making their own custom lowriders someday. Molina said there's a lot of heritage behind the pastime, as the exhibit details.

For example, there's the story of "Dave's Dream," a 1969 Ford LTD converted to a lowrider in Chimayó and purchased by the Smithsonian in 1990 from the family of David Jaramillo.

Then there's the part about the man in northern New Mexico who changed his name to "Lowlow" and pioneered there a mural style particular to the area, featuring "colonial art, local landscapes, iconic scenes..."

You can also learn more of the general history. In the years after World War II, Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles and elsewhere began applying skills from the military toward installing hydraulic lifters into the suspension of their cars, allowing drivers to switch from a "normal," regulation height to "as close to the ground as possible" in an instant. It's called "slamming."

Bree Molett, a CCC student at the reception, said she found it "fascinating, seeing the world through other people's eyes."

For Monica Velez and Linda Cordova, it's a chance for admiration and reflection.

"I just like to look at all the beautiful cars, seeing the pride that they put into these cars," Velez said.

Cordova, who has owned lowriders previously, called them "a moving piece of art."

The exhibit has been one of the more popular temporary installations among students, Lindsey said.