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Andrea
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Although
in the last few years lowrider bicycles have become popular
among non-Latinos and upper and middle class bike aficionados,
low bikes and lowriding in general remain deeply anchored
with Mexican-American communities in urban areas. As Angel
writes in her essay, a low bike is “meant to stant out
or show off.” Angel goes one step further by adding a
gender critique to the whole process of “showing off.”
For her, the fact that “heads will turn” because
she is a girl riding a bike, increases the symbolic meaning
of her lowriding activities. It is not enough to say that
low bikes are spectacular and therfore attract attention.
For lowrider customizers, attracting the gaze of the “outsiders”
is also a means to negotiate social status.
Maribel Alvarez
- Director, San Jose Center For Latino Arts
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