Once banned, lowriders return to Sacramento’s Capitol Mall to celebrate cruising
Over 150 brightly colored, lovingly detailed cars cruised down Capitol Mall on Sunday for the fourth annual Lowrider Holiday Celebration. The event was organized by Cruising for Community, a local volunteer organization committed to sharing lowrider culture with the public.
Frank Franco stood next to his 1937 Dodge, as he recalled the early days of lowriding in Sacramento. Franco credited his oldest brother with instilling the love for cars that he still carries today. He remembers helping his oldest brother throw rocks in the back of his truck to lower the back end of the car.
Streets once posted with “no cruising” signs now play host to a joyful gathering of hundred of lowriders, their families and friends and car enthusiasts from across the western United States. In June 2022, the final “no-cruising” sign was removed from Sacramento. While Sacramento police had not enforced the ban for years, the repeal of the 1988 ordinance and the signs along Franklin Boulevard and Broadway was a milestone.
Antonio Cardenas, known as “OG” to many, remembers when that ordinance was first enacted. Cardenas is a member of The Originals car club, which he founded as a 20 year-old in 1976. “I’ve been lowriding for 54 years. That’s a lifetime, so I’m not gonna quit anytime now,” Cardenas said.
“It was my brother that inspired me because he used to be an artist,” said Cardenas. He remembers his brother drawing roses on the dashboard of his car. “That’s when I took a liking to lowriding,” he said. When Cardenas first started lowriding, drivers had to build all the car’s hydraulic components themselves to raise and lower the front or back tires. “When the cops came by, and they’d seen us and we were low, we’d pick it up. Raise it high, so they couldn’t stop us anymore.”
“My favorite memory is Franklin Boulevard,” said Cardenas. “Back in them days, we didn’t have cellphones, so it was by word of mouth. We used to drive all the way to San Jose, and tell ‘em to come down to Sacramento and visit us.”
Cardenas described lowriding culture as starting within the family. “The car would stay in the family for generations, and then they started fixing them up because they had so much love for the car,” he said. “It’s like a rolling art.” The car Cardenas stands beside today has been his work of art for 40 years.
Cardenas was one of the lowriders instrumental in changing the local ordinances that allowed enthusiasts to cruise around Sacramento again. “I made a promise to myself that I would get them ‘no-cruising’ signs down,” said Cardenas. “Before I pass away, I wanted to do these things, and they’ve been done. I’ve crossed them off my list.”
