California Chicano Cultural Periodical Lowrider Magazine, 7 Issues, 1996-98

Lowrider Magazine

Periodical

Lowrider culture during its national commercial expansion, 1996 to 1998, documented through seven issues of Lowrider Magazine extending Chicano culture to beyond the car scene. Founded in San Jose in 1977 within the political and cultural environment of the Chicano movement, Lowrider had by the late 1990s become a large automotive and lifestyle publication while continuing to invoke Aztlán, La Raza, Cinco de Mayo, and Mexican American community identity.

Lowrider Magazine. Vols. 18 and 20. California: Lowrider Publishing, 1996 to 1998. Archive of 7 issues in color illustrated wrappers, paginated throughout and extensively illustrated in color.

[1] Lowrider Magazine. Vol. 18, No. 5. May 1996. Features include “40 Ghetto Eight,” “Northern Exposure,” “El Camino de Oro,” “The Little Gent,” “Hall of Fame,” “Smile Now, Cry Later,” “Truck Stop,” “The Riddle,” “Euro Scene,” “Green with Envy,” “The Dragonslayer,” and regional coverage from Los Angeles, Central California, Newton, and Odessa. Departments include “La Raza on the Scene,” “Arte,” hydraulics, sound advice, and an events and advertisement index.
[2] Lowrider Magazine. Vol. 18, No. 6. June 1996. Contents include “Deuces Wild,” “Hidden Treasure,” “Street Sweepers,” “Vintage Burgundy ’39,” “Purple Passion,” and “South of the Border,” with reporting from San Diego, Riverside, Mesa, and other regional scenes. Technical sections address car audio and installation, while “La Raza on the Scene,” “Arte,” and the magazine’s regular departments.
[3] Lowrider Magazine. Vol. 18, No. 7. July 1996. Includes “The Punisher,” “Legendary Acura,” “Hall of Fame,” “Gangster Madness,” “Garfield’s Dream,” “Tangier’s Dream,” “Gangsta’s Paradise,” “The Future of Lowriding,” and “G Manz Deuce,” with reports from Chicago, Riverside, Corpus Christi, Mission Hills, and Wichita. “The Future of Lowriding” makes explicit the magazine’s concern with the direction of the culture itself, while the issue’s geographic spread shows lowriding operating well beyond its California origins.
[4] Lowrider Magazine. May 1998. Cinco de Mayo issue, with the cover declaration “This is for La Raza!” alongside “Car Dancers,” “Hittin’ the Switches!” and technical coverage of horsepower, car audio, and new automotive products.
[5] Lowrider Magazine. Vol. 20. July 1998. Features include “Life After Loco,” “Platinum Bomb,” “Street Sweepers,” “Altitude Edition,” “Down for Whatever,” “Troka Loca,” “The Wizards Dragon,” “Euro Scene,” and “Secret Lovers,” with coverage from Tampa, San Fernando, Mesa, Wichita, and other cities.
[6] Lowrider Magazine. Vol. 20. September 1998. Features include “Family Pride,” “Dedicated II You,” “Seven Till Now,” “Euro Scene,” “Bow Down,” “Chico’s Caddy,” “Lord of Illusions,” “Street Sweepers,” “Mocha Frost,” and “All Eyes on Me,” with coverage from Oakland, Greenville, Milwaukee, and other regional communities.
[7] Lowrider Magazine. Vol. 20. December 1998. Contents range from “Project V,” “Street Sweepers,” “Tangerine Madness,” “24 Karats,” “Euro Scene,” and “Ram Tough” to event coverage from Denver, Dallas, Portland, Oklahoma City, and other cities. A technical feature on a “100-POINT ENGINE” and a “HOW-TO: SECURITY SYSTEM” appear beside “Raza Report,” hydraulics, sound advice, arte, and an extensive advertisement index.

By the late 1990s, Lowrider Magazine had expanded far beyond its San Jose origins into a nationally circulated publication with a broad show circuit, substantial advertising base, and readership extending across the United States. Its growth helped carry the visual language, terminology, music, fashion, and automobile traditions of Chicano lowrider culture into mainstream popular culture, giving practices rooted in Mexican American communities a national audience while preserving recurring references to La Raza, Aztlán, and barrio identity .Minor cover and interior wear; interiors primarily clean and well preserved. Overall very good condition. A seven issue record of Lowrider Magazine carrying Chicano lowrider culture into a national show circuit and aftermarket economy while retaining the language of La Raza, Aztlán, and Mexican American community identity from which the publication emerged.

Item #23754

Price: $400.00