California Chicano Cultural Periodical Lowrider Magazine, 6 Issues, 1995-96

Lowrider Magazine

Periodical

Lowrider culture during a period of rapid national expansion, 1995 to 1996, documented through six 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. 17 and 18. California: Lowrider Publishing, 1995 to 1996. Archive of 6 issues in color illustrated wrappers, paginated throughout and extensively illustrated in color.

[1] Lowrider Magazine. Vol. 17, No. 3. March 1995. Features include “Egyptian Lover,” “Lowrider Hall of Fame,” “Sunny Delight,” “Hard 2 Kill,” “Aztec Pride,” “Car of Many Colors,” and “Body Count,” with regional coverage from East Los Angeles, Los Banos, Escondido, and elsewhere. Departments include “La Raza Report,” “Arte,” hydraulics, sound advice, events, and a tire and wheel guide, while the contents announce the Lowrider Tour ’95 kickoff in Los Angeles as the beginning of the magazine’s largest tour to that date.
[2] Lowrider Magazine. Vol. 17, No. 5. May 1995. Cinco de Mayo material appears alongside “The Injector!,” “Blue Extasy,” “Ray’s Dream,” “Brett’s Shootout,” “’54 Oldie,” “So Fine ’49,” “La Revolución,” “La Gente,” and “El Paso,” with coverage from Los Angeles, San Fernando, Utah, and other regions.
[3] Lowrider Magazine. Vol. 17. June 1995. Features include “Cocktail Time,” “Evil Ways,” “It’s a Family Affair,” “Real Deal,” “Hall of Fame,” “Image from Hell,” “Lowrider Times,” “The Creeper,” and regional reporting from Mesa, Tampa, Louisville, Odessa, and Chicago.
[4] Lowrider Magazine. Vol. 18, No. 1. January 1996. Features include “Tropical Punch,” “Caddy de Oro,” “2 the Extreme,” “Sixties Nightmare,” “Street Deuce,” “Street Creeper,” “Rare ’42,” and “Twisted Obsession,” with event reporting from Los Angeles, San Angelo, and Portland. “La Raza on the Scene,” “Arte,” hydraulics, sound systems, technical instruction, and extensive show coverage.
[5] Lowrider Magazine. Vol. 18, No. 3. March 1996. Features include “Money Green ’39,” “Euro Scene,” “Fleetline Killer,” “Impala Gallery,” “Punch ’84,” “Truck Stop,” “Grass Hopper,” and “The Leprechaun,” with reporting from El Paso, San Diego, and other regional communities.
[6] Lowrider Magazine. Vol. 18, No. 9. September 1996. Features include “The Green Warrior,” “Kool Kandy Civic,” “Street Sweepers,” “Truck Stop,” “Color of Money,” “Euro Scene,” “Another Bad Creation,” “Spirit of ’62,” “Miami,” “El Monte,” “Kansas City,” “Albuquerque,” and “Tennessee.”

By 1995, Lowrider Magazine had become a major vehicle for the national circulation of a culture that had developed in Mexican American communities of the Southwest. Its sixteen stop tour, 46,000 person Los Angeles Supershow, extensive regional reporting, and growing aftermarket advertising placed the magazine at the center of a commercial network linking readers, builders, clubs, manufacturers, and show promoters across the country. At the same time, recurring departments such as “La Raza,” “La Raza on the Scene,” and “Arte,” along with features invoking Aztec imagery, Cinco de Mayo, and Spanish language titles, carried Chicano cultural references to readers far beyond the magazine’s original California base. Minor cover and interior wear; interiors primarily clean and well preserved. Overall very good condition. A six issue record of Lowrider Magazine transforming a Chicano automotive tradition into a nationally circulated car and lifestyle culture through touring shows, regional networks, technical knowledge, and a rapidly expanding aftermarket.

Item #23755

Price: $350.00