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Keeping it real
Topics: Lowriders, Lowriding, Aztec Image, Bakersfield, Mas Magazine, Bakotopia, Car Club, Lowrider Nationals, chicano, Culture, Old School. Cars, Custom, august, 2007
Posted by matt Thu Aug 2, 2007 12:26:32 PDT
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0 responses 1 comment Location: 1142 South P. St., Bakersfield, CA 93307

Keeping it real
Bakersfield’s Aztec Image Car Club members driven by love of lowriders & love of la familia

By Matt Muñoz
Bakotopia / MÁS staff

Lowriding is a family affair for Bakersfield’s Aztec Image Car Club.

Whether cruising around town, heading out to a car show, a summertime barbecue or just kicking it in the back yard, lowriding is all about la familia to these self-proclaimed “old school” riders.

Making their 10th appearance at this year’s Lowrider Nationals car show in Bakersfield Sunday, Aug. 5, Aztec Image prides itself on continuing the lowriding tradition in true, old school fashion — where “pride in your ride” is as important as the priorities in everyday life.

“It means a lot to me,” said Richard Martinez, Aztec Image Car Club president, of his current ride — a classic ‘68 Impala that also happens to be the first car he ever owned.

Martinez, 32, who’s led the car club since 1995, is quick to express his affection for his custom auto — in fact, he explains what it’s like, to this day, to be a lowrider owner with this:

“I come home, open the garage, see it on the ground, and I say, ‘That’s my car.’”

Passionate about the artistic aspects of self-expression his car provides, Martinez also stressed that while his car is considered a part of the family, he never lets it come between his loved ones.

“It’s a big part of my life, but I don’t let it cause problems between my family and friends,” he said.

Tracing the club’s Bakersfield roots back to 1994, Aztec Image originally started out with eight members. In 2007, Aztec Image now boasts 23 members — large in comparison to other local clubs, many of whom have broken up or resurfaced after a few years of inactivity, according to Martinez.

“Since lowriders have started getting popular again, a lot of people have noticed that we’ve been the club that has been around the longest,” said Martinez. “A lot of clubs have gone, but we’ve never stopped or taken a break since the beginning.”

So what’s the secret to making it last?

“Families come first,” he said. “Like if someone’s having a birthday party, and there’s a car show, we’ll cancel going to the show and go to the party, or we’ll re-schedule,” he said.

As in the household, Martinez added that Aztec Image members’ wives also play an important role in the club’s operation and longevity.

“Wives also come to the meetings, and have some say-so in certain things,” Martinez said. “We encourage them, because some of the guys tend to overlook things.”
 
But don’t think that the women of Aztec Image are only allowed in meetings.

Martinez’s wife, Yvonne, is also a full-fledged member of the club, with her very own ‘71 Buick Riviera.

After all, who says a lady can’t lowride?

“Once I married Richard, I got into this,” said Yvonne. “I saw Richard’s magazine lying around and I saw the car I wanted, a Riviera. My dad had one and I loved it so much. I was upset when he got rid of it.”

But, wishing for, and then finding the car you’re enamored with isn’t as easy as it sounds as the Martinezes would soon find out.

On top of that, Rivieras are a rare breed of classic car with their unique V-shaped rear window — but as luck would have it, the couple found one for sale while driving by a local muffler shop.

“We bought it from the original owner, an elderly lady who was sick and moving out of state,” said Yvonne. “We purchased it on the exact same day the original owner bought it back in the ‘70s. It was meant to be, I guess.”

To prove her commitment to creating a car show contender, Yvonne carefully chose her own paint and upholstery.

“It took a long time, but as soon as we brought the car out, we started winning trophies at shows — Best Candy, Best Paint and Best Interest for the ‘70s era,” said Yvonne, who is also the treasurer for Aztec Image. “But I really go to just have fun and show what I’ve accomplished, not really to compete.”

For this lowriding mujer, the hobby and the husband go hand in hand.

“The lowriding came with marriage, so as long as I’m into Richard, I’ll be here,” said Yvonne with a good-natured laugh.

At the time of this interview with MÁS, Yvonne’s Riviera remains in the shop to get a new look in time for this weekend’s Lowrider Nationals gathering.

“I can’t wait to show it off again,” she said of her “baby” with its eight to 10 multi-colors — including magentas, pinks, blues, all candy-colored — with jumbo flake treatment inside the paint patterns being done by Kyle and K-Daddy’s.

And how do the rest of the members feel about having a female member in the club?

“We do look at Yvonne as the wife of our president,” said Dario Salcido, the vice-president of Aztec Image for the last four years. “But she’s more of a member to us.”

Salcido, 30, who rides two different cars for the club — a ‘79 Oldsmobile Cutlass in a shade of blue with silver flake and gold leafing, plus pinstripes and ‘63 Chevy Impala Super Sport painted colbalt candy blue with a white-blue pearl top — claims a deeply-rooted history in the lowriding culture through his father and uncle, both of whom were also members of local car clubs.

“I was raised lowriding in Bakersfield,” said Salcido. “My dad was in Shades of Brown, and my uncle was in Carnales Unidos. It’s more of a lifestyle than a hobby to me.”

And for Salcido, lowrider lifestyle means sharing this common bond with loved ones.

“I do it for the friends and family,” he said. “My 5-year old son even talks about lowriding all the time. He can tell you the year of an Impala just by looking at the body. It’s art, a positive thing.”
 
And keeping it “positive,” is what Aztec Image plans on the doing for the Latino culture and the car culture in general.

Ruben Garcia, whose Aztec Image membership dates back to the club’s first year, has seen his share of different images and negative lowriding stereotypes perpetuated in movies and in gangs, but hopes that people will see the car clubs like his in a positive light.

“People have to get to know us,” said Garcia, 40. “There are different kinds of people with these cars, and they don’t take care of them. We’re not like that. We take care of each other and our cars like family.”

Garcia remembers getting the keys to his car as a graduation present from his parents after high school in 1986 — a ‘64 Chevy Impala Super Sport now cobalt blue with a white blue pearl top and navy blue vinyl upholstery with velour in the center; a light blue headliner; Dayton 100 spoke rims; and a stock Chevy tricked (and treated) out in orange with black.

It’s a beloved car that has become not just more prized with age, but now also serves as a family heirloom, soon to be proudly passed down to Garcia’s own son.

“Everything done to that car is straight from the heart,” Garcia said. “People have offered me a lot of money for it, but I’m going to give it to my son when he’s old enough in about three more years or so.”

With a fondness for the old school days of lowriding — when a cool paint job, smooth upholstery and accessories like rabbit ears antennae and chrome, chrome and more chrome was all the rage — Garcia and the other members of Bakersfield’s Aztec Image look to keep the rich family tradition alive.

They said they will do this through mutual respect for their fellow lowriders, many of whom are younger collectors who may prefer the so-called “next best thing,” i.e. the latest technology, to the simplicity of the true purist.

For the rides in the Aztec Image group, it’s all about polish and shine — their “Aztec Image” emblem glitters in bright gold on just about every vehicle and even adorns some club members’ personal bling collections — and those special, custom touches like colorful murals emblazoned on a trunk or intricate etchings engraved right on to an engine.

Of course, what a lowrider rolls on — the wheels/tires — also deserve a unique look, usually reserved for elaborate spokes (yes, chrome will do nicely, but you can also go for a burnt orange if that better captures the “stylings” of your ride.)

And although Aztec Image members embrace their pure, old school love for lowriders, they realize it’s a matter of choice — and for dedicated lowriding lovers like these, that freedom of choice is key.

“I respect everyone from different clubs here in Bakersfield. They’re all good people,” Garcia said. “It’s like a big family with different names.”

10th annual Lowrider Nationals!
THIS WEEKEND!
Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007
-11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
-Kern County Fairgrounds, Bakersfield, Ca.
-Adult tickets, $25
-One child under 10 admitted free with each paying adult. Each additional child, $10.
-Tickets available at:
Eric’s Autobody on Brundage Lane; various FastTrip locations; Ritmo Latino stores; and at the fairgrounds.

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Comment From: thenovelist

One of the recent holidays, I think it was Easter, I stopped at Beach Park to go on a bike ride. There was a huge gathering of low riders. Some with hydraulics which pumped the cars up into crazy positions... It was definitely cool. Car culture in Bakersfield. It's real. And it's cool to see how family is integrated into the equation...