Carros y Cultura

Community, creativity, and culture — these are the legacies of the lowrider.

The word “lowrider” can describe a car: low to the ground, usually having hydraulics, with a fantastic paint job, chrome, and customized upholstery. More importantly, lowrider refers to people: those who own the cars, work on them, show them in competition, take them cruising, and champion the culture.

With roots in the Mexican American community, lowriding started in the 1940s and grew into a distinctive car culture — a canvas for celebrating identity through artistic expression. Lowriders strengthen communities. Families work together on their cars, form clubs, organize events, and support one another.

With lowrider cars and bikes on display, Carros y Cultura introduces visitors to the rich culture that is Texas lowriding. Explore the characteristics that make a custom car a lowrider car in an interactive touchscreen mural. Meet the people who make lowriding a community through media pieces and interviews. Learn how together, car and driver maintain a legacy that has been nurtured across generations of lowriding families to build a phenomenon that has been imitated, adopted, and adapted around the world.

Select Artifacts on View

• 1975 Chevy Monte Carlo, "Blue Monte"
• Custom Lowrider Tricycle, "Holy Roller"
• East Side Story LP Records
• First Issue of Lowrider Magazine

Sponsored by the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Hall Fund and Univision Austin.

The Bullock Texas State History Museum is a division of the State Preservation Board. Additional support of exhibitions and programs is provided by the Texas State History Museum Foundation.

Banner photo by Art Flores© 2022