Unpacked: Wenatchee nonprofit teaches lowrider bike building, culture

By: Phineas Pope and Reneé Diaz

Phineas Pope:  In Wenatchee, a nonprofit is steering at risk teens away from gang involvement with bikes. NWPB’s Reneé Diaz reported this story and joins me now to discuss more. 

Can you describe a lowrider bike for those who might not be familiar?

Reneé Diaz: Lowrider bikes are customizable bikes. They have long banana shaped seats and high handlebars, which allows riders to bike low to the ground. They’re like a more affordable version of a lowrider car. Just like the car, people can customize them with paint jobs, custom wheels, and even attach speakers to them.

Pope: The nonprofit, the Community for the Advancement of Family Education or CAFÉ, launched this lowrider program. What are the participants of this program doing? 

Diaz: They’re learning how to build bikes straight from scratch. The nonprofit collected parts from car clubs and local businesses. They build the bikes and customize them to whatever shape and color that they want. Along with building them, the kids learn more about the history of lowriding culture.

Pope: Talk a bit about Chicano culture and the connection between Chicano culture and lowriding. 

Diaz: There’s so much history behind this. Chicano culture refers to the history and identity of Mexican Americans in the Southwest. The word “Chicano” gained a lot of momentum around the civil rights movement to be a statement of pride and resistance — for example —  the East Los Angeles walkouts, where Mexican Americans protested inequalities in the public education system. 

Mexican American veterans returning from World War II opted to buy cars that would ride low and slow, and customize them that way to distinguish themselves from other cars. 

In the 1970s, many lowrider car clubs used to hold meetings to support political movements, including starting up the United Farm Workers Labor Union.

Pope: Lowriding has been affiliated with gang culture. Is CAFÉ hoping to change that? 

Diaz: Yes, that’s their main goal. There are lowrider stereotypes that we’ve seen in movies and TV shows. And while some gangs do style their car in that way, many low rider fanatics such as Shaun Kroger, president of Lowcos Car Club in Yakima, say they don’t associate themselves with gangs, and have been stereotyped in the past.

This nonprofit is wanting to provide a space for kids to lean into Chicano culture and fashion while de-stigmatizing those stereotypes behind it, and also showing the community that Chicano culture doesn’t necessarily mean that these kids are involved in gangs. 

Pope: The two guys who started this were formally affiliated with gangs — why did they see a need to start this program? 

Diaz: Valentin Mendoza and Francisco Jimenez both told me that they wanted to provide a safe community and mentorship something that they didn’t have when they were young. Francisco is the youth support coordinator at CAFÉ, and they do a lot when it comes to at-risk youth. They provide a variety of programs that redirect children from gang activity, such as boxing classes for kids to get their anger out. Francisco has seen a lot of success with these, and this one will get kids to work specifically on lowrider bikes and learn more about their culture at the same time.

Note: This transcript has been edited for clarity.