Lowrider festival showcases Latino car culture and artistry at Navy Pier

On Saturday, Navy Pier’s Festival Hall was filled with row upon row of gleaming, customized cars and bikes adorned with foxtails, flowers, Mexican flags and Día de los Muertos altars.

One vehicle was covered with images of Chucky and other horror film characters. Another featured a hydraulic system wrapped in a painting of the Last Supper.

Those were just two of the standouts at “Slow & Low: Chicago Lowrider Festival,” which showcased 178 cars with hydraulic power to lift and lower them. The event highlighted Midwest car, bike and motorcycle clubs and celebrated Latino culture amid Hispanic Heritage Month.

But just as striking were the empty spaces representing 30 exhibitors fearful of attending given the heavy presence of agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Chicago area.

“We make space for people even if they were hesitant to come,” said Lauren Pacheco, who founded the event in 2011 with her brother, Peter Kepha. “This was an important visual.”

This year’s attendance was also noticeably lower than last year, when 10,000 to 12,000 people visited, Pacheco said. But those who did come out were enthusiastic about honoring the lowrider culture and community and praising the skill exhibited on what Pacheco called “mobile works of art.”

Rooted in Chicano culture, lowriders emerged in Southern California in the 1940s and grew even more popular in the 1970s. With a goal to highlight Chicago’s lowrider and community, Pacheco and Kepha ran the “Slow & Low” festival in Pilsen for years before moving it to Navy Pier in 2022.

At Saturday’s event, Pacheco emphasized the car owners’ craftsmanship, which included mural work and pinstriping, or creating designs with very thin lines of paint. Some of the subjects of the art included lost loved ones, historic figures and mythological characters.

“I always tell people every vehicle is telling a story,” Pacheco said.

Ruben Echevarria Jr.’s 1993 blue Cadillac Fleetwood told scores of tales. Nearly every inch of the car was covered in images of his family members, favorite rappers, Chicago scenery, migrant workers and more.

“It’s my therapy,” said Echevarria, 55, of Crestwood, who is a member of the USO car club.

Art Martin, 55, of Shorewood, had a more understated car; he was more interested in discussing his vintage find: a 1947 Chevy Fleetmaster convertible.

He said he fell in love with lowriders as a teenager when he saw a 1964 Chevrolet Impala at Ashland and Chicago avenues. He was determined to own one, and he eventually made that dream come true.

“Now I’m into older cars,” said Martin, a member of the Pura Familia club. “This is for us older guys. It’s more relaxed.”

Another vintage car owner, Wilson Torres, was showing off a rare, two-door 1948 Chevy Suburban. It took him 10 years to restore, but he’s not precious about driving it around.

“Cars are similar to us,” said Torres, 64, of Pilsen, who belongs to the Members Only car club. “You just can’t stay in bed. You’ve got to take it out of the garage and drive it. You’ve got to get the oils moving. Just like we’ve got to get our blood flowing.”

He also praised the communal nature of lowrider culture.

“It’s like my second family,” he said. “Everybody here gets along well. Everybody has respect for each other.”

The Chicago lowrider community has embraced 18-year-old Vivian Silva as one of its own. She began attending the festival as a child and immediately stood out for wearing zoot suits, an exaggerated style of long jackets and full, high-waisted pants worn by Blacks and Latinos in the 1940s. Now, Silva is featured in some of the festival’s promotional materials.

Silva said she hopes to own her own lowrider one day.

“The girls don’t usually come out or have their own cars,” said Silva, who grew up in Pilsen and Little Village. “There’s a select few that do, and I want to be able to have my own car and customize it just like them.”

One of the women car owners who exhibited at Saturday’s fest was Stephanie Campos, 25, of Berwyn, who attended the event with her partner and children. Her son held a live ball python, which resembled the snake painted on the side of her 1975 Chevy Caprice.

“It just feels free,” she said of driving the car, which has a blue velvet interior.

That sentiment was shared by Armando Flores, who built and displayed a miniature car installation that served as a replica of Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles, famous for lowrider cruising.

“Cruising in your car and listening to the music with your girl — that’s the best moment ever,” said Flores, 64, of Los Angeles. “I wake up every morning, and the first thing I think of is lowrider. It’s a lifestyle.”

Editor’s Note: This article was updated to correct the details of Art Martin’s car.