Momma Lowrider: Sandra Teran of Duke's Car Club

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Momma Lowrider: Sandra Teran of Duke's Car Club

On Easter Sunday of last year, the sound of gunfire, then police sirens, interrupted the music booming from the cars on South Sixth Avenue. Three people died and six were injured in two separate shootings that occurred within an hour of each other on the street crowded with cars and people (Stauffer). This event reinforced the way the public often views cruisers: as violent juveniles or gang-bangers engaging in a dangerous, vain activity. The violence of Easter Sunday, however, does not typify cruising or cruisers. Cruising - and the intense work that goes into making a car, especially a lowrider, truly "cruise-worthy" - offers an alternative to violence and gangs. Often, a car club helps with the work of customizing a ride, giving the owner advice on how to get the look of the car just right. Duke's Car Club has been one of the most popular and visible car clubs in Tucson since it was founded forty years ago (Teran 10/8/01). Sandra Teran, a member of Duke's Car Club, represents an aspect of cruising and car clubs that few people are aware of: family involvement and community pride.

When it comes to cruising, lowriders star in the show, and have for the last thirty years. "Lowrider" signifies any automobile, from trucks to cars to motorcycles, customized to ride low to the ground. The asphalt-scraping suspension isn't the only alteration; the cars often sport elaborate paint jobs, expensive wire rimmed wheels, plush upholstery, and tough hydraulics systems. The cars' owners, also called lowriders, display their cars by cruising slowly down the street or exhibiting them at car shows. Despite the time and money put into a lowrider, lowriding is not just about the cars. It is also about family and community, as Sandra Teran explained to me when I interviewed her. Sandra is prominent in the lowriding community, and driving up to her home I could see why. Three classic luxury cars sat in the driveways, their meticulous paint gleaming. The love for all things classic extends to the inside of her home; two jukeboxes stand by the front door and a photo of one of her sons wearing a zoot suit hangs on the wall. I arrived a few minutes early for our interview, and Sandra had gone to pick up one of her grandchildren, so I sat and waited.

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