But lowriders’ El Grito celebration in Bradenton gets cut short.
By Johannes Werner
Original Air Date: September 22 2026
Host: I was a bit surprised when Angel Ochoa Iniestra, our new WSLR News extern, shared with me a social media meme: A call to celebrate Mexican independence day at a Bradenton mall parking lot with fellow lowriders. “No drama. Low revving. Bring out the banderas and rep our raza.” Wait—lowriders still exist? And they’re a thing here, in Southwest Florida? But here it was. So I tagged along Saturday night with Angel, who happens to be an avid lowrider fan, to a strip mall off Manatee Avenue. Here’s our report.
Photo: Angel Ochoa Iniestra
[Music: Low Rider by War]
Johannes Werner: Ready to cruise to the galaxy of lowriders? You know, the cars and trucks with the big, shiny wheels, fancy body art and neon lights everywhere. And they have hydraulics to jack them up, which kind-of turns the name on its head. But that was exactly the idea.
A bit of history here: Today’s lowriders are the offspring of hot rods and the noisy street racing that was popular among Mexican Americans, or Chicanos, as they called themselves half a century ago. Cops broke up these noisy parties frequently, and in 1958, the powers-that-be created California Vehicle Code, section 24008, which banned any modifications to vehicles that moved any part of its body or frame lower than the bottom of its wheel. Long story short: Today’s lowrider was born.
Photo: Angel Ochoa Iniestra
But back to Florida and the Suncoast. They did come to celebrate “El Grito,” the cry, Mexico’s way of celebrating its independence from Spain. Some 50 people came with their red-white-and green flags with the cactus, eagle and serpent while showing off a dozen or so of their costly toys on wheels. I saw toddlers, grandparents and everyone in between.
[Indistinct chatter]
For Christian Ventura, a 20-something from Palmetto, lowriders are a family affair. Together with his brother and brother-in-law, he started Los Únicos, which is among the more open clubs in the area. He didn’t like the cliquishness of some of the crews he joined before.
Photo: Johannes Werner
Christian Ventura: We want to make it a huge family. Anyone is welcome. We don’t want anyone to feel left out once we’re in meets. We all like talking to each other. As you can see, we all get along with each other.
JW: He did bring his 1997 Lincoln Town Car, with 20-inch chrome rims, lots of red neon and a backlit stereo he took for a spin for WSLR listeners.
[Instrumental music]
He also explains what Mexico’s independence day means to him, and how it ties to lowriders:
CV: It means a lot of things to different people, but El Grito is something that symbolizes us—something that comes from the heart. It’s too many words to put in a single sentence.
Photo: Angel Ochoa Iniestra
Lowriders tie into more of the Chicano culture—California.
JW: Ventura rattled down the names of some of the other clubs in the area—941 Lowriders, Still Lowriding, I-75 Boyds, Rollin Low Club, HellaFirme, and Sueños de Reyes. How many lowrider fans are there in this area? Christian said “a lot” but couldn’t tell.
If you believe Fred Garcia, who owns a body shop in Bradenton catering to lowriders, it’s thousands of people.
Photo: Angel Ochoa Iniestra
Garcia made his grand entry on a muscle bike painted in Miami Dolphin colors with the number 13, honoring Dan Marino. His business does it all, from mounting new rims to hydraulics and body paint. He’s the offspring of a dynasty of mechanics, beginning with grandpa, who fixed tractors. Fred took it to the lowrider realm, and—by the looks of it—he’s doing well. He did a bit of shameless self-promotion right there. He’s got legitimate custom job bragging rights, though, because he’s been at it for 53 years.
Fred Garcia: I’ve been at it for 53 years doing this kind of work, and that car right there just got me to the top three body shops here in Bradenton.
Photo: Johannes Werner
JW: The noisiest lowrider at the party was actually not a lowrider. Danny de la Rosa underlined the grand entry with his 1936 two-door Chevrolet, activating the cop siren his historic car is equipped with. And he used it again, when asked, exclusively for WSLR listeners.
[Engine revving, loud siren]
The Lakewood Ranch resident told me he goes 40 miles per hour, max, during early morning rides. Asked whether his wife is jealous of his hobby, he said this:
Photo: Angel Ochoa Iniestra
Danny de la Rosa: No, I don’t have a wife; I’m single. That’s probably my wife, because she takes all my money. I care about that car very dearly. That’s my pride and joy.
JW: Asked about how much they invest in their hobbies, some lowrider owners came back with five-digit figures. But in a couple instances, it came with a qualifier. A guy who only gave his name as “John” and brought his two little sons and a yet-to-be-spiffed up Honda Accord draped with a Mexican flag told me he does not have much money to play with right now. That’s because work hours have dropped dramatically.
And then there was Charles Turner from Lakeland. He didn’t look or sound Mexican, which made me curious. Here’s his story how he came to be part of the lowrider scene:
Charles Turner: Believe it or not, I’ve hung out with Mexicans all my life.
JW: Okay. How did that happen?
Photo: Johannes Werner
CT: It’s from school.
JW: Lakeland?
CT: No; in Wauchula. I grew up around all the Latins and married one.
JW: Asked about whether there are any problems with police, Christian Ventura, the Únicos crew founder, offered this:
Photo: Angel Ochoa Iniestra
CV: Yeah, there are issues. What we do means we like to have everything friendly. We don’t want any drama. We don’t want any situation where it gets out of hand. We like to keep it peaceful—just come here, vibe, chill, enjoy every car—every build—and, as of right now, there’s really no problems with cops other than loud music.
Photo: Johannes Werner
JW: But, lo and behold, the flashiest vehicles arrived after about an hour and half of peaceful and not-too-noisy showing off: Three Bradenton Police cruisers, lights flashing. An officer told the lowrider crowd to end the party and leave the premises. Asked why, an officer in a plainclothes SUV told me somebody called in a “disturbance.”
Another time-honored tradition for lowriders.
[Music: Low Rider by War]
Reporting from the Dollar Tree mall in Bradenton, Johannes Werner for WSLR News.
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6pm.