NATIONAL CITY, Calif. — Celebrating 'cruising' culture in the South Bay, members and supporters of the United Lowrider Coalition came together.
They gathered for their midyear conference, not only to mark the passage of new legislation that will permit cruising statewide, but also to recognize the support they received in their fight.
This legislation, Assembly Bill 436, paves the way for lowrider communities throughout California to honor their cruising culture and do what they love without fear of punishment.
While this new law does not officially go into effect until January 1, plenty of supporters in National City will celebrate throughout the weekend. A Saturday event had enthusiasts at Kimball Park in National City.
President of the United Lowrider Coalition Jovita Arellano described her reaction when she first learned the legislation passed.
"I started crying I was so happy," she said. "I called everybody saying he signed it he signed it. Today our coalition is so ecstatic about this celebration."
Assemblymember David Alvarez, who authored the bill, grew up in Barrio Logan.
"This is really where it all started with the community of National City," Alvarez said.
The fight for its passage turned out to be a purely grassroots effort, led by the United Lowrider Coalition in the South Bay, that eventually garnered support by lowrider communities throughout the state.
"To be able to pass a law that was inspired by our own community here in San Diego was really meaningful and significant," Alvarez added.
Alvarez was honored Friday at the United Lowrider Coalition's conference, where the coalition's new board members were also sworn in.
"That is a part of our culture, " said Jovita Arellano, president of the United Lowrider Coalition. "We have jobs, we own homes, we have families, but our lifestyle is the lowriding and the cruising."
Some attendees of the Saturday event said the ban was racially motivated.
"We felt it was a racist law," Marcos Arellano said. "We felt low riders were being targeted."
The United Lowrider Coalition successfully overturned National City's ban on cruising that's been in effect since 1992 earlier this year.
Following that victory, they focused on repealing the ban on a statewide level. They also received invaluable support and guidance from the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
"We were the first city in the nation to repeal our anti-cruising legislation," said Jeff Hertz, policy analyst for the Albuquerque City Council.
Friday night, the United Lowrider Coalition also recognized Albuquerque's assistance in helping to blaze the trail in lifting the cruising ban in California.
"They advised us on so many things, and they helped us not to have to re-invent the wheel," Arellano told CBS 8. "They had already had it done, so we were able to capture that and put it toward National City."
Hertz from Albuquerque was impressed.
"To see them now working at the state level and having that kind of an impact, " Hertz added, "It's huge, you know."
It's an impact that is continuing to be felt.
"We need to know the history of lowriding and I think we need to see how much value it really brings to our communities," Hertz said.
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