SUNNYSIDE, Wash. — The City of Sunnyside celebrated its 35th Annual Cinco de Mayo Festival with a multi-day car show.
Low-rider and car show culture has a long history of existing in post-World War II Mexican-American and Latino communities across the West Coast.
Cars gave post-war Latinos the chance to use the mechanic knowledge they gained during the war and create social opportunities through car clubs which fundraised for labor unions and hosted health initiatives.
According to Steve Velasquez, a curator of cultural and community life at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, “Lowriding is a reflection of that Mexican American post-war experience.”
The car show began on May 5th and ended with a noon parade on May 7th.
