Cholo

LOWRIDER: EAST LA PHENOMENON WORTH REVISITING

Long ago, when we first moved to Los Angeles from Chicago, we immediately fell head over heels in love with the East LA low rider culture and lifestyle. We already had a weakness for big American vintage cars and these guys spent mucho time and money bringing rusty wrecks back to life and far beyond. The custom paint jobs sparkled like diamonds and they could make the cars hop up and down at will. On weekends cholos paraded the cars on boulevards and lowrider car shows had hopping contests. We had never seen anything like it. The movie Lowrider opens this weekend starring Gabriel Chavarria, above, and – surprise-Eva Longoria plays his mother! And of course, CARS! CARS! CARS!

Photo Credit: Pacific Coast News

CASPER SMART: WHO CAN RESIST A CHOLO?

Certainly not us – we fell in love with Cholo style when we moved to LA decades ago. Jennifer Lopez’s ex Casper Smart knows the power of the Cholo look and he dressed up like one for Wilmer Valderrama’s Halloween party. Now that he’s single, he probably looking for action. He COULD have improved a bit on his look however. The khaki pants should be several sizes bigger and longer – cinched at the waist. Instead of a gold chain he should have a big cross. The bandanna is fine, but a hairnet would have been even better. Finally Casper has all the wrong posture – his chin should be UP so he’s looking down at everyone, and his feet should be turned out. Oh, and the mustache should DROOP. That’s all.

Photo Credit: Pacific Coast News