FOURTH ANNUAL LOWRIDE DAY RETURNS TO DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE

Lowriders will cruise into downtown San Jose this weekend, bringing a piece of East San Jose's Chicano culture to City Hall for an afternoon of custom cars, music and celebration. San Jose Lowrider Day returns Sunday for its fourth year, marking the anniversary of the City Council's decision to repeal a decades-old cruising ban. The celebration -- hosted by the offices of Councilmembers Anthony Tordillos and Peter Ortiz, as well as the United Lowrider Council of San Jose -- will run from noon to 6 p.m. on Santa Clara Street between Third and Seventh streets in front of City Hall. It will feature lowriders, live music, food and local vendors, community resources and performances throughout the afternoon.

At a Tuesday meeting, councilmembers officially proclaimed Sunday as 2026 Lowrider Day. But for members of the United Lowrider Council of San Jose, the annual event is about more than showing off cars. Ricardo Cortez, a member of the lowrider council who handles history and youth education, said it's an opportunity to reclaim a culture that has long been stereotyped as criminal and show how lowriding has become an important part of San Jose's cultural identity. Negative stereotypes can cause people to make assumptions about people simply because of the cars they drive, he said.

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