Trailblazers drive new opportunity for women in Bay Area lowrider scene

In the heart of the Bay Area, the traditionally male-dominated lowrider scene is undergoing a revolution, powered by a group of extraordinary women who are making their mark from San Francisco to San Jose.
Ruby Ramirez, a trailblazer in San Francisco’s lowrider community, has been passionate about lowriding since she was a young girl.
“I fell in love with lowriding as a young girl,” she says. “I used to go to the grocery store and just like everybody, pick up that lowrider magazine, look through it, and say one day I’m gonna own one of these.”
Today, Ruby owns a custom 1950s Chevy, proudly displaying it at car shows and events. Her hard work has not only shattered stereotypes but also earned her numerous trophies. “This is our trophy room…as you can see, it’s a little dusty,” she jokes. “We like to call these the dust collectors.”
Meanwhile, in Sunnyvale, the Dueñas Car Club is an all-female group that is pushing boundaries and passing the lowrider tradition to future generations.
The club is a tight-knit sisterhood, led by women like Sarai Perez, who has passed her passion for lowriders down to her children.
“My children were very small when I got my first car, and it’s an amazing feeling to know that they want to be involved in it,” Perez said. “My daughter has her ’84 Cadillac that I ended up getting for her when she graduated community college, and I can’t wait to pass that along to my granddaughter now.”
The lowrider movement, which began in East Los Angeles after World War II, was long considered a male domain. But, as Angel Romero, president of the Dueñas Car Club, recalls, women began making their mark in the scene in the late 1970s and 1980s.
“It was like, we took kind of a backseat, we were helping our spouses or significant others, our husbands, our boyfriends, get ready for events,” Romero said. “But we weren’t in the driver’s side. It wasn’t our car.”
Now, the Dueñas Car Club, with its 20 members, is dedicated to much more than cars. The women are committed to community service, organizing toy drives and providing safety kits to those in need. They are also actively involving younger generations.
“Look at our kids…our youngest, she’s a year and a half,” Romero said proudly. “She’s in our bike club…you see our daughters helping us. It’s all about the pride and ownership, not only about being ‘chingonas’ but being proud of where you come from, celebrating the culture.”
From San Francisco to Silicon Valley, these women are igniting a cultural shift. Ruby Ramirez celebrates this inclusivity, noting, “It’s so beautiful to see that, to see that generation coming up and expressing lowriding not only through cars but in nails, in hairstyles.”
As these women continue to rev their engines, they’re also creating a more inclusive community, one that celebrates everyone, regardless of age or gender.