The wheels are spherical like some other bike, however all the things else rides low — by design. In Wenatchee, two group members are gathering curved frames, tires and different bike elements donated from neighbors, companies and native automobile golf equipment. By means of an area nonprofit, they’re constructing not simply bikes, but in addition a program to steer youth away from gang involvement, problem stereotypes of Chicano tradition, and reconnect them with their historical past and heritage.
Valentin Mendoza not too long ago started working with Francisco Jimenez on the Neighborhood for the Development of Household Schooling (CAFÉ) to launch a lowrider bike program for youth liable to gang involvement. The initiative provides kids the prospect to design, construct, and paint their lowrider bikes with steerage from mentors.
Jimenez is the youth empowerment and help coordinator at CAFÉ. The nonprofit affords a wide range of applications to redirect kids away from gang involvement, together with boxing courses and teenage nights that present a constructive, inclusive house for actions like kickball and cooking.
Mendoza and Jimenez, each former gang members, at the moment are dedicated to shaping a greater future for Wenatchee’s youth. They perceive the challenges native teenagers face and supply mentorship and applications to assist information them towards a extra constructive path.
“I’ve always been drawn to helping out kids who look like me — kids who might be involved in what would be considered gangs or negative activities. I wanted to bring lowriding with me, and adapt it to where I am now,” stated Mendoza.
Mendoza is a part of Lowcos, a lowrider automobile membership with chapters throughout the Northwest. The Yakima chapter that Mendoza is part of was based in 2008 and now has about 10 members. For them, lowriding is greater than a pastime. It’s an identification and type of group engagement. When Valentin shared his imaginative and prescient of beginning a bike-building mentorship program, different membership members rallied behind the concept. They started donating bike elements, instruments and their time to assist.
Valentin Mendoza, left, speaks with Ezzy Pina a few lowrider tricycle Thursday on the Neighborhood for the Development of Household Schooling (CAFÉ). (Credit score: Jacob Ford / Wenatchee World)
The youngsters received’t simply be handed a motorcycle — they’ll sand, paint and assist assemble it. Native automobile membership members will mentor them all through the method, turning what could possibly be only a one-time venture into a long-lasting relationship. The venture will supply casual mentorship from adults who’ve overcome struggles like habit, gang involvement and trauma. Youth will hear actual tales.
”We wish to present that there’s a means out. And the one method to actually do that’s by placing them, matching them with a mentor that has lived that life. There shall be a mannequin bike to indicate them what’s potential,” Mendoza stated. “But the rest is up to them.”
Gang exercise in Washington state
Gang exercise is current in communities throughout Washington state, with various ranges of gang-affiliated teams recognized in numerous counties. In response to the Washington State Gang Intelligence Bulletin, Chelan and Douglas counties have recognized eight teams. Close by counties reported greater numbers, together with Grant with 15, Kittitas with 5, Okanogan with six and Yakima with 40.
The report additionally notes that Japanese Washington has a notable presence of gang exercise, with about 88 teams recognized throughout the area.
In response to a examine printed within the Journal of Adolescent Well being most youngsters who do be part of a gang achieve this between ages 12 and 15.
Corporal Kevin Battis of the Wenatchee Police Division has labored within the gang unit and on drug investigations throughout his 15–12 months tenure. He additionally provides shows on gang prevention and group outreach.
“Gang activity here isn’t always violent, but it’s present,” Battis stated. “A lot of these kids are missing something — structure, guidance or a positive connection. Sometimes they’re just living in the moment, not thinking about the consequences.”
Battis stated Wenatchee’s most lively interval of gang exercise occurred within the Nineties and early 2000s, when he stated native teams such because the South Facet Locos and the Get together Boys emerged, typically aligned with bigger networks just like the Sureños and Norteños. Battis stated a lot of the native gang presence is tied to Hispanic gangs with roots in Southern California.
A lowrider tricycle made by Ezzy Pina consists of modifications such Bluetooth audio system, decreasing forks, handlebars, seats and extra Thursday on the Neighborhood for the Development of Household Schooling (CAFÉ). (Credit score: Jacob Ford / Wenatchee World)
Native applications like CAFÉ and the Youth Danger Program by means of the courtroom system goal to supply at-risk youth an alternate. The Youth Danger Program connects contributors with counselors who work with them and their households.
Battis stated that they don’t know why folks be part of gangs however his division believes it’s linked to lack of parental steerage and construction at house. Battis stated he has seen native applications present protected environments for teenagers.
“They can get together and do something productive instead of creating havoc. That’s what we want — something that draws them away from poor choices and toward something positive,” stated Battis.
What’s Chicano tradition?
For Mendoza and different mentors in this system, this system has a a lot bigger function. It’s about confronting the stigma that usually follows Chicano youth — particularly in colleges, the place expressions of tradition and magnificence may be mistaken for gang affiliation.
“We’re not trying to empower gangs,” Mendoza stated. “We’re trying to empower Chicano culture. Sometimes people see kids wearing baggy pants or dressing a certain way and assume the worst. But that’s not defiance — it’s just style. It’s cultural.”
Chicano tradition refers back to the heritage, identification and experiences of Mexican Individuals, significantly these within the Southwest. Rooted in a historical past of activism, it blends Indigenous, Mexican and American influences in language, artwork, music, politics and group life.
The time period “Chicano” gained prominence through the civil rights motion of the Sixties and Nineteen Seventies, evolving into a logo of satisfaction and resistance. A defining second on this interval was the East Los Angeles walkouts when highschool college students protested towards academic inequality. Right this moment, Chicano tradition stays a robust drive in ongoing discussions about identification, fairness and social justice.
“The main reason behind it is to mainly reach out to these teenagers that are interested in this lifestyle, but we want to bring it into a positive form versus them being out there actively gang banging and doing stuff they shouldn’t be,” Mendoza stated.
Within the Wenatchee and Eastmont College Districts, directors are instructed to look at for indicators of gang-related conduct, together with buttoning solely the highest button of a shirt, sporting outsized clothes, pulling socks excessive up the calf, and displaying rosaries typically related to Catholicism, and Chicano flash, however flagged as potential indicators of gang involvement.
“I have gone into schools and seen kids with long socks and they’ve been told to put it down if they are brown. If you’re Caucasian you’re not going to get called out on that,” Jimenez stated. “We are trying to break that barrier and show the community what our style is vs. an actual active gang member. They are just completely different.”
Bryan Morelos holds up a lowrider bicycle Thursday on the Neighborhood for the Development of Household Schooling (CAFÉ). (Credit score: Jacob Ford / Wenatchee World)
On the Wenatchee College District web site, pointers say the motion is just not meant to be punitive however due to the current gang exercise within the space, the district enforces an inventory of prohibited gadgets to guard the security of their college students. The district works with police departments to watch gang exercise and replace prohibited merchandise lists to mirror present tendencies.
“When certain prohibited items that are known to be affiliated with gangs are displayed at school and coupled with aggressive or gang-related behaviors, the safety and well-being of our students and staff become our primary concern,” stated district spokesperson, Director of Communications Diana Haglund. “In such instances, we must take proactive measures to address these issues to maintain a safe and supportive learning environment for all.”
Haglund stated the district’s gown code coverage tries to respect the cultural expressions of scholars, together with these from the Chicano group. She stated apparel generally is a highly effective type of self-expression of their cultural heritage.
Mendoza stated he desires to alter the narrative round his tradition and supply tangible proof that their fashion is constructive.
“Are Chuck Taylors, or Cortez shoes, the way we dress, equate to gang members or equate to gang culture or does that equate to a Chicano style?” Mendoza stated. “Unfortunately, the way that some gangs and lowrider cultures present themselves, people put those two together. They’re not together, they are two separate things.”
Rewriting the narrative
Lowrider tradition within the media has been linked to gang exercise or felony conduct. Movies like “Boulevard Nights” and portrayals in music movies and magazines have used stereotypes, that many in lowrider communities are nonetheless making an attempt to dismantle.
The roots of lowriding come from after World Struggle II when Mexican American veterans started customizing their automobiles as a type of self-expression. Within the Nineteen Seventies, lowriders organized political fundraisers for actions just like the United Farm Employees. Right this moment, lowrider exhibits and conventions have fun household, artwork and tradition.
Ezzy Pina’s lowrider cycles on show Thursday on the Neighborhood for the Development of Household Schooling (CAFÉ). (Credit score: Jacob Ford / Wenatchee World)
“Lowriding is multigenerational,” Mendoza stated. “It’s a culture. It’s an art form. And now we’re using it to build something new in Wenatchee.”
Shaun Kroger, a 38-year-old from Yakima and president of the Lowcos membership there, agrees. He started his lowriding journey beginning on bikes.
“I found lowriding through magazines and MTV,” Kroger stated. “People see us and assume we’re drug dealers or gang members. But that’s not who we are. We build cars. We build bikes. We’re about family and community.”
Kroger’s father was a automobile man. Now, Kroger and his automobile chapter are serving to to help the Wenatchee bike program with elements and mentorship.
“Hopefully this makes a big impact,” he stated. “I’m proud of Valentin for doing this.”
In Could, youth in Wenatchee will start to construct bikes, many for the primary time. Native companies, together with G & S Automotive, donated to CAFÉ to jump-start this system. Over a few weeks, the group collected sufficient elements by the top of April to construct about eight bikes.
Valentin Mendoza, left, Adrian Nava, 11, middle left, Jose Navarrete, 15, middle proper, and Neighborhood for the Development of Household Schooling (CAFÉ) youth program coordinator Francisco Jimenez pose for a photograph with lowriders made by Ezzy Pina Thursday at CAFÉ. (Credit score: Jacob Ford / Wenatchee World)
For Mendoza, the long-term imaginative and prescient consists of launching a Wenatchee chapter of Lowcos and persevering with to mentor youth by means of artistic, hands-on tasks. Greater than something, he hopes to indicate that lowrider tradition generally is a car for therapeutic.
“This is a prime example of how we dismantle generational cycles,” Mendoza stated. “We’re not going to pretend the past didn’t happen — but we can do something different now.”
As extra bikes roll out and extra youngsters be part of this system, Mendoza and Jimenez see the potential rising.
“It’s a privilege to be part of this,” Mendoza stated. “And for these kids — it’s more than a bike. It’s something they built. Something that tells the world who they are. And that’s powerful.”
