North Fair Oaks to host classic car show this weekend

To Jorge Alfaro Garcia, a lifelong Redwood City resident, this event is long awaited. 

“We’ve been waiting for something like this for a long time,” the lifelong Redwood City resident said. “We’ve always wanted something like that but you had to go to San Jose or San Francisco.” 

Redwood City was once filled with lowriders, Esteban Ramirez recalls fondly. His first car, a 1964 light blue Ford Galaxie with a white top he bought when he was 15 years old, took him from Reno, to Vegas, to Tijuana and back again. 

“I was interested in lowriding since I was a little kid and once I was able to buy my car, I thought I was the shit,” Ramirez said laughing. “It’s fun. The lowriding community really sticks together, like if you see a car broken down, you stop and you help.” 

That community was prevalent as he was growing up, Ramirez said, and the friends he had are what he misses most. Though he said many are still in the city, a significant number have left over the years due to the increasing cost of living and rent prices. 

“Back in the day, any car you bought brand new off the lot they would put rims on it, the Cadillacs, the Continentals, the Cougars,” Ramirez said. “We used to hop in the car with my friends and we would go cruising in San Jose.” 

The goal for George Saman, a member of the North Fair Oaks Community Council who is planning the event, is to make it so Redwood City residents don’t have to leave to have something to do. 

“North Fair Oaks is known as little Mexico, little Michoacan,” Saman said. “It has a taqueria on every corner, but it’s not a destination. The challenge is, how do we get business back? How do we keep people here?” 

The North Fair Oaks community has had its fair share of hardships in recent years, with the pandemic slowing business, the significant and long-lasting construction on Middlefield Road, and a recent eight-alarm fire. 

In response, there’s “no alternative” but resiliency and joy, Saman said. Part of that is embracing the city’s culture, where latinidad and classic cars “go hand in hand.” 

“There are car shops all over the area,” Saman said. “As we walk through the neighborhoods, we’ve got beautiful hidden gems that are in people’s driveways and garages.”

Some of those gems are a part of Puro Estilow, a car club based in Redwood City, that Ramirez and Jorge Alfaro Garcia are both a part of — signified with their plaques seen through their rearview mirrors.

“Lowriding, it’s a part of life to people,” Ramirez said. “It’s not just a hobby, it’s a way of living.” 

Members of this lowrider club will be just some of the residents showing off their cars. Puro Estilow hosts its own annual car show and has tried to spread the word of the North Fair Oaks event, knowing how big of a community event it can be. 

“It’s such a great feeling to have people show up and gather and have a good time,” Ramirez said. “Our car club has a lot of following, so once they see our name on there, people show up. And when I see something else with another club’s name, we show up. We back each other up.” 

Although he used to be into hot rods like Mustangs, Alfaro Garcia said he noticed the family-oriented aspect of the lowrider community as well as its connection to Mexican American identity. 

After seeing Ramirez cruising around one day, he asked why they were driving so slow. 

“I remember he said, ‘that’s how we go, low and slow,’” Alfaro Garcia said. “‘No reason to get too far too fast.’”

Cruising was banned in many California cities during the 1980s, with opponents believing the slow driving had associations with gangs and violence. These assumptions often stemmed from harmful stereotypes of the mostly Latino community. 

Although Assembly Bill 436 legalized cruising in California in 2023, legitimizing lowriding culture again, Ramirez said the majority of people in this area “move too fast.” 

From online shopping to even expedited bridge tolls, everything points to making things quicker, more efficient. Ramirez said lowrider culture helps remember to slow down and appreciate where you are. 

“To me, I claim this little town,” Ramirez said. ‘It’s been my hometown since I was a little kid, you know what I mean? Everywhere I go I’m always yelling Redwood.”

That pride isn’t always easy when the city is not as it used to be, but Ramirez still finds remnants of those days when working alongside community engaged partners like Saman. 

Cars used to be made of steel, meant to last. This event is “the first of many” to assure North Fair Oaks will do the same.

“Everything has changed,” Ramirez said. “But me and my people, we don’t change.” 

The car show will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 18, at 3060 Middlefield Road.