11-11-18-19
Culture

These Photos Capture the Enduring Energy of LA's Lowriding Scene

Photographer Jason Cordova has been exclusively documenting the "LA Sundays" event since its start.

Jason Cordova had been shooting street photography for some time before his friend brought him to the epicenter of South Central Los Angeles and Compton Lowriding Car culture. While out there he covered the then just developing muscle car "Sunday Funday" takeover scene which has come to be known as LA Sundays. When he started documenting it, it was in its infancy; Saturday nights were typically when the Car Clubs and Crenshaw takeovers happened. Sunday was a completely different energy, and as Cordova mentioned it represented a "Lowrider park and chill day," that has since developed into something larger. He instantly gravitated to the material, particularly the first moments of every event saying, "They’d pull up out of nowhere, take over the intersection with donuts, burnouts, smoke, and an explosion of energy like I’d never seen. Then the police would come and they’d move on. It was like a huge party. I immediately noticed the diversity, energy, positivity, love, and the rage. So many ingredients that inspired me to make that my focus."

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It took a while for Jason to gain the trust of a community where cameras were scarce and new faces stood out. But he was persistent and kept showing up until the guys started to trust him enough to let him document the event in full. He's been out every Sunday since that first day for a year. Below is just small collection of moments captured throughout the journey.

All photographs by Jason Cordova. You can follow his work here.

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