From the ritual to the ride, these two phenomenons share plenty.
The tradition of giving lowriders nicknames and themes dates back to the late '70s. It's a ritual that best justifies each builder's intentions or situations throughout the car's period of construction, which is carried over even when the car is old or sold. Things are no different with Anthony Fuentes' '63 Chevy Impala, which he has dubbed "Sun Dance."
For Anthony, naming the car was merely a reflection of the vehicle's bright yellow theme, but what he probably didn't know is that it would produce many of the same side effects as the ritualistic dance itself. Just as the sun dance was the most spectacular and important religious ceremony of the Plains Indians of 19th-century North America, Anthony's Sun Dance is equally spectacular in the world of lowriding. The comparisons between the two are lengthy but a short overview will reveal that the Indian ritual and the Mexican-built ride carry lengthy similarities; trip with us.
The ritual for the events represented continuity between life and death-regeneration--and the same holds true with the once-tattered then rebuilt '63. Just as the dance was used to symbolize that there's no true end to life, this car depicts the same livelihood as its revitalization shows one of the best, if not the best, examples of a complete restoration from the ground up. Back in history, the sun dance was a ceremony practiced differently by several North American Indian nations. While the ceremonies vary, they shared many common features, including dancing, singing, the experience of visions, fasting and, in some cases, self-torture.