Due to his family's financial situation and Javier's realization that he could do more for his family if he worked full time, he dropped out of high school in the ninth grade. In 1989, Javier's father rented a garage to do work on his own. A shop named Henry's Customs was also renting space in the same complex. Henry was doing custom paint out of his shop and it was very appealing to Javier. At the end of the day, Javier would sneak in and look at what Henry had worked on after Henry went home. Javier would then go home and get 1/8 inch tape and copy the designs and patterns all over the family's home. No surface was safe from Javier and his tape, the kitchen table and the refrigerator were regular surfaces he used to practice. Eventually, Javier approached Henry and offered to help him mask and sand the cars he was working on. Henry preferred to work alone but did allow Javier to observe his techniques and workflow.
After seeing the enthusiasm Javier had for custom paint, his father gave him a 1985 Nissan truck that was in need of repairs. The front end was damaged, and it took about five months for Javier to gather all the parts he needed to put it back together. He molded the frame, door handles, frenched the antennas, and created a multicolor and patterned paint scheme. After work, he would do something new to the truck. When it came time to show the truck for the first time, Javier still needed to buy wheels and tires. As hard as he tried, he could not come up with the money, so the truck did not make the show.
Eventually, Javier was able to buy wheels and tires for the Nissan. It hit the local car shows in 1989, a time when the mini truck craze was dominating the Lowrider culture. One time when he was out cruising in his truck, members from Dreams Unlimited Truck Club approached him, praising his work. They asked him if he wanted to join their club, which he did. It was only a matter of time before Javier and the club were cruising the hot spots in Hollywood. Not only did he gain new friends by joining the club he also gained new customers since he was now painting most of the club members' trucks.
Even though Javier still carries a heavy workload, he has found the time to build a few cars over the years since he began his career with the Nissan truck. One of his cars, a Cadillac Brougham named "Los Angeles Nightmare," has been featured in Lowrider Magazine. He is a member of Los Angeles Car Club, and, after taking a short break from the car show scene, he recently completed a 1958 Chevy Impala for the show circuit with two other 58's that will be completed when time allows.
In 1992, the family decided to go back into business for themselves again. The new business would be called Mexico Collision Center (MCC). The family found a location and went right to work. Javier was getting a lot of work painting lowriders, and many customers were being referred to him through word of mouth. A lot of his clients came from different backgrounds, and were non Spanish speaking. He had trouble communicating with these clients because he didn't speak English that well at the time. The communication problems often frustrated those customers, so they would mock him and often times refer to him as the "little Mexican". As someone who always sees the positive in any situation, Javier let his work speak for itself and the more cars he painted, the more his reputation grew, and his clients began calling him "Mexico," in a much more respectful tone. Over time, the nickname stuck and Javier's English improved. Javier overcame the language barrier and gained a large following as well as a nickname that not only is painted on the front of the shop building, it also appears on the bodies of many of today's top lowriders.
By Jae Bueno
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