Father's Day By The Bay - On The Scene

One of the most formidable lowrider clubs to ever assemble both nationally and internationally is Uce C.C., formerly known as Uso Car Club. In keeping the wire wheel subculture well topped-off, Uce, in conjunction with TurnKey Productions, played host to a car show at the city-owned Alameda Naval Air Station in Alameda, California, this past Father's Day, June 18.

Yeah, so the club with the "Same Team, Same Scheme and Same Dream" mentality hooked it up where endless parking space is not a dream but a reality. Founder and king of all chiefs, bosses and jefes, Kita Lealao, along with wingman and chief executive officer Jae Brattain set up shop on the northern end of the tarmac, which happened to be a great spot to view the famed San Francisco skyline. With invites sent out-albeit a bit on the tardy side for a marketing campaign-several rides from around the Bay Area rolled in for the day, which saw nearly 200 street custom rides turn off the engines and turn on the shine.

The job in entertainment media is that you're always looking for newsmakers. A definite driving force in Northern Cal is Oldies C.C. member Chris Roark, with a freshly pinstriped and hard to beat '58 Chevy Impala slammed to the ground. And good striping leads us to airbrush artist Sammy DeLeon, who spent 300 hours pumping paint onto Barry Cheda's '51 Chevy wagon. Also on the upswing and one to watch for is Miguel Maldonado from True Elegance C.C. His '61 Impala ragtop spawned some gossip as did Kevin Bolden's orange '64 Impala. Even with his hood off, the ride was still impressive and packed a powerful hop with a trunk stuffed with well-used hydraulics.

Lowrider car shows encompass a need to network, be entertained, compete and eat. The Uce crew also set up a hopping pit for those talkers and hoppers, who can do it all and put their money where their molars are. In all, the show ended early because after all, it was still Father's Day and some guys wanted to head home and spend some time with dad as promised.