Lowrider Culture Crosses the Globe

The Mexican-American Lowrider subculture, rooted in East Los Angeles, has found its way to Brazil, Japan, England and Spain, with followers calling themselves "cholos" and cruising around in their low-and-slow automobiles. "It's kind of ironic because if some of these imitators are dropped into parts of L.A., the cops could arrest them or the gangs could roll up on them," said Denise Sandoval, a professor of Chicano studies at California State University-Northridge.