SF high school fundraiser celebrates lowrider culture

Bicyclists hang out next to a lowrider being checked in during the Give Something Back Car Show in San Francisco. Bicyclists hang out next to a lowrider being checked in during the Give Something Back Car Show in San Francisco. Photo: Connor Radnovich, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Connor Radnovich, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 35 Caption Close SF high school fundraiser celebrates lowrider culture 1 / 35 Back to Gallery

Jailene Medina grew up in a lowrider community.

“My dad owned a 1964 Impala,” said the John O’Connell High School senior, referring to the classic car that’s often refurbished to lower its center of gravity. “We used to cruise a lot in different cities.”

So when Medina — who likes to get involved in her San Francisco Mission neighborhood — was a freshman, she pitched the idea to organize a car show, one that could raise funds for the high school. Little did she know it would end up rallying a community, while revitalizing some of the culture she had missed since moving away from her dad.

On Sunday, the small, 350-student tech high school held the event for the third year in a row. The Give Something Back Car Show, in partnership with the San Francisco LowRider Council, was its biggest one yet, with more than 100 classic cars, souped-up motorcycles and bicycles, student-led and neighborhood-run booths, and Latin dancing.

As the sun reflected off the school blacktop and several rows of slick, painted lowriders, hundreds from the community and beyond came to check out the scene, teens photographing the autos, toddlers dancing or slurping aguas frescas and adults tailgating under canopied tarps.

“This is a hobby; we do it every weekend,” said Armando Alvarado and his wife, Kathleen, who entered their 1968 Impala Super Sport in the show.

The Alvarados are part of the Padrinos, one of the car clubs that was part of the event. Classic lowriders from other individuals and clubs, including Frisco’s Finest and the New Temptations, were entered as well, from a Chevy Caprice Classic white station wagon to a gold-tinted Cadillac Brougham. The couple, who drove in from Livermore, said they had heard this was a fundraiser and thought it would be good for the school.

“It’s a nice way for us to spend time with friends,” Armando Alvarado said.

Medina said she relied on her connections in the community and help from the LowRider Council to assemble the collection of cars and booths that made up the event. Individuals or groups paid $20 per car or $15 per bike to enter, while neighborhood booths — like Missionero clothing and Current Culture Design, selling T-shirts and other apparel — paid $50 for a spot. Other booths were student-run, selling food items like nachos, tacos and sodas.

“We really wanted to focus on the students, and push them to get booths to make money for their class,” Medina said. The organizers said the funds from each booth’s sales would go toward all of the enrichment services that the school district doesn’t pay for, like prom, senior breakfast, field trips and class T-shirts. “The rest of the money from the event goes to the after-school program.”

“It has been fantastic to see the kids taking leadership roles and organizing the community,” John O’Connell Principal Mark Alvarado said of Medina and freshman Devianna Roca, who will take over when Medina graduates. Alvarado said the family event has gotten bigger every year, especially in terms of student involvement. Next year, he said, they’ll have to expand outside of the current lot; there are too many submissions to fit inside the fence. “The fact that they’re from this neighborhood is particularly endearing.”

Alvarado also said the whole LowRider Council crew is from the neighborhood as well, so this idea made sense from the start.

“When Jailene pitched me on it, I just said, ‘I love it, what do you need?’” said Alvarado.

Though the principal was quick to celebrate the local involvement, the show has gotten big enough that car fans from outside the community have heard about it as well.

“My kids have gotten into cars lately,” said event-goer Brian Sauer, who came over from the Western Addition. “This is a great chance to look at them up close.”

Medina will move on to City College after graduation, so she’ll be close by to help at next year’s event. Still, she’s confident Roca is the right person to take over.

“She’s a good friend, part of the lowrider community, and she’s a smart girl,” said Medina of the freshman. “She wants to help her community and build connections. This is the perfect thing.”

For Roca, organizing an event this large is no small feat, but she’s not concerned; all of this is second nature. “I go to multiple car shows, and grew up that way, so I know what it’s supposed to feel like,” Roca said.

In this case, that meant plenty of socializing, Latin music, Aztec dancers and other cultural traditions.

“We burn copal to bless the cars,” said Medina, explaining that it’s something her ancestors did, which is why they continue the custom.

And, if the success of the car show is any indication, it works. “Every year we’ve done that, and it’s never rained. Just beautiful, sunny skies. It’s incredible.”

Amanda Gold is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: agold@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @AmandaGold