Hot rods and low riders drew a crowd of about 200 people Sept. 20 to the Española Plaza for Spirit Day.
The Española Valley Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the annual event, wanted to do something different this year, Chamber Executive Director and Española Mayor Pro Tem Alice Lucero said. That meant incorporating a car show and live music into the Chamber’s largest fund-raiser and business booster event, she said.
“It’s good they’re finally doing something to get everybody involved,” said Jeremy Martinez of Española, who had his 1956 Chevy truck in the show.
Española is known as the low rider capital of the world, but the city never seems to promote it, Bobby Romero, of Española, said. A lack of local car shows has him traveling up to 12 hours to show his blue 1963 Impala, he said.
“It think it’s an outstanding thing for the Chamber to be doing,” Norman Medina, of Velarde, said. “It’s become a cultural thing, and actually a lot of people can relate to it.”
Medina’s red 1955 Chevy Belair was displayed in front of the plaza and used on T-shirts to promote the event. He said rebuilding and fixing up old cars is a positive hobby for young people to get involved in and hoped the car show sparked interest in it.
“A lot of people think negatively of low riders,” Eppie Martinez, of Epstein Hydraulics in Chimayó, said.
Martinez was one of the event’s sponsors, he said. The event was a chance to see the cars in a positive light, he said.
“We’re all here as families having a good time,” he said.
Martinez gave a car-hopping demonstration, getting his blue Impala to jump 62 inches. He has won second and third place in world car-hopping demonstrations and has taken his car to competitions in Colorado, California and Nevada.
The 38 vehicles in the show made up just a small portion of what the city has to offer, William George said. George had hot rods in the show. He said the vehicles at the show were probably an eighth of the total show cars in the area.
The car show was part of the Spirit Day’s theme, Spirit of the Valley Rocks. A sock hop was also included in the event to add to the 1950s theme.
There was such a positive response to the show that the Chamber is planning on putting together a larger car show on Father’s Day, Lucero said.
Around 200 people attended this year, however the Chamber fell short of its goal to raise the number of teams participating in the event. Eight teams competed in an obstacle course, a tricycle race and a rock climbing competition. The Chamber had scheduled a brand new event, El Copa del Rio, a river rafting race, however it had to be canceled because the teams involved didn’t have the necessary equipment to participate, Lucero said.
Valley National Bank took first place in the tricycle race; Jemez Co-op won first place in the obstacle course; and Zia Credit Union won the rock climbing wall competition.
Other teams included the city of Española, Lowe’s Super Save and Garcia Tires.
Final figures were not available for the amount of money raised at the event, but Lucero said she knew that enough money was made to cover the cost of the event. There were several sponsorships of $250 and two of more than $1,000, and 28 booths at $75 to $150 each were rented out, Lucero said.
The Los Alamos National Lab Foundation provided a $1,500 sponsorship and Big Rock Casino gave $2,500, she said.
Businesses in attendance included the American Red Cross, Valley National Bank, Ambercare Hospice and Regional Development Corp. among others.
One of the main priorities of Spirit Day is giving local non profits an chance to advertise their services, Chamber Board member Tim Martinez said.
Boys and Girls Club Del Norte Executive Director Doug Clark said the event is a good way to network he said, but he thought attendance was slim.
“It’s a good way for people to check out the non-profits in the area but you’ve got to get them down here,” he said.