On a warm summer day in Modesto, four classic cars lined the front of the Brenden Theatres.
As their engines roared and hydraulics lifted the cars, people slowed down to take a closer look.
The lowriders belong to members of the Chicanas Car Club, a group of women who say their cars are only part of the story. For them, lowriding is also about culture, family, empowerment and sisterhood.
Rachel Duran Almanza's 2000 Lincoln Town Car, covered in pearls, pinstripes and chrome, is one of the cars that turns heads.
But the car means much more to her. Almanza built it with her late husband, a well-known figure in the lowriding community, who died shortly before the car was completed.
After his death, joining the Chicanas Car Club gave Almanza a way to keep moving forward.
"After his passing, when I got into the Chicanas Car Club, I decided to bring Purple Kush out," Almanza said, explaining the name she gave her car. "Because of the color and it's a custom new ride."
The club became an emotional outlet and, over time, a second family.
Almanza even has a tattoo representing that connection.
Elisa Trevino, the founder of the Chicanas Car Club, says that sense of sisterhood is at the heart of the organization.
"It's about the women in general. It's the women behind the cars, and we all have a story. What's our story?" Trevino said.
For Rosa Maldonado, joining the club came after leaving an abusive relationship and starting a new chapter in her life.
"The club has actually been very empowering for me as a woman, finding myself again," Maldonado said. "It has shown me unity amongst women."
Maldonado has another tattoo representing strength and the people who inspire her.
"They represent my daughters. I got it for them," she said. "I want them to know that they can become strong women also."
Trevino founded the Chicanas Car Club in 2021 with a goal of empowering women while celebrating Chicana culture.
She says that culture is rooted in generations of family traditions, including lowriders, oldies, Spanglish, slang, fashion, hair and makeup.
"I'm like fifth, sixth generation here," Trevino said. "The Chicana and Chicano culture is a little bit different to me than the Mexican culture. We grew up with lowriders and oldies. The way we speak: the Spanglish, the slang. The way we dress. The way we do our hair, our makeup. Culture means a lot of different things." "
Lowriding itself has evolved over generations, despite previous laws prohibiting cruising or the modification of classic cars.
For the women of the Chicanas Car Club, it is also a way to challenge the idea that working on and showing off classic cars is a man's world.
"We go to schools and talk to these young women, letting them know, you can do this too," said Terri Estrada, vice president of the Chicanas Car Club. "It's not just a man's world. It's a women's world too. You want it, go for it."
That message is already being passed down in the Trevino family.
A 1983 Monte Carlo T-Top has now made its way through three generations of women.
The car was purchased brand new in 1983 after Trevino's grandmother spotted it at a dealership and admired it. The next day, her grandfather brought it home for her birthday.
Now, the car has become a way for Trevino and her daughter, Angelina, to bond.
"This car's been sitting for 11 years. It's my grandma's," Angelina said. "My grandma told me that when her and my grandpa were together, they drove by a showroom, she saw it, she admired it, she wanted it. The next day, my grandpa brought it home for her for her birthday."
Her mother is now teaching her daughter how to work on the car.
"I'm teaching her how to change her rims, how to work on her car, what to do, what not to do," Trevino said. "As a mother and daughter, the bond there is unreal."
While the women love their cars — from Almanza's Lincoln Town Car to Estrada's 1962 Chevy Impala Super Sport with a 327 engine — the club's mission extends far beyond the cars themselves.
The Chicanas use their voices to bring women together, give back to their communities and encourage the next generation.
The club began in Merced and has since expanded to chapters in Yolo County and Nevada.
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