{"id":1792,"date":"2024-04-19T20:55:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T20:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/?p=1792"},"modified":"2024-04-19T20:58:27","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T20:58:27","slug":"rucas-y-curruchas-at-the-california-car-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-museums\/rucas-y-curruchas-at-the-california-car-museum\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Rucas y Curruchas’ at the California Car Museum"},"content":{"rendered":"
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During a recent trip to the west coast we made a stop at the California Car Museum<\/a> in Sacramento. As one of the volunteers told us, the museum began as one individual\u2019s collection of every early model produced by Ford. While the museum has reinvented itself over time to incorporate other makes and models in its collection, many of the original Fords remain. The collection \u2013 while inclusive \u2013 is very much a museum of place. Among the historical artifacts exists a strong undercurrent of California Car Culture.<\/p>\n\n\n

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1984 Pontiac Grand Prix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This was very evident in the special exhibit taking place during our visit. ‘Rucas y Carruchas’ is an extraordinary collection of female-owned lowriders, accompanied by photographs, videos, artwork, and numerous stories of women’s involvement in lowrider culture. The individual vehicles are spectacular, ranging from first \u2018pedal\u2019 cars and lowrider bicycles to massive 50s era Chevys and 80s Pontiacs that have been restored and reconfigured to reflect the personality and character of the owners. Each car is accompanied by a story, relating how the car was acquired, the significance of the design and d\u00e9cor, and the modifications added to make each vehicle one of a kind. The narratives speak of family, community, friendship, heritage, and the meaning of lowriders to the women who own them. <\/p>\n\n\n

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1954 Chevy Bel-Air<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Much emphasis is made on the importance of passing down this culture to daughters, who often start off with bicycles and move on to cars after obtaining their driver\u2019s licenses. There are videos, posters, magazine articles, clothing, and a variety of artifacts that demonstrate the vast reach of lowrider culture in the community and the importance of the vehicles to individual and cultural identity. I was extremely fortunate to have caught this exhibit while in town as it will be replaced by another at the end of the month.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The general collection of the museum includes many of the \u2018usual\u2019 female automotive references; i.e. Bertha Benz, Amelia Earhart, the selling of electric cars to women, and the contributions of automakers\u2019 wives to company success. However, ‘Rucas y Carruchas’ brings attention to how museums with limited artifacts are often able to create exhibits \u2013 whether from their own collections or through loans from other sources \u2013 to commemorate women\u2019s achievements or to celebrate a certain moment in women\u2019s history, automotive or otherwise. Such special exhibits are often put together during March to commemorate Women\u2019s History Month. The 100th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary of women\u2019s suffrage [2020] was also an occasion for these notable displays, although the pandemic did postpone or reduce many of them. However, as special exhibits, the items often disappear once the \u2018event\u2019 passes; consequently, women\u2019s contributions to automotive history remain unacknowledged and unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n

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This exhibit is also unusual in that it features the automotive involvement not only of women, but also that of women of color. Although many museums have made efforts to include notable women in automotive history in their collections, very few have endeavored to feature this important yet underrepresented group. The only other instance I encountered was at the Automotive Hall of Fame –\u00a0\u00a0the spectacular \u201cAchievement\u201d exhibit included the contributions of African American women. As these exhibits demonstrate, although often rendered invisible, women of color have been important contributors to automotive history and culture in a number of significant ways.<\/p>\n\n\n

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1967 Chevy Impala<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I was extremely lucky to come across ‘Rucas y Carruchas’ during my trip to California. Not only was it an educational and enjoyable way to spend an afternoon, but it brought attention to the importance of special exhibits as unique demonstrations of women\u2019s unrecognized participation in automotive culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During a recent trip to the west coast we made a stop at the California Car Museum in Sacramento. As one of the volunteers told us, the museum began as one individual\u2019s collection of every early model produced by Ford. While the museum has reinvented itself over time to incorporate other makes and models in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56,44,9],"tags":[43,20],"class_list":["post-1792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-auto-museums","category-car-chicks","category-carculture","tag-automotive-history","tag-classic-cars"],"yoast_head":"\n'Rucas y Curruchas' at the California Car Museum - Women & Cars<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Special exhibit of women in lowrider culture at the California Car Museum in Sacramento\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-museums\/rucas-y-curruchas-at-the-california-car-museum\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Rucas y Curruchas' at the California Car Museum - 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