My interview started with general warming up with my interviewee when I understood his background and culture. Following that, we narrowed our interests to the Lowrider ban and the car community altogether. We found out that the Latino community has been a considerably marginalized group for quite some time. Our discussion had an interesting point where we listed multiple car communities, such as Japanese Domestic Markets or German performance cars; however, only the Lowrider community seemed to be targeted. In a large picture, this made me think about how the Latino community is so targeted in California via government intervention, i.e., the prohibiting of Lowriding gatherings and the direct assumption that the art is considered “dangerous and related to gangs.” What bothered me even more is that California is home to some of the largest Latino populations in the United States. Why a place with such a vibrant culture has such intense crackdowns against it emphasizes a sense of stepping in the wrong direction.
The interview format was relatively smooth and without any sudden bumps. Whenever we reached a dry point, the interviewee and I would find new questions or discussion points to fill the silence. One unforeseen challenge was that the interview went a little too smoothly. All the questions I had prepared were answered, and we even got to some questions I had never intended to ask. This streamlined process meant the interview was cut short to only around 20 minutes, but the condensed discussion highlighted some essential points that I was glad to listen to.
