A custom car can carry a family’s history. At the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Corazón y vida: Lowriding Culture explores the Mexican American and Chicano creativity behind a tradition that brings art, engineering and community together.

The exhibition features photographs, posters, car-club objects and two iconic Chevrolet Impalas, El Rey and Gypsy Rose. Its story stretches across generations of makers who have transformed cars into expressions of identity and pride.

For Hispanic Heritage Month, it offers a chance to explore the people and craftsmanship behind lowriding.

Source and institutional author: Smithsonian Institution. Current exhibition context: National Museum of American History.

Photo: Gypsy Rose at the Petersen Museum, 2018. Cars Down Under, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Resized. Archival photograph.