All Things 505

A-1 Auto Transport offers rolling scholarships through March 10, 2018.

Albuquerque, NM- A-1 Auto Transport, Inc., a worldwide car shipping company located in Aptos, California, announced this week they are extending their college scholarship opportunity to students residing in New Mexico. The scholarship, in amounts of $250, $500 and $1000 will be awarded to one student annually beginning in early 2018.

Students can enter by writing a 1000 word or more essay/article that is based on a topic of interest in auto transport. This can be anything ranging from car shipping, motorcycle shipping or even ATV shipping to international car shipping, moving overseas, long distance moving and other related topics. Essays/articles must be completely original and not found anywhere else online during plagiarism checks. All essays/articles will be published to the company website showing the student’s name who wrote it and will be voted on by the public. It’s a god idea for students to share their essays once they are posted so those they know can read it and cast a vote.

Joe Webster, Marketing Director for A-1 Auto Transport stated, “We’re happy to be able to offer our scholarship opportunity to students in New Mexico. We know how draining tuition can be on a student’s budget and we want to help.”

He went on to say, “These students are our future and to know we have done our part to help guide the future leaders and workforce is a great feeling.”

To enter, students can send their written essay/article with their full name, contact information and name of the school they will attend to: [email protected].

Entries will be accepted on a rolling basis now through March 10, 2018 and the Scholarship Committee will count votes and name the winner by the end of March 2018 on the website as well as with email notification. Award money will be sent directly to the financial office at the student’s school.

For more information on the scholarship, students may visit the A-1 Auto Transport, Inc. website at:

https://www.a1autotransport.com/a-1-auto-transport-scholarship/

About A-1 Auto Transport, Inc.

A-1 Auto Transport, Inc. has offices throughout the U.S. and their corporate office is in Aptos, California. They have lead the way in the transport industry for over 20 years and offer fast solutions for car shipping locally, long distance and internationally.

To contact A-1 Auto Transport about the scholarship:

A-1 Auto Transport, Inc.

9032 Soquel Drive #200

Aptos, CA 95003

New Mexico State Fair Parade. 2017.

I love late Summer and Fall in our Land of Enchantment.  Cooler nights bring chilled early mornings. The leaves start to turn hues of gold and yellow. Our morning skies are dotted with early Fiesta balloons, and, the smell of roasting green chile permeates the air.  But that isn't all - we have some really nice, free, quality of life events that bring Burquenos together. 

The New Mexico State Fair Parade is one of them.  Each year it gets longer and the floats get bigger.  Each year there are more car clubs driving up Central along with more marching bands, color guards, dance groups, civic associations, and, lots of politicians. 

We captured some cool images this year.  And, we had a really good time.

The Manzano High School Color Guard and marching band.

The Vietnamese community was represented with color, drums, large flags, and, dragons.

The Carpenter's Union had the largest float in the parade.

A marching band from New Mexico Military Institute.

The Belen High School Color Guard.

It wouldn't be a New Mexico Parade if there wasn't a Paletero man pushing his cart.  Ice cream and Chicharrones were his specialties.

This band returned from last year.  The saxaphone player kept the crowd entertained.

Aside from the politicians who walk the parade, this parade had its share of activists. 

Baila!

The Wingate High School band was fabulous.  We were really proud of these kids.

And, this lovely young lady from Wingate High School.

Vietnamese dragons.

The parade line was slow at times which gave us the opportunity to get some photos of the classic car occupants. 

A colorful lowrider - of course!

The Carpenter's Union showed off their mad building skills on this float.

Taking a break.

The prettiest girl in the parade.  Look at those gloves!

Low and slow.

 

Thanks to all of the parade participants for letting us capture your beautiful images and faces. 

Fiestas de Barelas. In the heart of Albuquerque.

The Fiestas de Barelas were celebrated, today, in the heart of Albuquerque.  A couple of city blocks, on 4th Street, were closed down for fiesta-goers to enjoy one of the oldest neighborhoods in the 505.  Just west of the Albuquerque Rail Yards, lies a thriving little community that is the anchor of Albuquerque's history.  It was a fabulous Autumn day on 4th Street.

The vendors were out, in force, displaying their works of art, handmade crafts, and, local produce.

It wouldn't be a proper New Mexican fiesta without green chile.

And, Helados.

San Jose Mariachi, from Washington Middle School, performed - incredibly talented young people.

Lots of vecinos.

 

..and then the best tamales we have had in a very long time (from Senor Tortas.)

Of course, the customary car show with exceptional rides.

There is so much color in Barelas.

Barelas is home.

New Mexico State Fair Parade 2015

New Mexico Septembers are wonderful - roasting green chile scent wafts through the air, hot air balloons dot the morning skies, and, the New Mexico State Fair begins. And, with the State Fair comes the State Fair parade - it went down today.  The parade traveled east, from the intersection of Louisiana and Central, towards Eubank and Central.  This year's parade was rich - full of colorful floats and people - just the way we like our parades in the Land of Enchantment.

Here you go, Burqueños.  The 2015 parade participants.

San Miguel County Sheriff's Posse.

It would not be a New Mexican parade without a Paleta guy.

Vietnamese American Association represented.

Los tres

Baila!  Baila!

Colfax County young Marines.

Musica!

Las Vegas Dons High School marching band. 

It just isn't a state fair parade without a John Deere tractor.

Squee!  Excited about candy falling from the sky.

Running for the finish line.

Brute force boxing.

Soon on a highway...

Raider on the hood

Three wheels

Sharp

Hopping

They call him mellow yellow

And, last but not least, the first female motorcycle officer in the State of New Mexico, Officer Vanessa Martinez.  You go, girl!

Time to head to the fair - pie is waiting.

Rt. 66 West Fest.

The Rt. 66 West Fest happened yesterday at Unser and Central.  It was a celebration of deep-rooted West Side, and South Valley, cultural past times - boxing, classic cars, music, and community centered activism. The colorful event was well attended - folks seemed to be having a good time. Kudos to the West Central Community Development Group for being the foundation for this event.

We would also like to shout out a big thank you to our friend, La Familia Car Club member and classic car guy, Joe Garza.  He turned us on to the event.  Despite the soaring temperatures that caused our heels to sink into the asphalt, we really enjoyed ourselves. 

Joe Garza.

Matthew Prieto preparing for his bout with Max Moya.  Proud Prieto Papa standing by.

Matthew in the ring Float like a butterfly... Sting like a bee...

Other boxers preparing

A young athlete listening to his trainer
Spectators.

Rt. 66 Vintage.  The 505 has great cars and great car clubs.

Chevy Impala Lowrider and New Mexico blue skies.  Life is good.

Shade talk.

And a dog, because everybody loves dogs...

Venture out and see what is going down west of the Rio Grande.  You will be surprised.

Main Street Showdown - Española, New Mexico.

Summer gives us the oppportunity to hit the road and see different parts of our fabulous state.  We love going north and Cultura Promotions gave us a great reason to head to the beautiful Española valley yesterday - a lowrider show. 

The Main Street Showdown didn't disappoint us.  They had lowriders of every hue and shine.  We saw hand crafted lowrider bicyles.  We watched cars hop.  To say that the experience was fascinating wouldn't adequately describe it.  It was a cultural phenomenon.

This is what a lowrider car hop looks like.

While New Mexico clubs made up the majority of exhibitors, California, Southern Colorado, and Texas were also represented.

We are not authorities on lowriding and certainly don't profess to be.  One can't help but notice that these cars are a labor of love and that the car owners express what is most precious to them via their cars.  It is an underappreciated artform.

Lowriding is a religious experience.  Hand crafted rosaries and crosses.

Our Lady of Guadalupe portrayed at the beach and on a trunk lid.

A statuary Christ sits next to awards.

We ran into Mike Martinez, of the Dukes Car Club, proudly displaying his mint condition 1948 Stylemaster.

The Dukes Car Club was represented in style.

Car show bling.

To our delight, we met some All Things 505 fans in person.

The struggle between good and evil are carefully exhibited on hoods, fenders and on door jams. 

 A homage to homies.

Before the crowds arrived.

Some bikes.

While walking around the show we were approached by a very nice young man.  He handed us a CD with his newest single on it.  Meet Jimmy MC, a very talented rising star in the New Mexico music world.

A satisfying day in a beautiful locale.  We hope this show returns to the Española valley next year.

Founders Day in Albuquerque.

Last year's Founders Day celebration in Albuquerque was disappointing.  The parade wasn't really a parade and the entire party felt disorganized.  This year's Founders Day Celebration was much better.  The procession (formerly known as the parade) was still a snore but the rest of the cultural activities made up for everything the procession wasn't. There was color, activity, dance, song, poetry and the smell of New Mexico cuisine in the air.  We had a great time.

There was lots of activity at the Gazebo - Philippino dancers, poetry from Albuquerque's Poet Laureate, Hakim Bellamy, beautiful song from Gospel Singers, and, colorful Flamenco dancers whirling on stage.  Several Era's of New Mexico history were celebrated in different sections of Old Town.  Native American, Spanish, Mexican and Territorial Eras were all represented.

The founding families of Albuquerque walked into the Plaza with their coats of arms held high.  They surrounded the Gazebo, most dressed in period garb.

The Albuquerque Filipino Cultural Group celebrated with dance, song, kites and the Tinikling.

The African American Showcase:  poetry and song.

We stopped for some excellent dogs in between our photo hunts. 

He can be found in front of Metro Court weekdays and downtown Friday and Saturdays.

There would be no celebration without Fry Bread.

Fabulous Native dancers northeast of the Gazebo.

The Matachines de Santo Rosario danced in the Mexican era village.  Two drums and lots of men, women, and little ones, moving to the beat in elaborate costumes and headresses.

Last, but certainly not least, the Emcee of the show, Chuy Martinez, did an incredible job working the crowd and informing everyone about events all over Old Town. 

 And while this was not part of the Fiestas we are putting it here just because we love lowriders and Chevys :)

 

 

Good Times C.C. and Esperanza Shelter.

Last Saturday Good Times Car Club held a toy drive for Esperanza Shelter. Despite the dreary weather a significant number of cars were on display, and the streets were lined with "ordinary" cars of people that just showed up to bring a toy.

Paul Gallegos, president of Good Times c.c., hosted the event in the parking lot of his business Auto Motive Interiors. Paul is the original owner of the Hater Proof car which now belongs to a member of his club.

Music, food, and cameradarie, all for a good cause. Unfortunately we did not get to hang around for long since we had another commitment. As we were leaving a couple more cars were pulling into the parking lot.

Enjoy the photos.

 

Gangest Squad Tour, 1939 Chevy by Mr. Cartoon

After first being shown at the LA 2012 Auto Show, Mister Cartoon's Gangster Squad inspired 1939 Chevrolet Master Deluxe was in Albuquerque at the Cinemark Century Rio Theatre, as part of the tour promoting the film which is scheduled to open in theatres January 11, 2013.

KISS 97.3 was there spinning some tunes and Mr. Cartoon’s SANCTIOND car care products were represented as well.  

Hard shot to get, there were usually several people admiring the car

Enjoy the pictures of this fabulous car.

Wrong era for the movie, but still a classic.

 

Year-round, Santa often rides a lowrider.

Taking advantage of an unusually warm, and beautiful, day in the Duke City, we headed down to Central and Atrisco to see a lowrider show organized by Low Vision Car Club.  While the shows are about the cars, missed by many, is the fact that often they serve as fundraisers for worthy causes in the community.

Low Vision invited proud car owners, and other car clubs, to come down with food and toy donations for Albuquerque Rescue Mission. We saw cars from Down Low, La Familia, Suenos Unidos, Viejitos supporting the cause, and, probably other clubs that we missed.  

We love lowriders; colorful stylized moving machines built with a lot of pride.  They tell stories about their owners, and, what their owners love. The passion that goes into building these rides is equaled by that of giving back to the community they work and live in.

The Cars

Beauties all lined up

Ballerinas

An old beauty

High and low

The Chavez Caddy

Viejitos going for a run

High on hydraulics

High on rims

Purple Caddy

and a bike

The Details

Some of the best action goes on inside the car.

Chavez Caddy dashboard art

Chavez Caddy panel on back seat

Chavez Caddy... El Pistolero

In memory...

The dash

Street Life

Cheech...

...and Chong

Art imitates life.

Sweetpea

Marriage of sports and faith.

Devotion

Art on the side

Fuzzy beasts

Specialized rims that shine like gold

We are continually amazed at these incredible cultural icons.  As we’ve said before, they are labors of love. 

P.S. We briefly spotted Santa Claus, but before we could chat with him he was gone. Not sure if he was there for the many kids present or looking for a new sled.