A prime motorcycle is typical of the engine-driven eye candy to be seen at Sunday’s The Pachuco Vintage Car Club’s “Groovin’ on a Sunday Afternoon” Car & Motorcycle Show and mega concert featuring some of the biggest names in Latin music making. The event will benefit Briggs School and will be held on the campus.

Pachuco: ‘Groovin’ on a Sunday
afternoon’ includes top music stars

July 25, 2014
Santa Paula News

The Pachuco Vintage Car Club of Ventura County (PVCCVC) will offer visitors a look at the rides of their lives at a special July 27 “Groovin’ on a Sunday Afternoon” Car & Motorcycle Show and mega concert featuring some of the biggest names in Latin music making.

According to Santa Paulan Bob Martinez of PVCCVC, the celebration of all things motorized, from low-riders to motorcycles will take place at Briggs School, located at the corner of East Telegraph and Briggs roads, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year the show is also urging owners of customized bicycles to enter them in competition.

Admission is only $6 each for those 14 years old and up, free to those under 14 years old and active military with ID. All proceeds will benefit Briggs educational programs, including AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination).

Martinez can’t hide his excitement at the entertainment for this year’s mega-concert, which starts at 11 a.m.: “We have our house band, the great Juano & Friends,” of Santa Paula, who in a few short years has gained a reputation for fine music throughout the Tri-Counties.

This year the band will also feature Ray Carrion, the former lead guitarist of El Chicano who has shared the stage with many icons of Latin music such as Tito Puente, Tierra and Malo among others.

Carrion leads The Latin All Stars, which Martinez said, “Consists of many big names in the East LA Latin music world,” for mega-performances that pack many venues.

Martinez said also returning is Hank Castro, lead singer of Thee Midniters, “One of the first Chicano rock bands to have a major hit in the United States,” one of the best-known acts to come out of East Los Angeles in the 1960s, with their instrumental track, “Whittier Boulevard”.

“We’ll have Rocky Padilla, a great recording artist and performer and legendary trumpeter Bobby Loya from Tierra who will be playing with Juano  & Friends.

And there’s more: Brian Lee & the Hollywood Big Shots are also new this year, a professional dance troupe that has opened for “Dancing With The Stars” and has been featured in other big productions.

“They’ll be dancing to Big Band and swing music Pachuco style in Zoot suits with special moves,” said Martinez. 

“With their amazing dance style and moves we just know the crowd will love them... we’ve got a great lineup and there will possibly be other surprise guest stars.” 

Famed DJ and Emcee Frankie Firme - known as “The Al Capone of the Microphone” - AKA the “Sugar Bear” out of East Los Angeles will keep the fun going. 

Martinez said the whole community is invited by the Pachuco Club to “A day of peace and unity and a great day of entertainment, beautiful cars and motorcycles!”

 “Groovin’ on a Sunday Afternoon” has taken about eight months to plan, from arranging sponsorships “From our wonderful, generous supporters,” and lining up the bands and signing up all the vendors - including pony rides, face painting and inflatables for the kids - to designing the poster and finalizing the layout on the Briggs School campus.

“All the placement has to be right,” including the food court, as “We want to make sure everything is accessible to the crowd... and that everybody has a view of the stage.”

And that could be a lot of people: Martinez said the 2013 car show and concert drew as many as 3,000 guests, all that said they had a “wonderful time... when it came time to shut the show down they didn’t want us to stop!”

With the show almost here Martinez and other Pachuco now have time to look forward to the celebration: “My favorite part is the entertainment, I love the entertainment. We focus a lot on that... instead of just having a car show we try to step it up, we go beyond that,” and provide a draw for those less interested in vehicles and more interested in the music.

Noted Martinez, “The best part of the show is that it benefits the school, that’s important to me and that people have a good time.” 

A dedicated Pachuco, he said, “Being in the club has opened doors to me to meet these people,” that entertain at the show. “It’s great but with all the work it’s almost like a part-time job!”

The purpose of Pachuco is to “give back to the communities we grew up in,” and that includes supporting other such organizations.

“We also belong to the United Car Clubs of Ventura County,” whose wide membership is expected at Sunday’s event.

“I think it’s going to be much bigger this year, better for the school because it will make more money... these kids are our future and by helping to provide funds for school education programs we can make a difference in their lives.”

Cars, motorcycle and bikes entered in the competition will quality for the top three trophies in each category; entrance fees are: car $25, motorcycle $20 and bicycle $15. Roll-in time for cars and motorcycles is 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. 

Martinez said Pachuco is pleased that the show is drawing the attention of major car and motorcycle magazines and how the event has become one of the annual drives to give back to the community.

It is a family orientated club with approximately 20 members between the ages of 25 and 75.  

“We have wonderful supporters in the community,” and from other Pachuco groups that are co-sponsoring the event.

For more information call Martinez at 805-754-5270. 





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