BILLINGS — In Billings' South Side, a custom painter and a group of students are helping transform the neighborhood into a bold celebration of Hispanic heritage, community pride, and cultural identity.
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Local auto body and custom paint artist and enthusiast Ray Nava III has been obsessed with lowriders for as long as he can remember.
“The start of the passion was when I was a kid. I just grew up around the low rider scene, low rider magazine, all that stuff," said Nava. "I’ve always just been enamored about the paint jobs and everything, so ever since then, I guess it's always been subconsciously in the back of my mind that that's what I wanted to be."
Nava has been painting cars for over 15 years, but his next project uses a different canvas than he is used to: his first-ever wall mural.
"It just adds so much more to the community and stuff, just so much more culture, and the South side is mainly Hispanic,” said Nava.
The artwork, painted on the South Park pool building, will feature a 1971 Caprice lowrider in vivid red, purple, and blue tones, framed by a sunset and the Wells Fargo and DoubleTree buildings. The mural is expected to be completed by the end of the month.
"Ever since I was a kid, that's all I can really remember is just seeing all my uncles and my cousins just having nice cars, rims, and everything like that. And that's where my passion for it grew," said Nava. "It wasn't just cars. It was more about brotherhood."
The mural, titled “Rooted in the South Side, Dreaming Under the Big Sky,” is more than public art, but a community statement for Raza Unida, a Latino student club in the Billings School District run by teacher, and Nava's sister, Alyssia Nava.
"It's always been about bringing kids together and trying to give them a brighter future and trying to help Latino kids see that they can move further than their circumstances as they've grown up," said freshman Ysabelle Ruiz.
Raza Unida students were hands-on from the start, raising nearly $2,000 to fund the project, and helped select the theme, primed the wall, and sketched the mural outline. The mural is the club’s second on the South Park pool building. The first, completed last year, features the Lady of Guadalupe and symbols of Latin culture in Billings. They hope to begin working on their third mural, which depicts dancing next.
For senior and club member Bianca Morales, the transformation is symbolic and restorative.
“I did grow up in this neighborhood pretty much my whole life, and unfortunately, South Park has always been looked at as like the bad park, the ghetto park, and it didn't help that our buildings looked so torn down," said Morales. "For the city to allow us to like paint on them and actually help us redo some of it a little bit is actually really nice (...) The South Side is the minority of the town and that's where most of the Latinos live, and so the low rider culture over here is more important."
On Sunday, the club hosted “On a Sunday Afternoon” at South Park to unveil the mural-in-progress and celebrate Cinco de Mayo a day early in collaboration with Roots of Unity, a nonprofit that supports inclusivity and empowerment in the South Side. Local Hispanic vendors filled the park, and residents gathered to enjoy the food, music, and live painting.
“It's exciting because it mostly you really just see the paintings come up or you just see them after the point. Having him (here), watching the process as it goes or even being a part of it, like from us painting it, priming it and stuff to sketching it to him painting it is awesome,” said Dynesty Peak, a senior in the club. “I have family in the Rollerz Only club and their cars are just amazing (...) I love old-school cars like these. They're my favorite.”
Lowriders are a cultural cornerstone for many in the Hispanic community growing up around them, especially during the annual Billings Mexican Fiesta car show. Nava and the students hope the display will inspire a new generation and celebrate the rich culture.
"Especially the kids, seeing their faces light up when they see the cars and everything like that, too. It's just, it's a lot. It's what it means to me," said Nava. "I was that kid and I seen a nice car and I was like, 'I want a car like that, too,' so I want to be the inspiration for another kid like that.”
"There were a lot of stereotypes that were forced onto me and my friends growing up, so it was really nice to see some more positives come out of this community," added Ruiz. “In minority communities, artistry is always such a powerful tool to speak for ourselves and to make ourselves known and not just hide in the shadows, so it's really amazing to see how the Hispanic community has brought forth these cars and use them as a way of launching ourselves into a real community.”
The mural will leave a lasting impact, not just on a wall, but in the hearts of local youth who see themselves in the artwork and a larger representation for all of Billings to enjoy.
"It's a lot more than just Hispanic people. It's everybody, and I think that's the beautiful thing about low riding," said Nava. "I really love doing stuff like this. It helps me showcase my talents and I feel like this, it's a part of my childhood, and it's going to be here for my daughter to see. It's going to be here hopefully for a long time. It's nice to leave my print on the South Side.”
