Growing Up in a Lowrider Community

Author and photographer Don Usner talks about his youth in Chimayó and his experiences in documenting the lowriders of northern New Mexico. His work is included in the History Museum exhibit Lowriders, Hoppers, and Hot Rods: Car Culture of Northern New Mexico. This event is free with admission; Sundays are free to NM residents.

Born in 1957 in Embudo, New Mexico, Don grew up in Los Alamos and Chimayó, New Mexico. He earned a B.A. in Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz and went on to manage an ecological reserve in Big Sur, California, where he co-authored and took photographs for his first book, The Natural History of Big Sur, published by the University of California Press.

Don returned to New Mexico in 1988 to complete an M.A. in Geography at the University of New Mexico, then produced his second book, Sabino’s Map: Life in Chimayó’s Old Plaza, published in 1995 by the Museum of New Mexico Press. He has since written and provided photographs for several more books, including, Chasing Dichos through Chimayó (2014), Valles Caldera: A Vision for New Mexico’s National Preserve (1996) (winner of a Southwest Book Award in 1996); Ambassador Frank Ortiz: Lessons from a Life of Service (2004); A History of Estaca: Plaza at an Ancient Crossroads (2003); New Mexico Route 66 On Tour: Legendary Architecture from Glenrio to Gallup (2001); and Benigna’s Chimayó: Cuentos from the Old Plaza (2001). Don also contributed a chapter and photographs to The Plazas of New Mexico. San Antonio: Trinity University Press (2011) (winner of Southwest Book Award from the Border Regional Library Association).

Other recent publications “On the Mary and Joseph Trail,” in New Mexico magazine, December 2014; “Finding the Right Words,” in New Mexico magazine, January 2014; “Chimayó,” (a photo essay in the photography journal Lenswork); “Postcard from New Mexico,” in Photo Booth (an online blog of the New Yorker, July 16, 2012); “Lowriders Cruising El Norte,” Bienvenidos, Summer 2012; and “Don Victor Ortega: A Chimayó Patrón Goes to the Constitutional Convention,” in El Palacio, Spring 2012.

Don teaches photography at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design and Santa Fe Preparatory School, and has taught photography at the College of Santa Fe and cultural geography the Santa Fe Community College. He continues to cultivate his lifelong interest in cultural and natural history as he works as a writer and photographer in Santa Fe.

Don was named a New Mexico Luminaria by the New Mexico Community Foundation in 2013, an award given to New Mexicans who “ motivate, inspire and support the dreams of others, promote diversity and equity, and build community strength through their leadership and vision.”