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The Low RidersEast Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Viajeros played a benefit for the East L.A. Boys and Girls Club. The club has tons of stuff to do: pool, basketball, foozball. Kids go there after school or on weekends. There are always friends there.  Queen of the Angels is Los Viajeros' song about L.A. "Los Angeles" is short for "El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles." That's Spanish for "The Town of the Queen of the Angels." That's a long name!
Wait a minute. I have a question about foozball: what's a "fooz" anyway? It sounds like something you find under your couch.
Many signs in East L.A. are in Spanish. That's because lots of people from Mexico - or whose parents came from Mexico - live there. Local artists paint murals on walls outside to celebrate their history.
I met Brian and Anthony. They make their own lowrider bikes! They're low to the ground, very shiny, and each one is unique. Brian's cousin R.J. builds the bikes, and teaches Brian and Anthony.
 There's a reason they call him the Brain! He says "fooz" comes from "fuss," the German word for "foot." "Foozball" just means football. That's what they call soccer in most of the world.
I rode around with Brian, Anthony, and R.J., looking for old bike parts. If people throw away an old bike, they take off all the good parts. Talk about recycling! They buy some of the fancier parts, too.
Each Sunday, everyone in Brian, Anthony, and R.J.'s family rides together. Even their moms pedal lowrider bikes. It's like a parade! It's a tradition they started to spend time together. It's fun, and it's free.
There are even lowrider cars! The cars jump, balance on three tires - even shake from side to side. It's like a car and an amusement park ride rolled into one. Like the lowrider bikes, each car is unique.
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All animated characters and underlying materials (including artwork) © Marc Brown.
Buster and the other Marc Brown characters are trademarks of Marc Brown.
©2008 WGBH