Lowrider Scene

On that first trip to U.S.A. we tried to see everything, and meet all the people we knew through the web but in person this time, like the guys from Deadend Magazine, the two Spinoza Brothers, Juan and Jesus. Knowing there where having a booth on the Goodguys Show at Pleasenton, we got in touch and visit them.

The first photos are from that indoor show, and outdoor show, is a lowrider charity meeting with Latin World Car Club in Los Angeles.
A lot of friendship, metalflake, Impala’s jumping on the air and good memories that won’t be forgotten.

2013 Sema Show and the first Las Vegas experience

First of all, a little context… 2013, first trip to the U.S. for me and I did it with Ale Minissale, Liber and my dear friend Marky, the plan, go to Sema Show and all the Kustom shops and events we could attend.
We landed on Los Angeles, rented a car and I drove the 4 hour trip, just in time to get into Las Vegas at sunset, and the first impression was…OMG! the size of everything…the scale of the buildings is surreal…!!!

Although Sema Show is not a that much of a Kustom Kulture show… is definitely something to experience if you are a car guy. The amount of incredible things to see is indescriptible, when you get there, you realize you wont be able to see everything…so you’ll have to choose what you see. For us, of course, was everything Kustom related, and get to see the most shocking low riders and hot rods.

More than 10 years later, I still have memories of us 4 walking through Las Vegas boulevard, going to Fremont street, seeing dirt roads with abandoned cars just two blocks away from the main road, the all sizes and shapes of Limos…

There’s a saying that says “you shouldn't go back to the places you've being happy…” but in this case, I think I want to come back again and take a second shot, who knows, maybe I win something at the Roulette…

Ayrton Senna TG184 Toleman, down to the bear bones.

A few years ago, when I was still living in Argentina, I had the great opportunity to shoot in a very special way, this incredible piece of history, art, and engeneering.
The real number 05 TG184 Toleman from Ayrton Senna.

Gustavo Granelli, owner and head of Zackspeed workshop Argentina, call me to be part of an incredible adventure, documenting the process of bringing alive this amazing piece of history that one of his clients had bought a few years back. And because of the traditional customs bureaucracy, the car was sat for about 8 years in a customs warehouse. Although the primary idea was to not open the engine, with every external part we dissasembly, the more we figure it out that open the engine was going to be absolutely necessary.

I say “we” because I was next to Gustavo all the time, taking photos, but also helping him in a way, and I was absolutely amazed by the quality and handcraft of every piece of the car, instead of being a normal racer car where you are used to prioritise practical over esthetics, every thing was so well though, craft, and executed. It is among all, a true piece of art.

One of the many things I love about the car, is that perfect mix and balance between present and future, all the advance technology in many things made out of carbon fiber, titanium suspension arms, four fuel injectors per cylinder and yet, a mechanical fuel pump driven by a pulley or a lovely wooden shift knob.

Unfortunately, by the time I move to Italy, the engine was not close yet, and I couldn’t hear it running, but I know I will. At least I was fortunate enough of being part of this incredible process.

Rockin Roddin Reunion at Rombo di Tuono 2024

I say it many times, one of the things I like the most of the Hot Rod, Kustom Culture is that no matter where you are, you always feel like home.

This is the 12th edition of the best indoor pre 60s car show made here in Italy, and my second year at the show. The event is Rombo di Tuono, but the guys from Sbarbari Klan Car Club, put together like nobody does! the car show, select and invite the cars from all Europe, from the best car clubs, always prioritizing the quality and the correct period, style, look of the hole scene. The best local kustomizers, painters, artists are here for two days.
This is almost like when you cook a great dinner, it takes so much time to put all together, buy the groceries, prepare all the things, a few hours in the oven, and then you eat everything in 15 minutes… same happens here, months of preparation in order to have a memorable weekend.

For me, this is not a normal car show, is more than that, it becomes now my home, where I meet new people, share many stories and I’m able to shoot the most gorgeous cars of the local scene.

Thanks to all the guys of Sbarbari Klan C.C. and special thanks to Alessio Canone!

Roll ’n Flat 2024

Only a few km away from the well know Venezia, every two years, you can find another kind of Italy, a little bit diferent…

Yes, this is Italy, a beach town called Caorle, and just by the end of the summer season, this past september, the guys from ‘50 Brothers put together an incredible event on the beach that is on the road from 9 years.

You are now going to see some photos I took, and yes they tell some of the story, but you are definitely missing the hole experience. I got there the night before the races, but almost all the cars and the people where there from a few days erlier, and one of the great things about this kind of events, is what happen with all the atmosphere in town, you see hot rods and american cars everywhere, the cool hotels by the beach, with amazing cars and bikes parked in the door, all the vibe there is kind of mystical…

Then you have the races at the beach, that is also amazing… but for me, what I like the most of this things is that, for a couple of days, you are part of the movie that you always dream, hanging out with friends, listening V8 and HD and laughter…

It’s just one of those thing you can’t miss

Hangar Rockin on 35mm

If you read the previous Blog “Driving Hot Rods from Italy to Switzerland” you will know where we are, and if you didn’t, this is a selection of photos from one of the greatest Hot Rod shows in Europe, Hangar Rockin Festival.

Of course I shoot digital that weekend, but there’s something about analog photography and Hot Rods, that is so great and wonderful. Here are some of the photos taken with my Canon RT on Kodak Gold 200.

One of the cars that blew my mind, was this green Dragster powered by a Flathead with a Hilborn intake. Later that day and thanks to Mario, I got the chance to meet the owner, Stefan from the SCTA Hornets Germany and hear all the story behind the Dragster. It’s actually one of the first Dragsters from that era, with one of the first intakes with mechanical fuel injection made by Hilborn in the late ‘40…so yes, it was That special that car!

I’m a really lucky guy and I so grateful for all the people I get to know through photography.

Thanks!
Don’t miss the next blog…

Driving Hot Rods from Italy to Switzerland

The story goes like this, there is a Hot Rod show in Switzerland named Hangar Rockin, that takes places in an old air base located just between the mountains. I had the opportunity of being there in 2017, when I was living in Barcelona.
Now, living in Italy and being close to the two greatest Car Clubs in Italy, Sbarbari Klan and 50 Brothers, I join them in this amazing trip from Castelfranco (50 Brothers Headquarters) to Flugplatz Sankt Stephan, almost 600km to drive with the guys.

Ok, the trip started with some problems…the 1933 Hot Rod from Luca, didn’t want to run good…some sparkplug issues, so… little change of plans, the ‘33 stays at home and the one who goes on the trip is the 1940 Plymouth, everything is ready!

The trip was amazing, is hard to tell in words how beautiful is to see this Hot Rods in the european highway, and more rare is to get the cars into a train that goes thru the mountain to cross the border…once we got to the show, we parked the cars, set the tents, got some food and relax for the next 2 days, living the experience of being transported to another time.

Stay tune for the second part of the trip!

May 1st, Workers' Day and a Hot Rod cruise.

Wednesday May 1st, with the simple excuse of using the cars and meeting friends, Alessio Canone, member of Sbarbari Klan Car Club of Brescia Italy, organized a meeting/cruising to the Nicolis Museum with the members of the Car Club and some members also of the Car Club 50'Brothers and Lake Cruisier. The idea was to meet at a service station on the highway near Verona and from there to the museum.  

At the museum they had reserved part of the parking lot for us and with a preferential price for the visit, we had the luxury of touring the 3 floors and being able to see absolutely everything, a museum that started with a private collection and ended up growing as much as it looks today. 

The plan after the museum was clearly to go to lunch, and already with the reservation made and with the parking reserved for the cars, we did one more kilometer and arrived at a Trattoria in the middle of some vineyards, where undoubtedly, the Hot Rods caught the attention of all the people who were in the restaurant.

Without more to say, thanks to Alessio and all those who participated and to continue doing kilometers and adding stories.

Fratelli Borgo, Italian brothers with American taste.

For some people it's not news, but for those who don't know it, I moved to Italy almost a year ago, more precisely to Treviso. And if you know my photos, you will know that most of the car photos I take, are of American cars, Hot Rods, Muscle Cars, Kustoms, and you will also know that I take a lot of analog photos, since my beginnings with photography in 2002, until today.

The decision to move to Italy was mainly to keep growing as a photographer and as a person, and although I wasn't looking for American cars in these parts of the world, American cars ended up finding me...

Looking for a European classic car dealership to offer photographic services, I enter an industrial park 5 minutes from home and before finding the dealership, I hear a sound of a classic American V8, following the sound, I see in another shed of the industrial park, a 66 Mustang...clearly the sound of the V8 was coming from there, I go a little further and I see a 69 Charger replica General Lee...How can this be possible? An American car shop 5 minutes from home...! Undoubtedly, I entered the shop first and the dealership was in the background.

At the workshop I met two brothers passionate about everything related to American culture, from their cars, their motorcycles and even their airplanes! Two really generous people with whom I stayed talking for a long time, and with the excuse of testing my new analog camera, a divine Canon RT, we arranged another visit to the workshop, this time on a Saturday morning to be more relaxed and these are some of the photos of that day.

I can not be more grateful for all the things that happen to me since my arrival in Italy, without more to say, see you in the next blog post. 

All photos taken with a Canon RT 24-105 f4 and Kodak Gold 200

How I destroy my car to meet Coco Zinetti

The photos you are looking at are of Coco Zinetti's car, a driver from Lezama Buenos Aires, a Ford T with free preparation that raced on dirt tracks until the 90's. How did I get this information? By accident, real!

Coming back from Villa Gesell, a seaside town on the coast of Argentina on route 2, I remember that someone had told me about the existence of a charming character, who used to race on dirt tracks with his Ford T, but I can't remember who told me, nor where was the place in question... I ask my friend Kato if he remembered this story, and nothing... I ask Nico Kustom, another friend to whom I could have told the story of this character, and no.... minutes later, at the entrance to the town of Castelli, I was involved in car crash on the road with my 1992 Honda Accord and that force me to stay in the town of Castelli for several hours. At that moment, tired of waiting for the insurance tow truck, I called my friend Diego (who has a tow truck and has made several trips with my cars) to come to rescue me. On the way home, after literally 10km, he told me.... "Here is the workshop of the man who races with the Ford T..." and he points me to a gate at the entrance of Lezama... ! Diego had been the one who had told me that story! I couldn't believe it! The coincidences of life... a week later, I returned to Gesell to pick up my girlfriend and on the way there I could not avoid entering the mysterious workshop and meeting the great Coco Zinetti! Life is beautiful! With the good and the bad... because from the bad, you can always learn something good!

At the beginning Coco was a little bit skeptical, but when I told him “do you realize that I had to destroy a car to meet you...”...his eyes filled with tears and he immediately invited me to have some mates and to fill me with stories and anecdotes. Truly a charming character, with his racing stories, his trial and error inventions to win, everything...! The car is a 1927 Ford T with a 1930 Ford A engine with a lot of racing upgrades.

Unfortunately, today I live in Italy and I would have loved to go back to Coco's place to make a video with him and with the T, I hope to meet him again when I come back to Buenos Aires, this time, without destroying any vehicle...

Mysteries of destiny

Only a couple of hours had passed since my arrival in Italy from Valencia, the reason for the trip was to come to a job interview in the outsides of Milan.

I had rented an apartment in Albuzzano to spend the weekend. Italy welcomed me with rain, opportunities and endless things to discover. On the way to the apartment, almost unintentionally, I saw a car on the side of the road that caught my attention, in a kind of dealership or workshop, I could not see well with the rain and the anxiety of the unknown.

Once installed in the apartment, trying to rest a little, listening to the rain, I kept thinking, what car would that be that I saw on the side of the road, regardless of the rain, I can not stay with the desire to go and document with the camera, the time is now! I grabbed the camera, got in the rental car and went in search of new adventures!

It is worth mentioning that the command of spoken Italian is still not my strong point, although I understand, I am still in the learning stage to speak it better, so I did my best to find the owner of the mysterious car that was still the reason for the visit ... After asking the people I met inside the place, they very kindly make me wait until a man of about 80 years old comes, with his right arm in a cast and with the uncertainty of knowing what this stranger was doing at the door of his workshop.

Enrico Vertuani, a man dedicated to repair and restore Citroen, passionate about the SM model, begins to tell me the story of the mysterious car, I begin to discover his passion for the French brand and its Italian fusion, as the SM model comes equipped with Maserati V6 engine, slowly begins to show me the workshop where he restores the cars and I begin to see treasures, spare parts, engines, cars in process, photos that I immediately wanted to document! So far, I was lucky enough to hear Enrico's stories, and the opportunity to take the camera out of the bag and start taking pictures...!

Like a kid in a toy store, everything I saw captivated me! Magically it had stopped raining and the sun was coming through the huge window, illuminating the workshop and the cars inside, I can't believe how lucky and grateful I am to be in this situation! A few minutes later Enrico calls one of his collaborators, Ferdinando, who continues giving me the tour of the place until we arrive again to the street, where I could see the green white and red Citroen SM that had captivated me from the road, the drops of water on the Citroen I had already imagined in my head before seeing them, anyway, the afternoon couldn't be more interesting...

I go back to the apartment with the anxiety to download the photos and start retouching them, to share them with Enrico and Ferdinando, with the joy of having followed my instinct and having achieved something that far exceeded my expectations! I am a tremendously lucky person and I choose to follow the path of intuition and give a chance to the mysteries of destiny.

Sbarbari Klan C.C Easter Fest

Sbarbari Klan C.C

Easter fest

The rain changed the plans a bit, but the desire to get together and celebrate Easter among friends was greater.

As every year, the Italian car club Sbarbari Klan opened its doors to friends with the excuse of celebrating Easter, using the cars, listening to good music and spending a movie Sunday. Unfortunately, the rain also wanted to participate and that made it necessary to cancel the foodtruck that was going to offer food outside the car club, as well as the band that was going to play, and the hot rods that were going to come.... (about 30 hot rods were expected, as in previous years), luckily Stefano took his 1950 Chevrolet with a traditional "Mild Kustom" style, with small modifications such as the Frenched lights, his metallic green color, traditional black steel rims with whitewall tires and just the right height to be able to use the car and also draw the attention of everyone. Nor was the "sherif" afraid of getting wet with his Ford Galaxie and much less a matte black Buick with "pinstripes". Inside the Club House, the Tiki Bar was overflowing with sprits and beers, and the DJ was doing his thing spinning some '50s vinyl, a real party.

Sbarbari Klan Car Club was founded in Brescia Italy in 1997 with the idea of having a physical place for its members and also to be able to hold these meetings between friends.

According to its members, they are evaluating a new date for the event with all the hot rods that wanted to participate, it won't be Easter, but there will definitely be a party!