by Marcella Ortega
Daily Lobo
Do you ever feel like you were born in the wrong era?
In the midst of all the emotional and bohemian hipsters struggling for individuality, rockabillies have found a simple style that sets them apart and takes them to a different time, a more simple time - the '50s.
The first time I encountered them as a group was amazing. I was in Downtown Albuquerque and came across a late-night car show. This was not the typical New Mexican lowrider car show. This parking lot was packed with cars from the 1950s. Rockabilly music blared in the background as the guys revved their engines in competition. The ladies sat by their side or on the hood of the cars. But the most interesting part of it all was their fashion.
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Rockabillies, greasers or whatever you want to call them live as if they were in the 1950s. Chances are you have already seen them around town. The guys - always clad in the basics - wear classic 501 Levis with the legs cuffed, T-shirts with the sleeves either cuffed or just cut off, and perhaps the most important accessory of all - grease. Whether they have a pompadour or just a ducktail, their hair is slick and shiny. Throw in a wallet chain or leather jacket, and these guys look tough as nails.
The most notorious hairstyle for the girls is no other than the black-banged Betty Page hairstyle. Their clothing ranges from pure black get-ups with Capri pants and high heels, to full-out rockabilly-style dresses.
Rachel Herrera, aka Ms. Rachel, is a Downtown rockabilly regular and has been a part of the local rockabilly scene for five years. Herrera said she and her friends get their clothes from thrift stores or rockabilly boutiques.
"There are places that specialize in it," she said. "We like to get our orders online or just make our own stuff."
Herrera said her fashion is a product of an entire culture lived out by the rockabillies.
"We all live the culture and lifestyle," she said. "For us as a group, it's the fashion and the music. It's not the state of mind, but living the classic '50s lifestyle."
The lifestyle she is referring to includes car shows, races and weekly Downtown rockabilly-roundup concerts.
"For me, it's the music, definitely the music," she said.
Rockabilly originated in the South. It is a combination of hillbilly boogie, blues, bluegrass and country music. The era of rockabilly music ended with the death of Buddy Holly in 1959 but was revived in the '80s with a group called the Stray Cats.
Herrera said although the culture was from another era, it has survived throughout the generations.
"There was always a few of us," she said, "and we always found each other."
