During the last half century, many events have come and gone in the Permian Basin.
However, one event has continued to go strong for 51 years and it returns next weekend with the Tejano Super Show car show.
The event is scheduled to run from Nov. 19-20 at Ector County Coliseum.
Event Promoter Nick Hernandez says the car show has come a long way over the years, originally being held in random locations in south Odessa before expanding to the multi-day event it is today.
“Well, we’ve been going 51 years long, 51 years strong now,” Hernandez said. “The event started out here in south Odessa in old dirt streets many years ago and it just blossomed into one of the most prestigious car shows in the nation. … There are a lot of things going on that weekend.”
One of the main events going on during the weekend will be the Hi-Low Super Hop at 1 p.m. Nov. 20.
That event will be a competition where cars come and bounce. There will be different contests to see who can reach the highest height.
“We give away about $1,000 per class,” Hernandez said.
The weekend will include a car dance competition.
“That’s an event that takes a lot of skill because you have a box with a lot of switches,” Hernandez said. “You can manipulate the switch and the car will dance on all four wheels and jump in the front and back and make it dance around. People really enjoy that.”
There will also be a USACI-sanctioned Sound Off event.
“That’s where the cars come in and boom,” Hernandez said. “It’s the greatest boom in the world. That’s where the stereos come and compete for the sound quality and qualify for points to go to nationals.”
The number of different cars they get at the show varies each year.
Hernandez says they normally get from 300-500, depending on the year and the weather.
The entire show is spread out throughout the coliseum and all buildings outside.
“We do the main coliseum with some of the big cars and a few cars that people haven’t seen,” Hernandez said. “We have the stage indoors. Buildings A, B, C, D, G, all of those buildings are full of all kinds of cars, motorcycles, bicycles, model cars, street rides, razors, low riders, trucks. It’s just having five or six different car shows in each building.”
For Hernandez, the event means a lot to him, coming from a family of people who love cars.
“My brothers used to toy around with cars back in the 40s and 50s,” Hernandez said. “I grew up with that riding back seat with him and stuff. It just grew on me. My sister gave me a car when I was 14 and I started customizing it. From there, I fell in love with the auto body and the customizing of the vehicle. Then we started a car club and started doing shows in the park and it just grew from there.”
It wasn’t until around 1975 when the car show was moved to Ector County Coliseum.
“We had been at different places but we’ve been at the coliseum since the mid-70s and we haven’t missed a beat,” Hernandez said. “Even with covid, we were the only event that was allowed. There were no other shows in the nation. That’s more or less the history of it. It just grew with the entertainment and started meeting people. Everything brought us here to 2022.”
Hernandez says the event is a community-oriented event.
“We have a lot of pastors that we invite that will be present at the event. We have Christian groups and entertainers. We have a stage that’s committed to that inside building A. there’s a lot of things involved with this. It’s basically a car show festival.”
He’s excited that the show has been able to continue for 51 years.
“Everything I do, I do in God’s favor,” Hernandez said. “I put him in front and do it in his name and he’s opened up doors. It’s a well-oiled machine. It just happens and came together little by little. I feel really grateful. I feel good that we’ve been able to do this event in Odessa for 51 years.”
For more information about the event, go to https://tinyurl.com/yztrfpvd.
