El Camino High School campus

The Tale of the 2023 Jim Cresta Memorial Car Show

 
El Camino High School organized a car show on September 23, 2023, to honor the memory of long-time auto shop teacher James Cresta, who died in 2021.
 
Proceeds from the show will help underwrite a memorial scholarship fund established in Mr. Cresta’s name. 
 
“I am phenomenally proud of the work our associated student body leaders did to put this event together,” said El Camino High School Principal James Briano. “They collaborated with Activities Director Rachel McDonald and benefited from the mentorship of Mr. Cresta’s friend Ray Camacho from RayTana and Associates, who was the driving force for this car show. We’ve learned a lot and intend to make the Jim Cresta Memorial Car Show an annual, student-led community event.”
 
The car show drew alumni from across Mr. Cresta’s 57-year teaching career along with cars ranging from a 1932 Ford Tudor to a 2019 Chrysler 300 S and everything in between.
 
“I graduated from El Camino High in 1982 and had Cresta as a teacher in 1981 and 1982, and he was a pretty cool teacher way back in the day,” said San Mateo-resident Paul Bignardi.
 
Bignardi, who was showcasing a 1975 Ford Bronco, said he had previously owned the car in 1992 but wound up selling it in 1995 only to stumble across it again in 2009, which is when he bought and restored it.
 
Meanwhile, Luis Madrigal, who graduated from El Camino in 2001, said Mr. Cresta’s enthusiasm for cars inspired him to purchase his very own 1964 Super Sport Ford Impala.
 
“In hip hop culture, the ’64 Impala and just Impalas in general are very popular,” said Madrigal. “I picked it up maybe five—six years ago and actually just got it back yesterday just in time for this car show, as a matter of fact.” 
 
Madrigal’s daughter Lauryn, an El Camino High senior, said she’s enjoyed being able to ride around in the Impala with her dad. 
 
“It has hydraulics. The build of it is so different. The inside is just like—it’s totally different than all the cars we have now from the inside all the way to the outside,” she said.
 
El Camino Activities Director Rachel McDonald said she anticipates that the Jim Cresta Memorial Car Show will become a permanent fixture at the school by the spring of 2025.
 
“We just want to continue to keep his memory alive and all of the work that he did with all of the students over his 57-year, legendary career.”
 
El Camino High School organized a car show on September 23, 2023, to honor the memory of long-time auto shop teacher James Cresta, who died in 2021.