east los angles los banda documentry

' East Los Angeles has traditionally been the heart of the latin comunity in LosAngeles. Mexicans have been living there since the time when California was part of Mexico. Throughout LA county there are other comunities wich have a deep Mexican history; San Gabriel, San Fernando, Pacoima, Canoga Park, Pomona, Hawaiian Gardens, and many more; but East LA is the most urban and conglomerated. It is the densest gang region in the entire USA with the most gangs per square mile. There is about 200 gangs in a 10 mile radius.

' Modern day gangs came from a phenomenom known as PACHUCOS or ZOOT SUITERS. They dressed in big suits with pants that were baggy and got narrower near the floor, with a long gold chain that arched from the belt and up into the pocket. The suits were worn in flashy colors and with felt hats, sometimes rounded on top. The pachucos lived by a code of honor and respect. They organized into clubs with ritualistic initiations. The jumping in method became the universal initiation for these clubs. These clubs were started as closley knit units wich were considered a second family to its members, and to many with problems at home it was considered their only family. Their was a huge cultural and generational gap between the pachucos and their parents. This is one of the main reasons they started.

' As time passed these clubs started gaining popularity among the youth, and like all youth, they had fights. Fights were expected to be one on one and once and once the fight was over the problem was solved. Some groups blew the problems out of proportion and bitter rivalries bagan. At first the main disagreements were over the honor of their girlfriends or RUCAS. This is still a main reason today. Other times it was over popularity, who had the most firme carucha, who wore the best clothes, who had the finest ruca, or who was the best fighter. It was also regional at times, people on one side of town made fun of the styles people were wearing on the other side of town. These petty problems always occur in youth and it was no different with PACHUCOS.

' What changed the face of pachuco clubs was the drugs and guns wich started coming in during the vietnam war.This was a very militant age and many BROWN PRIDE groups were born and eventually evolved into gangs. There were also many vatos wich had gone to war and come back trigger happy. Once killing your enemies became accepted the modern cholo was born. Dealing marijuana and carrying a cohete or gun became the norm. The introduction of crack and cacaine in LA speed up the process.

' Drugs and prime drug markets became the new reason for war. The barrios of East LA began to turn a huge profit off slanging drugs. The whole time new gangs were being created to usurp old ones. One gang would get swept up by police and a new one would come up in its place. Then the members of the original one would come out of jail and try to win their neighborhood back. This went on for 30 years. Some gangs came to be greatly hated and people in their own hood didnt want to join them, so they created new ones. Some times these new ones would join up with other gangs for backup or convenience. The story of ELA is like the story of all the countries in this world. It is like a German confederation.

' The first barrio in east LA is disputed between WHITE FENCE and MARAVILLA. White Fences' original barrio is all of Boyle Heights and allegedly used to have cliques throughout the San Gabriel Valley and Northeast LA. Marravillas' original barrio is ELA proper and most of South East LA extending to the Rio Hondo and south to Slauson. Maravilla too has cliques throughout SGV and the Inland Empire. These two gangs are the classic EastLos rivalrie and probably the longest going feud in LA. Both of these barrios have lost extensive territory and are midgets compared to their former size. In numbers though they are bigger than ever. I heard once that Hazards, Avenues, Toonerville, and Frogtown were all once cliques off of White Fence, and members from White Fence claim even more barrios broke off of them. Later gangs such as Michigan Chicano Force, Varrio Nuevo Estrada, and all the Flats sprung up in East LA.