Where You From?
Growing San Jo Neighborhoods Are Causing Conflicts on the Streets
Story David Madrid
Artist Samuel Rodriguez

Driving through the back streets of East Side San Jo, you can feel the piercing stares. Everyone wants to know who is driving down their block. The rising tension is from these neighborhoods growing, and you can feel it on the streets and schools. Different identities among our Chicano communities are being thrown in each other's faces, mashing together, and the conflicts are written on the walls.

As Chicanos are moving all around the state more than ever to find jobs and get cheaper housing, regional differences amongst us are being seen and escalating the Norte/Sur conflicts that are meeting on the streets, especially with the youngsters.

Working at two different East Side junior high schools in San Jose, I'm hearing more stories of gang conflicts and violence -- kids getting chased, beatings, and knives or guns getting pulled. They show me their scars and wounds as they tell me their stories.

The division of the North and South was born out of the gang culture started in the California prison system and spread throughout the streets of Aztlan (south western states) and nationwide. This North and South hatred is an idea that has torn the state in half. Most people think California's Latino gang conflict is about red and blue, but when it comes down to it, it's about geography. Red is North, Blue is South -- prison issued colors from the pen. The colors though are only flags, like wearing a jersey, signifying which side of California you identify with.

As an eleven-year-old kid living off of LaVonn and Sunset in East San Jose, I can remember needing a pair of shoes. I wanted them to be red. The Northern identity had already been burned into my subconscious. Red was the color of choice worn by my older brother and the big homies in the neighborhood. Without even knowing it, I was becoming a part of the identity. Growing up I heard propaganda against the South from someone's Uncle, dad, or older brothers. It was always about conflicts they had in the pen or the streets, and how we were different, how they were below us, and how when we saw them, it's on.

The belief of one being better than the other and focusing on differences has spread through generations, no different then that of the Klan or other American hate groups. Some Chicano children are taught at an early age by their parents, others learn from life on the street.

In California barrios from the North to the South, where the gangster is king, to be a Norteño or Sureño is more then a style, it is a way of life for some. Although gangsters are only a small part of Chicano culture, the North vs. South belief system affects all Chicanos. You get labeled, whether or not you are affiliated. The ideology of Northern or Southern Supremacy has become a common form of discrimination among Chicanos.

In high school I remember girls not liking a guy after hearing he was from the South. They didn't want to be known for dating a "Scrap." A friend told me that after having taken out his mother to eat for Mothers Day in an Eastside restaurant, a carload of Sureños wanted to fight him. Apparently, my friend was wearing a Disneyland shirt that happened to be red.

The North and South conflict though is not just senseless violence, it is about something deeper in our culture -- our search for identity as Mexican Americans -- not from Mexico and not truly accepted as American. Whether it be a gang or club, claiming Latino or Hispanic, Raiders or 49ers being Chicano is about finding your identity and belonging to it.

Despite media depictions, this search though does not only result in conflicts. It has also created different Chicano identities based on where we live. As people move around the state we are seeing how different we are culturally, based on where we're from.

In Northern Cali alone we have the East Bay, South Bay, and the Central Valley Chicano for example. Although the hood is the hood, barrio life is different wherever you're at. But its not just the gangs, its the clubs, clothes, and even the cars that are different.

A lot of East Bay Chicanos, and parts of San Francisco, have a hip hop vibe using traditionally what's thought of as black slang, calling each other "blood" or "nigga." It's common to see a young Chicano sagging his pants with his hat flipped to the side, just like out of "Source" magazine. Along with having typically Chicano low-riders, out in the East Bay they drive supped-up, old school muscle cars. It is this combination of black and brown that has created East Bay Chicano culture.

In San Jose, we have that black/brown element too, but not as strong as it is in the East Bay. The San Jose culture has a more traditional Chicano identity born out of the lowrider movement, house and freestyle music club scene, and Spanglish slang. Some homeboys out here are still sporting baby cuffs and butterfly creased khakies and though they listen to rap, you'll still hear oldies bumpin' out of Regals.

A lot of South Bay folks are moving to cities like Modesto, Tracy and Fresno, and the Central Valley Chicano identity is changing as a result. What used to be a small town vibe is starting to feel a lot like a young San Jose. Now it' common to see SJ tats on arms. They even sell SJ hats in some liquor stores in Modesto. Integration of the Bay Area immigrants though has not been easy. Back in the 80's the Fresno Bulldogs "Norteños" wanted to break off and form their own Central Valley identity. They didn't want the North or the South. Till this day there is still conflict between some Bay Area Chicanos and Fresno.

While the conflicts between Chicanos may be our main downfall, the differences are what make us unique as a people. Whether you be from the North, South, or Central Valley, our struggle has always been about identity. It is that search for identity that we all have in common.

To listen to the Audio of:
"WhyDo People Claim?
a discussion with
East San Jose junior high students
about gang identity
produced by David Madrid