Andersen, J. (1997, Winter). Hispanic youth culture in el Monte. Center for Youth Studies.

OVERVIEW

El Monte, a suburb located in Los Angeles County, is comprised mostly of Hispanics. Youth in El Monte are challenged in many ways. They are caught between two cultures, the traditional rural culture of their Mexican heritage and the sophisticated urban culture of Los Angeles. Next, they come from a low-income ethnic group. Also, street gangs associated with the Mexican Mafia are influential. Finally, a large proportion of them are in broken and disorganized families. These factors make them a challenging population.

Hispanic youth assertively distinguish themselves from other groups. They are proud of their racial origin. This ethnic pride fuels their anger at perceived injustices in the system. They have not internalized the shame engendered by racism to the same degree as African Americans. Predominant racial tensions seem to lie between Hispanics and African Americans. These tensions may be a product of turf wars between Hispanic street gangs based in El Monte and black street gangs encroaching from neighboring suburbs. It appears that most racial incidents are gang-based.

Traditional sex roles surrounding "machismo" strongly influence the youth culture. Being macho is important for adolescent males; this is encouraged and modeled by their fathers. This is exhibited as many Hispanic men regularly give commands to females while resisting instructions by others, especially women. Sexual conquest is an important aspect of machismo; this is seen as young Hispanic boys are extremely possessive of their girlfriends, practically regarding them their own exclusive property. Conflict arises when the boyfriend sternly argues with his girlfriend for having any friendships with other boys; even friendships with other girls must not interfere with his claims on her time. Machismo may facilitate domestic violence, in that it is culturally acceptable for a boy or man to hit his wife or girlfriend as a way of establishing his authority over her. Girls who reject such treatment are regarded as rebellious and disrespectful. Attempts to deal with this type of violence clash with the cultural norm.

Hispanic girls find themselves tangled between restrictive traditional roles of their Hispanic culture and their American desire to carve for themselves a career and a happy life. Having a boyfriend is a status symbol. Yet, they receive mixed messages from their culture about sex. Hispanic girls are expected to care for and serve men, submit to them, and give them great freedom. A girl who refuses the sexual advances of a boyfriend risks social disapproval. Alternately, there is a conservative sexual ethnic expecting chastity and exclusive fidelity from a woman to her man; infidelity can provoke violence. As a result, there is a high rate of Hispanic teenage pregnancy, and teenagers frequently become sexually active around the age of 15.

Another strong influence on Hispanic teen culture comes from street gangs. Clothing styles that originated as a badge of gang membership generally drift into the general culture. Once the clothing becomes mainstream, it is no longer a mark of gang affiliation. Examples include baggy pants, baseball caps, pagers, and homemade tattoos. One of the great decisions adolescents face regards gang affiliation. Gangs are well established in high schools, and for many, the question is not IF they will join a gang, but WHICH gang they will join.

Within the heart of gang culture pulses the Mexican Mafia. It has built up such a predominant position in El Monte, that it is effectively the only gang in El Monte. The bastion of its powerhouse is its control of the prisons; only hardened criminals who have served time are invited to join the Mexican Mafia. The Mexican Mafia is big business, generating revenue through the distribution of narcotics and the extortion of drug dealers working the streets in its territory. The Mexican Mafia demands a cut of drug dealers’ sales, called "tax." Mexican Mafia members are generally not directly involved in retail sale of drugs; this is left to affiliates and "homeboys."

Surrounding this core of the Mexican Mafia are affiliated gangs of "wanna-bes," youth who are vying the attention of Mafia gang members and seeking membership. They are also called "cholo" or "chola," a derogatory name for bandits. These kids are involved in drug deals, street crime, and violent crime. They deal on the street and in the schools, and they commit crimes of burglary, assault, and murder. It is at this level that gang culture and youth culture intersect.

Gang kids predominantly come from broken homes where the father is absent. They generally fail to develop a self-identity. The gang becomes a substitute family, and gang affiliation becomes a substitute identity. Young Hispanic gang members develop a group identity where their identification with the gang and its ethos replaces the core of their self-identity. It amounts to an anti-identity, in that it is predominantly built on negative dysfunctional traits such as toughness, crime, and an internalization that one is bad and a failure. It is extremely difficult to skid this slide once an adolescent travels in this direction, because they will not accept any attempts of affirmation or edification. Usually the depth of their pain is already too deep.

There are many signs that a young person is entering the gang life. These signals include academic failure, dropping out of school, alcohol and drug use, and crime. Wearing homemade tattoos—such as three dots between the thumb and forefinger or on the wrist, an "s," or the number "13"—is a clear sign that a young person has transitioned into the gang culture. With girls, a clear sign of gang affiliation is plucking out their eyebrows and replacing them with tattooed eyebrows. Tattoos are a permanent way to stamp their gang identity on their own person.

Where help is needed is with kids who are considering gang affiliation. Often they are troubled kids, attracted to a gang for identity and affiliation. They may be interested in personal protection from being beaten up or victimized at school or in the streets. It may start by falling in with the wrong friends, or having friends who move into gangs. Sometimes getting into trouble, spending time in jail, or having a bad overdose experience is enough to shock them into going straight. When working with these kids, the best strategy is to build their self-esteem and self-identity. Kids who succeed in developing a differentiated sense of self and individuated self-identity are not likely to drift into this criminal gang culture.

Hispanic adolescents are bicultural, caught between two worlds. They generally do not gravitate to ethnic media, though they will listen to Spanish media. They are into "House" music, and local discos are an important hangout. These places are drug-free, though underage drinking can be a problem. A large number are also into MTV and heavy metal music.

Another major problem is that young Hispanic men are often undisciplined and bored. The machismo sex role gives the man all authority with little responsibility, while the woman carries responsibility without authority. Frequently, boys are neither controlled nor disciplined by either parent; hence, they do not develop hard-working self-discipline. They tend to resent being bossed around and are not highly motivated. They often expect things to be done for them and opportunity to come to them without hard work; this upbringing leads to boredom. In many cases, boys are caught between no longer being a kid while prematurely being a man. In single-parent families the male boy is often defaulted to the father’s parental position without a clear mandate of familial authority. They are caught in a double bind between their identity and family role. Failure to resolve the inherent contradictions of this role confusion is a significant contribution to their failure to develop a differentiated self-identity.

Another common concern of youth in El Monte is the need to find safe places to socialize without being victimized by gangs. There are not many. This need provides an opportunity for youth work: a safe place where kids can hang out, play around, and have fun, can have a significant impact. It can be a powerful alternative to gang influence, as it provides a healthy option for affiliation centered around a different social hub.

The hopes of most of these kids are the same as most young people. Girls want to get happily married and have kids. They romanticize their future husband, and they do not seriously examine the problems facilitated by traditional machismo, rigid sex roles, and domestic violence. They also speak of getting jobs; a few talk about careers. But most dream in terms of a stable marriage and family. Boys tend to be more vague. It is the exceptional boy who can define clear goals with the intent of working to pursue them. Most seem to aimlessly drift: they need purpose and vision. Their inability to seek this vision may be connected to a lack of self-discipline. Boys and girls—even those who articulate dreams—cannot translate their goals into determined, hard, goal-directed work. There is a tendency to assume that their dreams will magically happen without much pursuit.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. In your work with Hispanic youth, do you find the writer’s observations to be similar to what you have experienced? Explain.
2. What are the keys to reaching Hispanic youth?
3. How can you serve a Hispanic family through youth work?

IMPLICATIONS

• There are growing numbers of young Hispanics in America. They need a safe place to seek their identity.
• There is a dicotomy within the Hispanic family. Traditionally, family is important, but because of rigid sex roles, machismo, domestic violence, and single-parent homes, the value of family may seem elusive or confusing to the Hispanic adolescent.
• Working with a young person within a Hispanic family can serve the entire family. Making a difference in one life can make a difference in many lives. There are values that the entire family can learn from an adolescent.