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Introduction


In this guide I'll be breaking down some of Central America's history, along with some things about the Maras (Gangs) that inhabit the region. I'll also go a little into how these Maras (Gangs) operate in the United States. This guide is being created with the aim to give those trying to roleplay a Central American something to put behind their character and also for inspiration. The gang portion of this guide will mostly be about the Mara Salvatrucha, but will also include the 18th Street gang in some parts. However, I will mainly be addressing MS-13 as the differences between the two street gangs are too slim for me to extensively talk about both gangs.


OIP.We0yX1ailH46mo2-psldGAHaFS?pid=ImgDet&rs=1Central America; An Overview


Central America is a region in Latin America. The Central America region consists of a number of countries which control territories along the land bridge that connects Mexico to Colombia. These countries consist of Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Like most Latin American countries, the primary language spoken in the streets and at home is Spanish, apart from in Belize (A former British colony) where they speak English instead. The usage of Spanish in Central America and amongst Central American individuals is distinct from the Spanish spoken in many other Latin American countries. A word that means one thing to a Colombian, could mean something completely different to a Salvadoran for example. Central Americans also commonly pronounce their Spanish words differently to most other Spanish speakers, sometimes leading to confusion

 

In 2016 the combined population amongst the Central America region was thought to be around or over 44 million. Additionally in 2018 The population of Central America was estimated to be 47,448,333. Many countries in Central America are poor, poverty stricken, rife with corruption and generally suffer from a great deal of hardship as a result of various social and economic factors. Along with this, many of the countries in Central America countries suffer from extreme gang problems and extremely high homicide rates. In 2015 the city of San Pedro Sula in Honduras was said to have been the most dangerous city in the world. Additionally, cartels and other criminal organisations are known to use Central America as a gateway for drug trafficking through Mexico and into the United States and also for human trafficking to and from Colombia and other South American countries.

 

In recent years a sizeable amount of Central Americans have fled the region as a result of the crippling gang problems that have plagued the region since the 1990's, these immigrants generally leave their homes bound for the United States where they generally intend to apply for a refugee status. Many are denied the refugee status and sent back to El Salvador, where alot of the time they end up dead as a result of the gangs that they fled to escape in the first place. Countries like El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala are overrun by gangs such as MS-13 and 18th Street and are also said to be operating in Costa Rica, Panama and as far south as Colombia. In addition to this, street gangs are also present in Belize. In Belize, offshoots of the Mara Salvatrucha, 18th Street and even offshoots of African American street gang sub-sets affiliated to the Crips and Bloods are also said to be present.


unknown.pngConflicts in Central America


Since the forming of most Central American countries, the region has been rife with conflicts. One classic example of Central American conflicts was in the 1950's when Judge William Walker, a proponent of slavery attempted to subdue various parts of Central America. After a brief stint as the self proclaimed president of Nicaragua, he was ambushed and executed by local Salvadoran & Honduran revolutionaries. These revolutionaries that assassinated revolutionaries were affectionately nicknamed 'Salvatruchas' by the locals and were honoured throughout Central America for their heroic deeds against the tyrant 'president' of Nicaragua. The word Salvatruchas was later picked up by a certain Salvadoran gang, but we'll get to that later.

 

Since then, many countries throughout Central America have been torn apart by brutal civil wars. In 1911 there was a civil war in Honduras. Another civil war took place in Guatemala between the years of 1960 and 1996. Among the most notable of these civil wars was the Salvadoran civil war of the 1980's, which began in 1979 after an Archbishop by the name of Oscar Romero was executed by the Salvadoran military while giving a speech. This came after years of civil strife throughout El Salvador as a result of a tyrannical government. The political party that was in charge was extremely corrupt.  

 

Some who were locals of Central America at the time talked about times where they'd vote for the opposite party, and if they started to win, the entire country's power would go out and when it came back, the ruling party would be winning on the poles. When the conflict initially began, the Salvadoran government was backed by the United States. Various war crimes took place on all sides and brutal violence became the norm and among the most shocking of these facts, is that for the most part, many of the soldier on either side were young children who were trained to be killers.

 

The horrific violence ended up causing almost half of the country to flee.  Some were lucky and managed to escape to other, safer countries such as Australia, Spain and others, but the vast majority of those fleeing Central America at the time ended up in the streets of Los Angeles (Los Santos), where they for the most part settled in the Koreatown district of that city. Smaller Salvadoran communities soon popped up in the districts of Mid City, Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley.


18martinez-print-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscaleMara Salvatrucha, Barrio 18 and the origin of the Maras


The term 'Maras' is a word that nowadays refers to a specific breed of street gang. A Latino street gang that was formed in the United States but managed to make its way to Mexico, Central America and other countries. The term Mara was originally coined to refer to a group, a gathering, a gang. Although the term Mara is said to nowadays have a more sinister meaning to it, coming from another Central American term, Marabunta. The term 'Marabunta' refers to a vicious breed of army ant known to devour and destroy everything it comes into contact with. The most known of the Maras is the MS-13 (La Mara Salvatrucha 13) and the 18th Street Gang (Mara 18) Other Maras include Salvadorans With Pride (SWP), Mao Mao (MM) Mara Maquina (MM2), La Mirada Loca (LML), Batos Locos (BL) and various other Central American street gangs. All Maras in El Salvador are gangs, but not all gangs in El Salvador are Maras however. The Surenos exist to a lesser extent in Central America. Offshoots of La Florencia, Playboys 13 and Crazy Riders are said to have been formed in many Central American countries such as El Salvador and Honduras. 

 

While there's a sizeable amount of Central American gangsters throughout the US and across the world, the majority of Salvadorans & Other Central Americans are typical hard working men and women. Most of them don't respect gangs, but instead fear and despise them. Salvadorans & Central Americans are the biggest victims of their own street gangs, especially in their home countries. Though in the United States, that's increased tenfold. To your average Salvadoran, an MS-13 or an 18th Streeter is nothing more than a monster. Despite this, there's those who sympathize with the gangs. Some Salvadorans & Central Americans willingly take the stand in court and lie for gang members, testify against rival gang members and even hide guns / drugs or attempt to cover up murders or other criminal acts such as rape for the local gangs. For the most part, these kinds of people see whatever gang is local to their neighbourhood as their family. Maybe they have friends in those gangs, or maybe they've even got family that represents those street gangs. It all depends on the person and the way they're bought up, or what they've experienced.

 

Central Americans in Southern California (Southern San Andreas) generally stick together in the same tight knit communities. Large Salvadoran communities can be found in the Koreatown/Rampart/Pico-Union/Mid-Wilshire neighbourhood (Which is represented ingame as Little Seoul) along with others in Westlake & Silverlake (Mirror Park), East Hollywood (East Vinewood) and North Hollywood. In each of these Salvadoran communities that are dotted around La County, there's generally a presence of MS-13, who despite being generally disliked by the law-abiding Salvadoran community, they rule these communities with an iron fist due to the Salvadorans' fear of MS-13 and of what might happen if they co-operate with the police. Some fear deportation, some fear reprisal from the gang, some just can't bring themselves to speak on the people they've grown up around, most just want to mind their own business.

 

Many young Salvadorans who arrived in LS during the 1970's joined existing gangs. A few of these gangs included Varrio Playboys 13, 18th Street and Crazy Riders 13, among others. While some gangs and communities in LA were welcoming to the newcomers, others treated them as sub-human trash. They would mock, bully, assault, stab and sometimes rape Salvadorans in broad daylight. This not only caused a fair amount of Salvadorans to dislike Mexican-Americans and also led to the forming of the Mara Salvatrucha Stoners (MSS) street gang. When the gang was formed, the original founders of the street gang combined the Salvadoran Spanish word 'Mara', meaning gang or Group with the term Salvatrucha, which was as mentioned earlier, a term used to honor the Salvadoran and Honduran revolutionaries who overthrew William Walker over a century beforehand. The word 'Stoners' was then added at the end of the gang's name, referring to the current membership of the gang, which were for the most part a bunch of raggedy haired teenagers with a taste for Marijuana and heavy metal music who banded together with eachother for protection in the streets.

 

The Mara Salvatrucha Stoners initially had a culture which consisted of soft and psychedelic drug abuse, attendance at heavy metal concerts and a strong pride in defending their ethnic communities from outsiders and other gangs.

 

Other instances of Anti Central-American prejudice had also taken place 30 years before the Mara Salvatrucha Stoners came onto the scene during the 1950's when the 18th Street Gang formed as a result of Clanton 14 and their refusal to accept members with ethnic roots that weren't exactly the same as them. This helped 18th Street to become a massive street gang that by the time the MSS showed up in the 1980's, the 18th Street Gang was already an established 'super-gang' with close to 20 offshoots and cliques throughout Los Angeles. At first, MS-13 and 18th Street got along. They'd often party together. It was at these parties that members of the Mara Salvatrucha Stoners heard about the bosses of La Eme (The M) and how they ran Southern California from the prisons.

 

Throughout much of the 1980's the Mara Salvatrucha grew in the form of the Mara Salvatrucha Stoners, however by the turn of the decade, the Mara Salvatrucha were no longer a disorganised crew of kids who liked heavy metal and banded together to protect eachother, they were a new and vicious breed of street gang that had earned its own place in the hierarchy of the gang underworld. In the mid 1990's the gang dropped the 'Stoners' nickname and instead adopted the number '13' at the end of their name.

 

29165_397440127778_3647965_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&ccb=3&_nc_sid=cdbe9c&_nc_ohc=vZyug1TxpKEAX9BJx_l&_nc_ht=scontent.fbne4-1.fna&oh=b921cd3ae530c86b8661a2ace33a4392&oe=604FD9AF

Also in the 1990's, the United States began deporting thousands of gang members from Los Angeles and back to the Central American continent. Members of the Mara Salvatrucha and Dieciocho gangs were sent to El Salvador first, then the gangs started bleeding across the borders into the neighboring countries, The fact that many of these countries were still recovering from their conflicts caused both gangs to grow extremely fast. By the 2000's the Mara Salvatrucha and 18th Street gangs had not only spread throughout Latin America, but were now also present in several other states across the US.

 

They had taken over entire neighbourhoods and were known to recruit children as young as 9-10 for their street gang wars and drug sales. Over the years as members of MS-13 got incarcerated in Central America, the gangs got much more organised, this especially happened after prisons began being dedicated to one street gang as opposed to holding members of both gangs. 

 

With the forming of the Maras in Latin America, other gangs began coming out of the woodwork. These Maras included the Mao Mao, an organisation that had been around since the Salvadoran civil war and evolved into a street gang that was mainly involved in money making. Also formed was the La Maquina (The Machine) gang in Apopa, which became vicious rivals of both the 18th Street and Mara Salvatrucha despite the gang's much smaller size. Other imported gangs from Los Angeles soon began popping up throughout Latin America aswell. Sureno gangs such as La Florencia, Playboy Surenos, Crazy Riders, Harpys and Ghetto Boyz are said to be present in Mexico and some parts of Central America.

 

Maras in Central American countries run their neighbourhoods like mini dictatorships. Those who are unknown are usually assumed to rival gang members and are killed or disappeared, women are generally treated poorly in gang territories throughout Central America. Femicide and rape culture are extremely common problems throughout the slums of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras and especially amongst the gangs. Some of the more brutal MS and 18 cliques throughout Central America are also known to treat women associated with the gang as drug mules and sex objects.

 

Some gang members are even known to abduct women from their communities and force them to either become prostitutes for the gang, or they claim them as their personal sex objects. In the early 2010's all Maras and other gangs in Central America were labelled criminal organisations. The Mara Salvatrucha as of 2020 is also labelled as a criminal organisation in the United States, with many MS-13 leaders from both the United States and Central America as of 2020 and 2021 being charged with terrorism offenses by the United States Government.

 

18th Street (Mara 18) in Central America is split into two seperate categories, the 18 Revolutionaries and the 18 Surenos.  The Revolutionaries are much more ruthless, they have barely any rules and a lot of cliques require their members to perform a murder and/or a sexual assault in order to become part of their groups. Revolutionaries within 18st have also popped up in Los Angeles, where some 18th Street cliques such as a few smaller ones located in Westlake are rebelling against the Mexican-Mafia and against the other local Sureno gangs, aswell as being involved in a vicious war with MS-13 that involves sex crimes and the brutal murders of random civilians.

 

El Salvador's MS-13 is also split into two separate factions, known within the gang as cars. La Ranfla Historica is the dominant faction in Central-America. For years they ran the gang from the confines of extremely crowded Salvadoran prisons.

 

Despite this, some MS13 members felt that the leaders in these prisons were only making moves that benefited them, and not their homeboys or the gang at large. They were complying with the government, they were allowing their younger, craziest members to go around killing random women and raping women and children. Something that didn't sit well with this particular group of MS affiliates, some of which had come from Los Angeles after being deported. As a result, the '503' branch was formed within MS-13. Like the 18 Revo's in Los Angeles, 503 Mara Salvatrucha affiliates can also be found in Los Angeles.

 

In addition to the gangs, other groups exist in El Salvador and also throughout Central Ameirca. In El Salvador, an organisation called 'La Sombra Negra' or The Black Shadow is known to hunt down and kill gang members. Locals attribute the black shadow to being mainly comprised of current and former law enforcement along with vigilantes. The general population of El Salvador supports groups like La Sombra Negra and they also support the government's extreme approach towrds containing the gangs. This is due to the vast majority of the Salvadoran population having family members who've fallen victim to the crimes of the local gangs. Many of them have brothers who were killed, sisters who were raped and/or forced to be prostitutes, family members who've been disappeared by the gangs. They want blood, not just justice. Some residents of other Central American countries also share similar views when it comes to the Maras. Often times when MS or 18 members identify themselves in countries throughout Central America, they're murdered by either the police, rivals or just vigilante civilians.

 

The actions of vigilantes and also the actions of the governments of many Central American countries has forced the Maras somewhat underground. They still excersize the same iron fist like control over many regions of Central America, but have been forced much more into the shadows than before. Members of MS-13 and 18th Street in El Salvador and some parts of the United States have either dramatically lowered their use of tattoos, or no longer use tattoos at all as a result of these factors.


unknown.pngMaras in the US (Present Day)


Mara Salvatrucha and 18th Street in the United States are also split into various factions (Usually referred to as 'Programs'). These Programs are generally cells of the gang itself that generally consist of a leading council and a cluster of MS-13 cliques that are loyal to them.

 

In the United States the Mara Salvatrucha's operations differ from state to state. Members of MS-13 in the mid-west are much more low-key with their crimes and are alleged to be involved in various financial crimes such as money laundering and fraud. MS-13 cliques in the Southern states (Apart from California) and also on the East-Coast generally operate similarly to their counterparts in Central America. MS-13 offshoots under the East Coast Program (A Mara Salvatrucha program which is led from Central America) have particularly strong presences in New York State, Virginia, Maryland and various other neighboring localities.

 

Mara Salvatrucha operates very similarly to their East-Coast counterparts in southern states such as Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Florida and Louisiana. On the West Coast in states such as California (San Andreas) Oregon and Washington the Mara Salvatrucha operates in a much less violent manner, being much more focused on money than extreme violence. Though this is not to say that the Mara Salvatrucha in Los Angeles is in any way tame.  In 2018/2019 members of the Mara Salvatrucha's Fulton Locos clique in North Hollywood were indicted for a killing spree that its members committed, in which it was found out that the culprits to the various brutal, medieval style murders were members of the MS-13's 503 Branch and were absorbed into the street gang's ranks in Los Angeles.

 

The 503 Branch in Los Angeles is worlds different to the traditional Mara cliques you'll find in East Hollywood and Little Seoul. 503 Mareros believe in more violence and shocking brutality, while they for the most part don't condone rape, some of them do. Other MS-13 cliques in LA that aren't part of the 503 Branch are part of what's called the Los Angeles program, which is the governing body for MS-13 cliques in California. It's led via a coalition of MS veterans who call the shots for their respective cliques and by a Ranflero who commands them all. MS-13 in California don't pay dues to MS-13 in Central-America as it is commonly believed either. The Mara clicks on the Westcoast of the US don't see eye to eye with their counterparts in El Salvador, and instead hate and despise them. As far back as 2006 MS-13 had already stopped sending money to El Salvador.

 

MS cliques in California are also distinct in that they're generally the most respected and organized cliques of the MS-13 gang. Members of MS-13 cliques based in Los Angeles who end up in Central America usually end up being absorbed MS-13 into cliques in their home countries that are named after Los Angeles streets. Additionally, many MS-13 cliques from LA have become so organized that they basically operate as gangs within the gang. This is seen in the Normandie Locos Salvatruchas clique, which has members all over the United States and in Latin America. Many members of the Normandie Locos communicate with members from neighbouring states and countries and this is generally seen with most other LA based MS-13 cliques.

 

Along with this, many Los Angeles based Mara Salvatrucha cliques operate worlds differently from their counterparts in Central America and even in other states. This is mainly seen in how the gang in California has very strict rules about the way its members are to conduct themselves. Members of the MS-13 in California are required to pay a monetary fee to their clique's leadership simply for their membership in the gang, rape isn't tolerated, drive-by's are disallowed, disrespect towards members of the gang and their family members/loved ones aren't tolerated and additionally members are also barred from using drugs or alcohol on any day that isn't part of a weekend or holiday among other rules.

 

Some rules are less enforced and will only end in a punishment that usually consists of a beating. However, if more rules are broken or a more serious rule is broken, harsher penalties are imposed on the offending gang member. These penalties can include additional monetary fees given to the clique's leadership, removal from the clique, beatings that sometimes include weapons such as bats and bladed weapons and in the worst cases, death.

 

Additionally the Mara Salvatrucha in California is much more Americanized in that many of their Los Angeles based cliques accept females into their gangs as fully affiliated members. Mareras in Los Angeles are very rarely sexed in and are generally jumped in members. They're usually more vicious, cold and calculating than their male counterparts. This is due to the cold hearted nature of the street gang, females within the gang are expected to take up male roles that include murders, kidnappings, extortions and other violent crimes. Additionally, females within various MS-13 cliques take up support roles aswell, usually serving as a clique member's girlfriend or wife, sometimes even assisting with monetary issues for the clique, such as keeping track of which member owes which sum of money to the clique's higher leadership.

 

Although, some Los Angeles cliques seldom accept women and prefer to operate much more like their El Salvadoran counterparts. This is especially seen with cliques that recruit a higher percentage of 'paisa' type individuals. One clique that operates like a Salvadoran MS-13 gang in Los Angeles is the Fulton Locos, who are are said to be the most vicious MS-13 clique in the San Fernando Valley area.

 

The Mara Salvatrucha in Los Angeles (Los Santos) and some other West Coast states are also much more prone to the extreme use of tattoos than their Eastcoast and Central American counterparts. The gang in Los Angeles doesn't experience the same need to hide their tattoos as the gang does in other parts of the state. This is mainly because many MS-13 members on the West Coast are the American-Born children of people from Central America, as opposed to being illegal immigrants and thus, can't be sent back to Central America where their tattoos would put them in grave danger.

 

However, gang bylaws in Los Angeles dictate that the usage of tattoos amongst the gang has to be earned. For an MS-13 member, every single tattoo they get is supposed to have a meaning, usually consisting of an act committed for the benefit of the MS-13 gang. Tattoos above the neck however, are rare for MS-13 members in Los Angeles. Face tattoos are also still commonplace amongst some MS-13 cliques such as the Normandie Avenue Locos.

 

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INSET; V.SUR13 (Varrio Surenos 13) crossed out by MS-13 NLS (Mara Salvatrucha Normandie Locos) (Image taken in Koreatown, Los Angeles)

Relations between Chicano Barrios (Surenos) and Salvadoran Barrios (Maras)


The relations between Central Americans and Mexicans has for the most part been shaky for years. Some Chicano gangs to this day will refuse to accept those with Central American roots into their street gangs and most of the time also refuse to accept those born in Mexico. In these gangs' most prominent eras, they were known for discriminatory actions against the Central American population, thus causing criminal elements throughout the Salvadoran community such as the Mara Salvatrucha Stoners to viciously fight back against them, usually employing much more violent and heartless tactics than their Mexican counterparts. This rivalry became worse tenfold when a Salvadoran woman was sexually assaulted by a Chicano street gang. This caused the Mara Salvatrucha to become even more violent and even to start engaging in sex crimes against the rival gang's members.

 

As a result of these factors, most members of Sureno gangs either fear or deeply despise the Mara Salvatrucha, they see them as nothing but abominations. Many Sureno gangs would much prefer a Norteno street gang to pop up in their community, than an MS-13 or 18th Street offshoot. While 18th Street is a lot less disliked than MS-13 in terms of their relationship with Sureno street gangs, they're also the universal enemies of just about all Mexican-American barrios throughout the United States. 

 

On the other side of the coin, to the Maras, especially to MS-13, the Surenos are looked at as puppets and hypocrites. This has caused some MS-13 cliques to go out of their way to specifically target Mexican-Americans for their crimes. This is despite the fact that in Southern California the Mara Salvatrucha and 18th Street are formally labelled as Surenos. The Mexican Mafia's relationship with the Maras is different to their relationship with the Surenos, despite the Mexican Mafia's ranks mainly being comprised of Surenos. In Los Angeles, the Mara Salvatrucha and 18 gangs are beholden to the Mexican Mafia, where they pay extortionate fees for their protection in state prisons and also for permission to sell drugs and commit crimes in their territories. It is likely that without the Mexican Mafia's influence, MS-13 wouldn't exist in Southern California. It's a symbiotic relationship which is based upon an uneasy alliance of convenience which was formed in the 1990's as a result of the Mexican Mafia's attempts to stop the Salvadorans vs Chicanos conflict in the streets.

 

In order to fully understand the conflict between traditional Surenos & The Maras, one must look into the lore of the Salvadoran barrios of Los Angeles. Both sides believe that they're in the right, both sides believed that one side is better than the other, both sides harbor intense ammounts of hatred towards eachother. This is shown by how most Mexican gang members dislike MS-13 and even claim to be 'MSK' (Mara Salvatrucha Killers), even those in the most southern parts of Los Angeles and even in San Diego where there's close to no MS-13 presence. MS-13 are universally hated and despised by close to 90% of Sureno gangs, along with distrusted and labelled as nothing more than rapists who seek to target Mexican-American women and drag them away to be violently raped. MS-13 do indeed target Mexican-American and Mexican women at times. 18th Street does the same thing. Exactly like how some Surenos like to target Salvadoran, Honduran and Guatemalan women. While MS-13 are formerly classified as Surenos and some even proudly admit to being part of the Sureno program, others despise Surenos and see MS-13 as something more. An organization that's not UNDER the Mexican-Mafia, but instead on their level. MS-13 sees their alliance with the Mexican-Mafia as one of convenience, not one that's entirely needed. MS-13 feeds the Mexican Mafia with drug money and kills for them when they ask, all in exchange for protection while locked up in San Andreas state prisons. A similar fate to what the 18th Street Gang experienced to a lesser extent. 


How to roleplay as a resident living in a Mara's territory & Joining a Mara


If you intend to create a character that lives in a Mara territory, Decide early what kind of person you want your character to be along with how old he/she is going to be. (If you wish for your character to eventually be inducted into a Mara, he/she MUST be a teenager in most cases, there's usually no exceptions. If not? You can pick whatever age you'd like). 

 

First off decide what nationality you want your character to be from. A gang like Ms-13 or 18th Street is more likely to accept almost any central american nationality, aswell as Mexicans and in some cases, Blacks, Whites and Asians, but that'd require much more development on the joining member's part. Decide aswell on your background story and your character's personality traits. If he/she's Latino, Are your character's parents illegal? Is your character himself or herself illegal?  Does he or she speak English? Or just Spanish?

 

As for why your character would want to join a gang? Well here are the main reasons teenagers anywhere join street gangs, among other reasons.

 

  • Kids that want to be or feel tough
  • Kids that want to be respected
  • Kids that want to feel loved or needed
  • Kids that want to be apart of something bigger than them
  • Kids with broken families or mental issues
  • Kids that want to be feared by other people
  • They love feeling like they're powerful

 

Kids and Teenagers with these personality traits and similar personality traits are more likely to join a street gang or a Mara than a sheltered boy who knows nothing about street gangs or the way they operate. Most of these teenagers come from broken homes and have had some sort of traumatic event happen to them or somebody they know at some point in their lives. They often have little to no actual parent figures at home and thus turn to the streets and to the Maras searching for some sort of surrogate family.

 

Moving on, your character should 60% of the time be from the same neighbourhood as the Mara that you wish to have your character become apart of, the only real exception to this is if your character came from Central America or Mexico years beforehand as a young child.

 

Nobody is gonna go through a move from Chicago or Miami to the slums of Los Santos just to get affiliated to a street gang when he/she arrives, that's senseless and a shitty, lazy way of portraying a character. They'd most likely attend local schools with gang members. As a teenager from the ghetto, your character (Even non affiliated) would most likely very vividly understand the street gang culture that goes on within the neighbourhood, he'd hear shots and sirens at night, he'd see drunken cholos hanging out in alleyways and at the park. He'd know which gang is which, what their graffiti looks like aswell as who they don't get along with, where their territory is located and he'd most likely know exactly how the area he lives in is carved up when it comes to street gangs. 

 

It's not meant to be HARD for people  to become affiliated to a Mara, but it's best you dont approach leading members with face tattoos straight like that, you're not gonna get any respect that way. Instead, befriend the members that are more around your character's age range. They're your character's key into the gang. If he or she plays their cards right, your character should very easily become a full blown gang member. A good idea and something great to roleplay would for your character to be a tagger, basically a member of a local tagger crew, a young cholo or chola. (You could either form a tagger crew IC with a couple of friends, or roleplay that your character is simply a lone tagger/graffiti artist.) He or she would most likely come into contact with the gang eventually and over time be jumped in, leaving his or her crew (If he/she is in one ofc) behind to become a member of whatever gang resides in his neighbourhood.

 

Just know that your character doesn't actually have to kill anybody to become a valuable part of a Mara. MS-13 for example is heavily focused around money and they thrive through their drug sales. Yes, Maras are an extremely violent type of street gang, but that doesn't mean every single person that hangs out with or is affiliated with the gang is a murderous psychopath, which is why people need to consider WHAT they're gonna RP before they come IG and roleplay with the faction. 90% of young MS-13 and 18st members in LA haven't actually killed anybody yet, shot at them maybe. But not killed.

 

Lastly, please don't try to carry your character as a hardened gangbanger right off the bat. It's okay to be a rowdy teenager that's extremely down for his or her gang, but keep it realistic. Your character isn't a killer yet, he/she's a teenager from the slums of LS who most likely hangs out with a local street gang. Your goal at this point should be to befriend members of a gang of your choice and over time work your way into the gang. This process could take days, weeks or even months. Depending on a variety of factors. Your ultimate goal is to show interest in the gang when possible and to work your way towards a jump in.


The General Environment


The type of areas and environments that spawn street gangs are usually riddled with broken homes, low income families and drug abuse. As mentioned before, your character has most likely experienced or is currently experiencing at least one, if not all of these issues. Most people in these neighbourhoods are generally very distrustful of the police and some may even fear calling the police or fear the police in general. Maybe out of fear of being deported or fear of retaliation from the local street gangs.

 

It's highly recommended that you do some sort of research on neighbourhoods such as these, take Westlake/Macarthur Park, Mid City, Southern Koreatown (Pico Union / Rampart) and pretty much all of South Central Los Angeles as inspiration. You can find countless articles and stories about life in these neighbourhoods through a simple google search and it's highly recommended that you do.

 

Not only are these neighbourhoods plagued with fear, drugs and crime but they're also heavily populated by undesirable people (Such as robbers, kidnappers, rapists and child molesters) who prey on people within said communities. Roleplay proper precautions when RPing in the ghetto, basically remember that your character is legit from one of the most violent neighbourhoods in Los Santos. He/she's not walking through Vinewood or Rockford Hills.


Salvadoran/Central American slang:


Chucho - Word that means 'dog'. Used amongst friends often.

Maje - Means 'dude'. Used very often.

Vergiada - A beating. Generally a rather intense one.

Chivo – 'ok, fantastic, nice, amazing'

Ba firme - Similar to the phrase 'yeah, aight'. It's what you'd say if you don't particularly believe what you're being told, or if you don't particularly have anything to say about what you're being told.

Ba simon - Pretty much the same as the above. Pretty much what you say when you don't have anything to say, but you're letting the person know that you hear what they're saying.

Abaya - 'Go away'

Vaya pues - Literally tanslates to 'Go, then' Literally, “go then,” the expression is used in place of “okay.”

Ahora - 'Now'

Vicho or Vicha – 'Kid'. The word 'vicha' is used a lot amonst female Salvadorans.

Cipote or Cipota – teenager or young person

Puya – 'wow'. Pretty much expresses suprise.

Casaca - 'Bullshit'

Chero - A slang term referring to a close friend or ally.

Desmadre - This is also used in Mexico, it means “chaos” or “disorder”, usually accompanied by the verb “armar” which means “to assemble”. So if you hear “armar un desmadre”, you're likely about to witness a complete shit-show.

Dundo - Similar to “dumb”

Seco -  Translates as “dry” but is Salvadoran slang for someone skinny, and is said in a light hearted manner.

Cubreme - Cover me

Marero - A gangster. In LA the word Marero refers to an MS-13 member, in Central-America and Mexico the word Marero refers to a gang member in general.

Morra - A woman. Generally a dumb one

Que haces / Que haciendo - 'What's going on' or 'What are you doing?'

Q'vo - A greeting. It's like saying 'Hello' or 'Sup'

Cabal - 'Exactly!'

Vos - 'You'

Que pedo - What's up (Example: Que pedo con vos? = What's up with you?'

Pedo - Despite being used in the phrase 'que pedo', the word pedo has several meanings in Spanish. Most use the word to refer to an issue, a problem. (Example1: I've got pedo with that fool over there = I've got a problem that guy over there, I wanna do something about it) or an ongoing beef (Example2: North Rancho? Nah, that's Aztecas hood. We've got pedo wit them = North Rancho? No, That's a rival territory, we're involved in a beef with them)

Tunco - pig; usually refers to a part of a butchered pig.
Turco - derrogative term used to call Palestinians who migrated to El Salvador. This term comes from Turkish (person who comes from Turkey), since they had a Turkish passport which they had to use to enter the country.

Culero - Offensive and derogative term for a homosexual man (equivalent to f*g).
Culío - Afraid

Vá?! -Interjection meaning approximately, 'do you agree’ or simply stressing the affirmative statement to which it serves as an ending.
Vergón - positive exclamation, an equivalent of the slang 'cool’.

Puyar - To injure someone with a pointed and sharp object. Also, to speed up a vehicle or to urge someone to quicken its pace on doing something.

Cuetear - The act of shooting someone; usually entails an official government agent (police, military) shooting, not usually used for gang shootings. Also popularly used by the pre-war generations as a threat: -te voy a cuetear- = “I’m going to shoot (cuetear) you.”

Chota - Police, usually plural, as in 'la chota’ (the police).

Aguacatero - Said of a dog. A stray dog or one considered inferior or of mixed breed; a mutt.

Edited by Garras Up
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