Large Hazard Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 (edited) Avenues (Avenues 13/Aves/Avenidas) is the largest gang in northern Los Santos, as well as one of the oldest. The Avenues trace their roots back to the 1940s, beginning as a number of separate, very small youth gangs located around Tierra Alta Park. These gangs mostly took their names from the many avenues winding around the park and its surrounding areas (43rd Avenue, Avenue 57, Avenue 60s et cetera). When these varrios formed into a single larger gang, its cliques retained their names. The Northside Avenues, as they are sometimes now referred to in contrast to the Southside Avenues, are one of the most criminally active gangs in Los Santos County. The Avenues have strong ties to the Mexican Mafia, with at least a half dozen of their own members having risen to the ranks of the Eme. During the 2000s, this was the most ‘carnales’ hailing from a single gang within the organization. The area around Tierra Alta Park is considered a Mexican Mafia stronghold. Avenues members are indoctrinated in Mexican Mafia rhetoric and many are directly associated to Mexican Mafia crews. This influence is so strong that even prostitutes and food cart vendors working along the avenues are subject to Mexican Mafia tax, collected and enforced by the Avenues. Being situated in a scenic suburban highland, the territory of the Avenues began to see the first signs of gentrification in the mid 1980s. As the cost of living increased and the availability of low-cost housing began to shrink, families from areas under the Avenidas sphere of influence began moving into the southside of the city. Not only did these emigrating families increase the Hispanic and Latino demographic in South Los Santos, but they also contributed to the rise of Hispanic gangs in the area, including the Southside Avenues. Two 43rd Avenue members, Matthew “Bug Eyes” Estrada and Jorge “Elmo” Flores became the two most notable among original Southside Avenues members as they organized not only former Northside Avenues members into a whole new gang but also recruited the Hispanic youth in the area to form the first cliques claiming ‘Southside Avenues’. The early years of Southside Avenues resembled those of other “splinter gangs” and “new generation varrios” which sprung up around Los Santos in the 1980s. These new gangs were born into an era in which gangs were already violent and highly organized. They did not share the more humble beginnings of older gangs, which originated more as youth groups than as “gangs” the way they are known today. Southside Avenues was surrounded by older, more established gangs and underwent what is sometimes referred to by veterans as their “baptism by fire” - a period of intense violence as the gang fought to carve out its territory. Unlike some other “new generation” gangs born around the same time, the Southside Avenues had the benefit of tutelage under already-seasoned veterans from the Northside varrio. Young members were taught how to fight, how to shoot, how to care for weapons and how to profiteer from crime by their “big homies”. Southside Avenues could also call upon the Northside Avenues for some support in their conflicts, which usually manifested in weapons and bullets - which the older and much larger gang had in abundance and could spare for their younger cousins. This early assistance went a great distance in solidifying a permanent alliance between the Northside and Southside Avenues which still exists. By the mid 90s, demographics in ‘Metro LS’ had begun to swing. Strawberry became a crossroads for Latino and Hispanic factory workers due to the opening of new industrial sites and the abundance of cheap housing. Due to this shift in demographics, Southside Avenues went through a period dubbed by a few older members as “El Abrazo” or “The Embrace” where scores of local youth were being jumped into the gang to bolster the ranks and secure control of the area. Following in the footsteps of their northern counterparts, the gang was involved in anything from the extortion of street vendors to the distribution of firearms and narcotics. The violent retaliation against rivals and competitors became a double edged sword for the gang, on one hand it served as an intimidation tool against would be competitors but on the other it put them on the map with law enforcement. By the mid 2000s, the Southside Avenues gang became the target of Operation Super Tuesday where a series of raids throughout the Strawberry area led to the arrest of 67 members of the Southside Avenues gang. While street operations were greatly damaged and some cliques left defunct due to Operation Super Tuesday, the gang’s influence within the correctional system grew as Southern Avenues members took every chance they could to prove themselves and advance their rank within the sureño underworld. It is thought that many of the gang’s veterans took this opportunity to attempt to catch up with their Northside cousins in racking up bodies in prison yards across the state. There was a period in the late 2000s during which Southside Avenues members had a reputation for raising their hand for violent missions (‘jales’ or ‘pegadas’), which would see at least a dozen transferred to the Secure Housing Unit in Paleto Bay State Prison, validated as Mexican Mafia associates. This reputation faded during the 2010s as members were paroled, released, killed or segregated and Southside Avenues members were perpetrating about as much violence as any other gang behind prison walls. Between the collective actions and reputations of both Avenues gangs, however, the name ‘Avenidas’ is still synonymous in Los Santos County jail facilities with “taking care of business” and “putting in work”. In the present day, the Southside Avenues gang finds itself with a new generation of street leaders as its more senior members send their orders out from various correctional facilities around the state. Younger members trying to prove themselves continue to emulate the brutality of the “varrio legends” that came before them. The Southside Avenues have begun to recover from a lethal combination of gang injunctions originating in the ‘race war’ era of the early 21st century, followed by a series of federal indictments which targeted both of Los Santos’ Avenues gangs and their connections to the Mexican Mafia. The generation following those who endured these low periods are evidently conscious of the weak state the gang is considered to be in by both law enforcement and rivals, and are actively striving to repair the varrio’s reputation through both the traditional ways (gang warfare and visible ‘representing’) and more innovative methods. Operation Safe Streets investigators of the LSSD have noted a trend among current-generation Southside Avenues of a focus toward criminal profiteering, which may be influenced from ‘on high’ by gang veterans and leaders who are attempting to keep their ‘young homies’ from repeating what they see as their own mistakes. Out of character This faction intends to portray realistic Sureno roleplay and to emulate a realistic and plausible culture. This faction wishes to cooperate with and work to enhance the experience of existing groups. Individuals taking part in direct roleplay with this faction expected to accept the consequences of their actions, especially those that result in a legitimate CK. Portrayal remains our utmost priority and individuals will be expected to maintain a high standard of roleplay whether they're a permanent member of this faction or just passing by. Play your character intelligently and most of all realistically and you won't have any complaints. Edited March 26, 2021 by Shanks 33 Link to comment
Recommended Posts