"La Vida Loca" by Carlos "Wiro" Ruiz and many others, 1992.  The Barrios Origins  The origins of the 18th street gang can be traced back to Los Santos, San Andreas, during the early 1960s in the Downtown district.  The gang was originally made up of immigrants from different Latino countries, which was unusual for that time period. Bigger neighborhoods during that time would usually discriminate against other ethnic groups, choosing only to recruit and admit Mexicans into their rank