Prison Gangs One: Mexican Mafia V. Nuestra Famila

            The streets are not the only place that you will find gangs, it is the prison yards that further entrench you into the gang life. For some gangs you have not made it until you have put in your time in prison. Many of the younger gang members who have been involved in gang activity for most of their life strive to, one day, go to prison like their older gang counter parts. To gang members it is a way to earn their “stripes.”

The first California prison gang was believed to have been established in 1957 at the Duel Vocational Institution (DVI); the gang that formed was the Mexican Mafia. (Hunt, Riegel, Morales, &Waldorf Pg.399) The members of the Mexican Mafia were Hispanics and were mainly from the Southern part of California. A street gang, know as the “Surenos," are linked to the Mexican Mafia to carry out business in the streets. This is a very dangerous gang, so much so that even the members themselves are not safe from the rules of the Mexican Mafia.

For years the Mexican Mafia terrorized the Hispanics from the Northern area of California. Finally the Hispanics from the North formed their own prison gang. The gang became known as Nuestra Familia, formed in the mid 1960’s, in a correctional facility in Soledad, California. (Valdez Pg.41) As their rivals, Nuestra Familia also has a link to a street gang. The “Nortenos,” while also a prison gang, are Nuestra Familia’s link to the streets.

As the history between these two rival prison gangs grows, alliances were formed. The Nuestra Familia aligned with another prison gang, by the name of the Black Gorilla Family, and the Mexican Mafia aligned with The Aryan brotherhood. (Valdez Pg.41) The violence and the hate between these groups will continue to grow, along with the number of recruits.

    Hunt, Geoffrey, Stephanie Riegel, Tomas Morales, and Dan Waldorf. "Changes in Prison Culture: Prison Gangs and the Case of the "Pepsi Generation"" Social Problems 40.3 (1993): 399

Valdez, Alfonso J. "Prison Gangs 101." Corrections Today (Feb 2009): 41