Ethnic Studies

Pachucos are Mexican American youth, who are generally ages of thirteen to twenty-two who belonged to juvenile gangs between 1930s to the 1950s.they, developed their own subculture during this period and were located in the southwestern United States. They were generally referred to as zoot- suites by mainstream media due to the distinctive clothes that they wore. It is speculated that the origin of pachuquismo as it being connected to pachucos and Spanish gypsies, between pachucos and lower class mixed blood soldiers and civilians who had settled the Borderlands during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Mostly they were associated with the social dislocation that was associated with rapid process of urbanization that was experienced by Mexican Americans during 1930s through the mid twentieth century. During the era of 1930s and 1950s, the pachuco youths in urban Texas were known for their style of dress, idioms of speech and countercultural activities .accessories to the pachuco look was inclusive of hair that was groomed into ducktails that was kept down with pomade, they had tattoos on their arms and hands and a concealed weapon like a knife (León, A. D. 2012).

Due to their double-marginalization stemming from these youth and the ethnicity, there was a close association of pachuco subculture and gang subculture. Many members of the dominant Anglo culture therefore assumed that anyone dressed in the pachuco style was a gang member. They were generally viewed as criminals as seen in the way they conducted themselves. They were engaged in criminal behaviors such as gang rivalry, harassment of Mexican and Anglo-American citizens, vandalism and killings. They organized riots that were labeled Zoot-suit Riots which had Los Angeles as their setting in 1943 (León, A. D. 2012). they emerged due to youth hostility towards the traditions of the older generation, racism against Mexican Americans, spread of drugs into Mexican-American enclaves and the process of Americanism gone awry. With the zoo-suite style prevailing among the American youth at large which was at the era of the World War 2 there was an increase in juvenile delinquency. First because they were widely known for their juvenile records though however some of those juveniles were more than just imitators who dressed in the pachuco dress of the day or sought to emulate the pachuco’s antiestablishment attitude. They were known for their series of riots that erupted in Los Angeles, Carlifornia during World War 2 between sailors and soldiers stationed in the city and Pachucos gangs that fostered the idea of gang membership and gang activity. They were known for this riots that were racially charged. Their style was hence associated with gang membership, gang activity and violence as well as unpatriotic behavior and promiscuity.

The seed of pachucos was sown during the World War 2 era by discriminatory social youth and economic practices, provincial smugness and self- assigned racial superiority. The whirlwind that came with the pachuco’s youth whose greatest crime was being born into environments which by various kinds of social ostracism and prejudicial economic subjugation that made them become known gangsters. The pachuco subculture declined in the 1960s but saw emergence of other styles like the Chicano. The pachuco style left a lasting impact in people and has greatly influenced how really how the Mexican Americans were viewed today. Gangs have become a fixture in the Mexican American youth and with that come mind altering drugs, their daily activities and habits are just like the normal youth and adolescent socializing. They are education is poor and with no job history they are often unemployed and result to aggressive and violent thoughts. Therefore all the Mexican American youths are labeled as gangsters due to the subculture that was born in the earl years. It is a stereotype that all the Mexican American youth are gangsters and this is a great issue that they face since some of them are not even affiliated to any gang but they are still marked gangsters. This has also led to many of them turning to criminal activities because they are known to be criminals even if they are not (Diego, J.V. 1997).

References

León, A. D. (2012). Pachucos. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved November 15, 2012, from http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/pqp01

Diego, J.V. (1997).Learning from gangs: The Mexican American Experience. Retrieved November 15, 2012 from http://www.ericdigests.org/1997-4/gangs.htmSanchez, G.I (1999) .Pachucos in the Making (pg 13-20).Retrieved November 15, 2012 from http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5155/