Jose Chavez set out one night with Voice of Youth director Tatiana Harrison to hear speak none other than Edward James Olmos, whom Jose knew mostly from Olmos' role as a senior Sureno gangster in the movie American Me. He thought he was just going to hear a speech about the dangers of gang violence and the struggle to defeat this national problem. What you are about to hear is the far more personal, private struggle of a young man who has a very personal, private interaction with a very public person. Terms you may not recognize in the piece: the "Surenos" and "Nortenos" are rival Mexican-American gangs in Northern California. "Scrap" is a gravely derogatory term for Sureno. "Chapete" is gravely derogatory term for Norteno.

Jose Chavez set out one night with Voice of Youth director Tatiana Harrison to hear speak none other than Edward James Olmos, whom Jose knew mostly from Olmos' role as a senior Sureno gangster in the movie American Me. He thought he was just going to hear a speech about the dangers of gang violence and the struggle to defeat this national problem. What you are about to hear is the far more personal, private struggle of a young man who has a very personal, private interaction with a very public person. Terms you may not recognize in the piece: the "Surenos" and "Nortenos" are rival Mexican-American gangs in Northern California. "Scrap" is a gravely derogatory term for Sureno. "Chapete" is gravely derogatory term for Norteno.