Alejandro Gutierrez walks along the dark streets of East Los Angeles carrying twenty grams of marijuana in one pocket, and a pocket knife in the other. A bag boy for the gang Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, he hides his tattoos on his way to meet a buyer, so that way he can prevent a stray bullet from a rival gang lodging into his head. He waits at the corner of Beverly and Wilcox when a big black Chevy Tahoe pulls up. Alejandro hops in the car, counts his money, hands over the drugs, gets out, and walks south on Wilcox.
As Alejandro walks he smells the spices coming from a taqueria, the sizzling carnitas and roasted poblano peppers make his mouth water. This reminds him of his mother and sister still living in Santa Tecla, El Salvador, the home he left when he was only thirteen. His sister today turned twelve, which means a lot back home. It means if she doesn't get out, a young girl like her, she’ll be a prime target for gangs there to force her into prostitution. When Alejandro made it to Los Angeles, and his cousin Luis was already a part of MS-13, Luis told him that by joining the gang, it would help protect his family back home. It was an easy decision for him to make, he couldn't bear the idea of his sister being another one of those gang girls.
He remembers the days when he was a young boy walking home from his school, and seeing graffiti across houses indicating when he was in Barrio 18 or MS-13 territory. He fled Santa Tecla to escape being forced into a gang, but when he arrived in Los Angeles, his future gang life was already decided. He wonders that if this would’ve been the same fate if he never left, actually being there for his sister, not having to be extra careful of getting caught so they don’t send him back, not feeling like the gang life was his only chance.
Alejandro continues down the street until he arrives at the apartment he stays at with his two cousins Luis and Roberto, both higher up officials in MS-13. He climbs to the second landing, walks into the apartment and a wall of marijuana smoke practically knocks him down. As he proceeds to his bedroom, the door is locked, so Luis must have one of the MS-13 girls in there with him. Instead, he walks into the kitchen, grabs a cigarette, lights it, and walks to the roof of the building. Alejandro tells everyone that it’s got the best view in East LA, and where Barrio 18 can’t get a nice shot on him. As he twists the cigarette in his mouth, and watches the birds fly above him, he dreams of being free again. Not having the memories of being abused and tormented on “La Bestia” as he rode here, not watching a young woman being raped in exchange to get her across the border, not having a rival gangsters blood on his hands, not having to always watch his back. But Alejandro has no choice, he is in this for life. The gang was the only thing he could turn to when he got here, and it’s the only thing he’s got now.
