Youth Groups and Youth Savers: Gangs, Crews, and the Rise of Filipino American

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Youth Groups and Youth Savers: Gangs, Crews, and the Rise of Filipino American Youth Culture in Los Angeles A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology by Bangele Deguzman Alsaybar 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3302589 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3302589 Copyright 2008 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 E. Eisenhower Parkway PO Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © Copyright by Bangele Deguzman Alsaybar 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The dissertation of Bangele Deguzman Alsaybar is approved. Karen Brodkin Jack Katz lan, Committee ChairDougli University of California, Los Angeles 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEDICATION For Ban Alsaybar, my beloved father, friend, and guiding light, who inspired me more than he ever realized. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION, 1 Deconstructing the Hegemonic Narrative: A View From Within, 6 Interpretive Framework, 8 Pre-Immigration Gang-Style Socialization, 10 The Barkada and the American Fraternity, 12 Towards An Anthropology of Youth: Youth As Producers of Culture, 15 Objectivist vs. Social Constructionist, 17 The Invisible Middle Class Gang, 18 The Youth Savers, 20 The Social Service Agency in Foucault’s Carceral Network, 21 Moral Panics, 23 Organization of the Study, 27 Review of Related Literature, 28 Methodology, 33 Ethnographic Procedures, 35 II. THE BARKADA IN PHILIPPINE SOCIETY, 38 Positive and Negative Aspects, 41 Barkada, Fraternity, and Gang, 43 Neighborhood and Village Peer Group, 44 School-based Barkadas (In High School and College Fraternities), 47 Street Gangs in Metro Manila, 53 Synthesis, 56 III. FILIPINO IMMIGRATION AND SETTLEMENT IN LOS ANGELES: A SOCIO-HISTORICAL NOTE, 60 Spanish and American Colonial Rule, 61 Coming to America, 66 Some Demographic Data on Filipino Immigration (1960-1990), 67 Filipino American Community and Settlement Patterns, 68 A Highly-Educated, Relatively Affluent Community, 73 Despite Highly-Educated Work Force, Community Not Without Problems, 74 Synthesis, 76 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. IV. GROUP FORMATION AND HISTORY OF THE BARKADA IN LOS ANGELES: CHOLO HOSTILITY FUELS THE RISE OF SATANAS, 78 Post 1965: The Rise of All-Filipino Fighting Barkadas, 80 Structure and Internal Dynamics of the Filipino American Gang in Los Angeles, 93 A Coalition of Age-Sets: Levels of Inclusiveness and Structural Poses of the Satanas, 97 Two-Boy Buddies, 100 The Clique, 101 The Coalition of Cliques, 102 Individual vs. Group Leadership, 109 Synthesis, 114 V. RITUALS OF MANHOOD: FIGHTING, PINOY PRIDE, AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF ETHNICITY AND MASCULINITY, 118 Jumping In, 120 The One-On-One, 123 Gangbanging, 125 Partying and Sexual Socialization, 130 Circumcision: A Rite of Manhood, 134 Pinoy Pride As Ideology, 135 Symbolic Expressions of Identity, 137 Dress and Hairstyles, 137 Tattoos and Body Markings, 139 Placa, 141 Graffiti, 141 Language and Talk, 145 Body Language and Handsigns, 145 Synthesis, 148 VI. THE YOUTH SAVERS: PROCESSING AND MANAGING TROUBLESOME KIDS, 151 Playing Sipa, 154 “Uncle” Royal Morales: Transnational Pilipino American, 154 “Auntie” Helen Brown, 163 Funding, Staffing, and Programming Through the Turbulent Years, 172 Combating the Gang Problem, 178 Who’s In, Who’s Not? 188 Instruments of Judgment: Intake Forms and Other Questionnaires, 191 “Bring In the Numbers,” 193 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. “Give ‘Em Ethnic Pride,” 197 “Walking the Fine Line” (Between the Cops and the Kids), 200 Synthesis, 205 VII. “WHO’S TAKING CARE OF OUR CHILDREN?”: THE COMMUNITY PRESS, YOUTH ACTIVISM, AND STUDENT WRITING, 210 Evoking Negative Emotions, 212 Citation of Expert Opinions and Use of Official Statistics, 215 Agreement With Structuralist/Objectivist Theories of Gang Causality, 217 A Community In Denial About Gangs: Focus on the Family, 218 Youth Saving Youth: Student Activists Against Gangs, 220 Synthesis, 233 VIII. PARTY CULTURE: NETWORK AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF FUN AND EXCITEMENT AMONG FILIPINO AMERICAN YOUTH GROUPS, 236 The Gang/Crew Crossover, 237 Theta Delta Beta (“The Dark Boys”): From Party Crew and Basketball Crew to Filipino American Fraternity, 241 The Rise of the Filipino American Club Scene, 244 Network and Social Organization, 247 The Party Crew, 248 “Spread the Word:” Legend’s Networking Strategy, 253 The Three Basic Types of Parties, 256 The House Party, 256 The Flyer Party, 259 The Club Scene Spawns Youth Entrepreneurs, 263 The Import Show-Off, 264 Synthesis: First Generation vs. Second Generation Strategies for Identity Construction Within a Male-Dominated Culture, 264 IX. CONCLUSION, 269 APPENDICES, 275 ENDNOTES, 283 BIBLIOGRAPHY, 291 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have come to fruition without the help I received from academia, the street and club scenes, the social service agency, family and friends. I feel fortunate and truly blessed to have a committee that gave me great encouragement and support throughout all the phases of graduate work. From my advisor, Dr. Douglas Hollan, I learned everything I had to know about the “normal” and the “abnormal” across cultures. He encouraged me to utilize “barkada” rather than “gang” as analytical framework. Patient and understanding, he had a way of lifting my morale when things seemed bleak. I learned some things from him that have practical application in the larger world. Professor Karen Brodkin toughened me up in the qualifying writtens and taught me to be wary of labels like “deviant” or “dysfunctional.” She and Professor Kyeyoung Park inspired me to seek an alternative to conventional approaches that tend to objectify youth and focus rather narrowly on crime. From Professor Katz, my outside member, I derived many insights that broadened my understanding of methodological and epistemological issues underlying the study of gangs. I am indebted to Professor Philip Newman, my first anthropologist-mentor at UCLA, for ably guiding me through my initial Filipino American gang study, and to Professor Jean-Paul Dumont of George Mason University, for sending me a copy of his then unpublished paper on the Visayan male barkada. I am forever indebted to the scores of youth—whether members of “gangs” or “crews”—who walked me through the Filipino American youth cultural terrain in Los vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Angeles. This dissertation work is founded upon an earlier study that would not have been possible without the help of Solow and many other homeboys who shall remain unnamed, for obvious ethical reasons. I thank my nephews in West Covina: Mark, Ritchie, Chris, Ian, their girlfriends and crewmates, for bringing me into the vibrant network of crews and gangs engaged in the pursuit of fun and excitement. A hearty shout out to Isaiah Dacio, known to legions of radio listeners and fans as “Icy Ice,” and David Gonzales, then the main promoter of Legend Entertainment, for orienting me to the club and car scenes. I am indebted to the late great Uncle Roy Morales for imparting to me the value of service to community and pride in being Filipino American. I treasure his Pilipino American Experience class and the times we shared at community advocacy conferences, SIPA (Search to Involve Filipino Americans) fishing trips, and lunches at Little Ongpin. I owe a lot to my young colleague at SIPA, counselor Allen Terre, who connected me to the street world. I acknowledge his contribution to the creative process that gave birth to this dissertation. I drew much from the wisdom and experience of former SIPA directors Meg Thornton and Liza Javier, current director Joel Jacinto, and former counselors Isaias Paja, Gilbert Ayuyao, Teresa Valente, Lisa Zarri, and the late Eddie Villanueva. A special word of appreciation goes to all of them for their support and for helping me comprehend the workings of a social service agency within the state, its programs of control and prevention, and the relationship between counselors and youth clients. viii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. I am grateful to Director Don Nakanishi of the Asian American Studies Center

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