Ricardo Lopez:  

Ricky Lopez Copyright © 1995 Rico+Son! It all started at fourteen years old. I was a gang member. My gang was named Latino¿s Pride. We were thirty strong and the leader was Rudy Pena. He was very smart and wise. I, Ricky Lopez, was good with my hands and feet, so they made me the Sergeant of Arms. My Rosa was in my gang too. She was very attractive, and still is to this day. I remember the fun we would have partying, drinking, dancing and of course, low riding in our low rider cars. I had a '73 Pontiac, lowered to the ground. It had crome rims, a chain steering wheel and a high-powered stereo with a power booster that did the job. That all ended when another gang gave us trouble. Its name was East Side Defenders. They were made up of young Latino men at the time. They wanted to rumble. So we went for it and they lost the battle. We kept on doing what we wanted to do. Then in the night, there rang out a shot that ended my friend¿s life. He got shot in the head. That friend was Rudy Pena from Latinos Pride. It was very sad as I held him dying in my arms. After all this I came onto the Plateau of the living...Expand for more