Latin Angels

The Latin Angels are a suburban made street gang that came up in the one of the hardest suburbs in Chicago land Cicero, Illinois.  A small partying crew of low rider fanatics got together to hang out and called their crew the “Latin Angels” in the year 1987.  The crew was put together by Sal and Alberto at 13th and 48th and by Atracta Church at 18th and 48th.

For four or five years the Latin Angels continued on as a party crew that avoided the normal gang violence and pressures to join a gang. This was easier to do in the late 80s and very early 90s because the only major gangs in Cicero at the time was Latin Kings, Two Two Boys, Two Six, Twelfth Street Players and Park Boys. The Latin Angels could not help but to get along with the Two Two Boys in the neighborhood that showed the Angels respect.  It was not until 1993 when several new Chicago based gangs moved into Cicero causing very heavy tensions on the streets.  Everything would get turned upside down and the Latin Angels existence as they knew it would permanently change on Tuesday July 20, 1993 on a hot afternoon out in front of the Parkholme Pool at 1820 West 51^st Court (18^th Street and 51^st Court).

At about 4:00 P.M., the Latin Angels were hanging outside the pool when a carload of Latin Kings in a red Cavalier pulled up to converse with the Latin Angels because the Latin Angels were cool with the Latin Kings as well.  One of the Kings talking to the Angels used to be a Two Two Boy from Cicero that moved to the suburb of Summit and flipped to be a Latin King in Summit.  In the middle of conversation a Two Two Boy came up throwing gang signs and throwing down the crown (disrespecting the Latin King hand sign) and shouting offensive things about Latin Kings.  The Latin Kings shouted things back then pulled away.  At that point the Latin Kings thought the Latin Angels had joined the Folk Nation so they were instantly marked by these Kings.  The Latin Kings then circled around the pool several times in the red Cavalier until they got reinforcements with two other cars that pulled up and opened fire out of their back seats, in all, 5 youths were mowed down by the gun fire and 4 out of 5 of them survived the shooting.  No Two Two Boys were shot in the drive by shooting which was the intended target.  A 12 year boy was grazed while using the diving board, a 14 year old girl was shot in the leg, a 15 year old boy was shot in the arm and leg, a 21 year old man was shot in the stomach, but worst off was 15 year old Edward “Lalo”Jacquez that was shot in the chest and died.  Jacquez was the first Latin Angel to be killed on the streets and it was at the hands of the Latin Kings.

After July 20, 1993 the Latin Angels now became a gang banging crew that now gang banged on the Latin Kings as their arch enemy; however, this would not last long because the Two Sixs were in the area in very heavy numbers and began disrespecting the Latin Angels and this started a war with the Two Sixs as well.  The war escalated fast to the point where they were shooting at each other but Two Six was much stronger in numbers and the Latin Angels had no allies to assist them because the Two Two Boys left the area and did not back them up.  The Latin Angels then withdrew from the area as well.

At this point the Latin Angels were still in heavy mourning over Lalo’s death but now they had other issues to weigh in on, first, there was the bigger issue with Two Six.  Another issue is the Two Two Boys abandoned them and when the LAs really looked back on that day Lalo got killed they came to the realization that the Two Two Boys started that drama with the Latin Kings that day and dragged them into their war with the Kings.  One of the Latin Angels was also incarcerated for stealing a car and Latin Kings offered him protection in prison.  The Latin Angels took in all these factors, especially the prison factor and decided to forgive the Latin Kings and the Latin Kings took the LAs under their wing and brought them into the People Nation in the same year of 1993.  The Latin Angels showed their allegiance to the Latin Kings by becoming “Almighty” Latin Angels.  And from there on the Angels went to war with Maniac Latin Disciples , Two Six and La Raza in the neighborhood as they set up turf at Roosevelt Road to 14^th Street and 50^th Avenue to Laramie.

Please send in old school pics.   If you have any late 1980s or very early 1990s Angels pics, please send them in!

Questions:

1. Who was the founder?
2. What was the original set in Parkholme?
3. Who were all the leaders in the 1990s and what years?

Known sections of the Latin Angels past and present

Suburbs

Carpentersville (C-Ville) 24^th & Golfview

Cicero Roosevelt to 14^th, 50^th Ave to Laramie, Parkholme area