Portraits Of…
70’s & 80’s CHOLAS Culture

Vatos get the glory, but we all know it’s the Cholas that hold everything down. I have always had a fasination with gang culture and the people who lived it! Living in Southern California in the 70’s & 80’s, it was all around me, even though I was never a part of one. I had family members that found their self worth in either the Bloods or the Crips, so set claiming was not forgein to me. Latino gangs played by their own set of rules, meaning they had different rules and a sense of fashion than their African American counter parts. In my book, Cholas were Deathrock before there was even the term Deathrock. Their steez has always looked rad to me, from the pancake make up to the chola braclets to the hairspray-drenched hair to their heavily starched jeans. These urban female warriors of gangsterism would not take any shit! I remember seeing Latino girls hand out beatdowns to anyone they thought dissed them or their V-13 Familia. Every hood had its flavor of dressing, but certain things remained the same. You can see the of Chola culture impact on mainstream culture even to this day. More than just beating fools up, these young women shared a bond of loyality that could not be broken. Put on some oldies, scroll down and celebrate underground inner city culture!