Nortena

Contrary to the first definition here, a Nortena is NOT a Blood, not even close. The Nortenos and the Bloods have nothing in common except for the fact that they both claim the color red. The Bloods was originated by and is primarily an African American gang, whereas Norte was founded by and is made up primarily of hispanics. The Bloods originated from and are centralized in Los Angeles and their rivals are the Crips. Nortenos originated in Northern California (hence "Norte" which means North) and their rivals are the Surenos (Southern CA, "Sur"=South). Ironically, both gangs were founded originally for positive purposes, the Bloods were to unite, protect, and to advance the interests of the disenfranchised black population of particular neighborhoods in Los Angeles, whereas Nuestra Familia/Norte was formed in order to protect its members from the mistreatment by what used to be the only Mexican prison gang, in California at least, the Mexican Mafia (Surenos are aligned with or a part of, not sure of the exact relationship, but as far as I know, Surenos are a part of the MM - keep in mind that there are prison "versions" of these gangs, then there are the street counterparts to those prison gangs, and the names vary depending, i.e. Nuestra Familia in prison=Norte on the street and MM in prison=Sureno on the street, but these are also interchangeable, I believe). Ironically, again, that group, the prison Mexican Mafia, had originally been formed (possibly under a different name, I can't remember) to protect its hispanic members from the rampant mistreatment and intolerable abuse (i.e. beatings, false accusations, racism, and all around horrible sh**) by the employees of California prison system which is widely considered the most corrupt prison system in the country and was condemned by Amnesty International and the United Nations, among others. Sadly, EXPONENTIALLY more Nortenos are killed by other Nortenos than are killed by rivals, sparking the phrase "The worst enemy of a Norteno is another Norteno."