Original subtitles

Ain't nobody talking when I'm talking, fellows, so shut the fuck up!

The following items you place in the envelope as I call them off.

An empty wallet. Legal paperwork.

First three out of the tank.

Line up single file along the bench. Let"s go.

Open your mouth. Stick out your tongue.

All right. Do your ears. One at a time.

Okay, bend your heads over, shake them out with your fingers.

Put your hands above your head.

Hands out in front of you. Over. Move those fingers.

Reach down and lift up your nut sack.

Drop your nut sacks, and skin back your dick.

Turn around.

One foot at a time, pick it up and wiggle the toes.

Other foot.

Bend over, grab your ass,

spread your cheeks and give me two good coughs.

Stand right there.

J ULIE: You"re like two people.

Inmate Montoya Santana?

One is like a kid.

Doesn't know how to dance.

Step this way.

Doesn't know how to make love.

That's the one I cared about.

Step inside.

But the other one...

The other one I hate.

The one who knows, the one who has his rap down,

who knows how to run drugs.

Who kills people!

Until now, I would"ve thought it a sign of weakness

to even listen to what you said to me that night.

But I see that you were right.

I am two people.

One was born when I met you.

The other one began in a downtown L.A. tattoo parlor.

My father, Pedro,

was showing his love for my mother, Esperanza. Por Vida.

For life.

My mother was a beautiful woman.

They were pachucos, zoot-suiters, and proud of it.

In June of 1943 America was at war.

Not only overseas, but with itself.

The racial tension was running high against anyone that was different.

Excuse me!

Esperanza!

Is it new?

For me, esa, put together with a lot of love!

Y eah, esa. Vamonos.

MAN ON RADIO: Take note congressmen and senators, we don't need a third front.

Read all about it! Get your paper.

Come on. Come on, let's get out of here.

Let"s bring our boys home to fight those zoot-suited dandies

that are making it unsafe to walk our streets today.

Last night in Detroit six people were killed and many injured

when army, navy and marines clashed with zoot-suited thugs.

Stores and property were destroyed.

Riots have been reported throughout our country.

Come on, guys, you don't want to start any trouble.

Get your late Times.

Hey, it's time to be moving, ladies.

Let's get Pedro and get over to the dance and off of these streets.

De volada.

On the night of the Zoot Suit Riots,

Pedro and Esperanza had a date.

Hey, let's see the finished product, hombre. You're gonna like it, esa.

Now you'll always be a part of me.

Chingao!

Este vato's a fine artist, ese.

It's beautiful!

Órale. And so is the price.

Hey, we better be hatting, ese.

The streets are hot, hombre.

If you got a problem being on the streets wearing your colors...

Oh yeah, between the Hearst newspapers and Walter Winchell on the radio,

you'd think the pinche war was right here in L.A., hombre.

It's getting hot all over America, carnal.

I'm grooving with my woman down the boulevard.

She's so fine. My ruca's all mine.

No telling what time I may get home 'cause I'm here.

Say that fast three times, ese.

Let him go. Leave him alone!

Leave him alone! No!

Leave him alone! Esperanza!

No! No! Don't let go!

God damn, no! Stop!

Esperanza, Esperanza! No!

Pedro! Pedro!

Esperanza!

Come on over here. No!

Come on, get out of here! Let's give him a haircut.

Esperanza!

Don't touch me!

Break it up!

No!

Esperanza! Esperanza!

Esperanza! Esperanza!

Esperanza!

Zoot suit, new suit.

It sounded all the same.

I had no clue what they"d been through.

It was a mystery.

But to be 16 in '59,

staying away from home even if I didn't have a dime,

'cause the old man was just waiting

to give me his piece of time,

drove me to the street just to save my mind.

What's happening? Don't forget the spark plug, homes.

I'll see you guys later.

What's up? Hey, chico? Santana.

Hey, chico, I'm not gonna make it, all right, homes? I'm gonna go eat.

Later. All right, man, later.

¿Abuelito, què hubo?

į La puerta, la puerta!

You got it. Puerta, la puerta. You're always nagging.

There. You happy?

You get your coffee? Yes.

Good, good. Hey, Mom.

You're home, huh? You should respect your grandfather, huh?

I didn't say anything mean.

¿Y tú, què? How you doing? Okay.

How was your day? Good.

J ust go sit down. I'm hungry.

Paulito, how're you doing?

Turn that thing off.

You know what "off" means?

It was easy to blame my father for everything I did.

Isn't that the life of every kid?

Shit. Took me a long time to understand that rhyme.

J. D.

Hey, come on, J. D.

What are we gonna do about Mundo?

He's young, he's weak.

But I think we ought to let him in, show him the way, you know?

Órale.

Come here. Give me your hand.

You know what, ese?

White Fence, Maravilla, Lomita,

they've been around a lot longer than us, you know?

It's cool.

We're finally getting into our own, you know.

Gaining respect.

Our families, that's all we got, ese.

When we were kids, belonging felt good.

But having respect, that feels even better.

You know, La Primera lives through us, ese.

It gives to us. It is us.

We make it, carnal.

We don't fake you, we just take you.

'Cause La Primera's ese.

Always has been, always will be.

Órale. Órale.

Welcome to the clica, carnal.

Coming to terms with the lessons one learns

through the choices one makes is not easy.

Mundo, me and J. D.

Boy, were we crazy!

Oye. I gotta be making it back to my pad or my mother's gonna whip my ass.

Wait up, okay?

We'll be hatting with you.

Let's take the short cut.

Hey, no need to, man.

We don't need to nothing.

We do what we do, ese.

¿Entiendes, Mendes?

Hey, fuck it, ese.

Get on down the road, ese.

Órale. Órale!

Shit! Órale. Where you vatos from?

Bullshit.

Fuck you! Primera lives!

Órale, ese.

There they are!

Oh, shit! Come on, let's go!

Putos!

Shit! Fuck!

Órale! Åndale! Get those guys!

Shit!

We're surrounded! Come on, down the alley.

To the left, homes. We'll meet at the boulevard.

H urry up, J. D. H urry up, ese.

You all right?

Come on, J. D. Go!

Come on, Mundo, let's go! H urry up.

Go, go, go!

Open that door, homes. Come on, carnal. Here they come!

Got it. Come on!

Come on. Come on. They're coming! Close the door.

Here they come.

Órale! Órale.

iOye! Where're you vatos going? Shit!

Santana, please, man.

What are you laughing at? We gotta get out of here, man!

God damn it, turn that fuck...

Órale.

Oh shit!

Don't move!

No, Mundo, don't, man! Don't!

This is the last time you will steal and destroy my property!

You hear? I said, don't move!

J. D., stop, man, stop!

My leg!

I can't feel my leg!

J. D., come on!

Go call an ambulance, man. Go call a fucking ambulance!

I told him not to move.

H urry up!

Thought I knew it all. Ended up in juvie hall.

And the shit got even deeper.

To the right.

Open up your mouth.

Okay, pick your clothes up.

Take it on down to the property room

to exchange your clothing.

Don't fucking move, you fuck!

Don't make a fucking sound. Hear me?

Does it feel good?

Fuck, yeah.

You say one word about this,

there'll be shit on my knife,

not on my dick!

Fucker.

Damn you, you fucking asshole!

Kill him! Kill him.

Killing that first night got me the worst that juvie had to offer.

An extended sentence with a guaranteed bus ride

to the big time as soon as I turned 18.

But the respect I earned made me think I'd found the answer.

When J. D. showed up a year later,

I knew we"d get even stronger.

Hey, man, what's your name?

Hey! Where you from?

La Primera. East Los.

You talk like a fucking chicon, man.

I'll check you out later.

Órale, I see they finally let your white ass out of the hospital, carnal.

Santana! How you doing, man?

Cool, ese. Mundo!

You guys, check it out, man.

This right here's J. D., my best crime partner.

This is Chuy, Casper, Chucko, Raymond and Big Happy.

Órale.

Can I talk to you, ese? Yeah, come here.

You thinking of letting him in, ese?

I told you he was my best crime partner.

He ain't Mexican, ese.

Órale.

So, homes, how's that leg?

Check it out, hard as a rock, ese.

Shit, homes, throw some shellac on it!

Shit! I'll still run your ass to the ground, ese.

I seen that dude before.

Ese vato sitting on the bench.

I think he's with 18th Street.

Chale, ain't no barrios in here, man.

No La Primera, 18th, Hazard. Nada.

They stick together playing ball.

See those white boys on the steps?

Be happy don't you belong to them, ese.

Over here, we gotta stick together, homes.

One big clica.

And bless my soul He out-bopped the buzzard and the oriole

He rocks in the treetop all the day long

Hoppin" and a-boppin" and a-singin" his song

All the little birds on Jaybird Street

Love to hear the Robin go tweet tweet tweet

Rockin' Robin Tweet tweet

Rock, rockin' Robin Tweet tweedle-dee-dee

Go, Rockin' Robin, "cause we"re really gonna rock tonight

Tweet tweedle-dee-dee

Tweedle-dee-deedle-dee tweedle-dee-deedle-dee

Tweet tweet

Órale, homes. Let's go.

Choices we made to survive

got Mundo, J. D. and me 10 to 25.

Give me a year, J. D.

Fuck the year, homes.

I'm gonna go make my collections. Órale.

What's up, peckerwood?

Power became our game.

Make sure the meeting's set for tonight with the Black Guerrilla Family.

Power to provide everything you find outside.

Make sure the Aryan Brotherhood's behind us.

Make sure they're part of the whole thing.

I'll be over with the carnales.

You got your people, Big J im?

BIG J IM: Be straight with me, man.

Hey, Santana.

Extortion.

They wanna do it. What should we do? Go ahead.

Gambling.

You just give it a little bit of time.

Prostitution.

All right. It's done, man.

We give you three packas. Make sure it's done right.

We got it together because we had to, didn't have a choice.

The eMe is here because before there was nothing.

You all right, Santana?

This is your home, too, ese.

Power to make every inmate pay rent.

And the biggest money-maker, drugs.

Oye, loco. No, I need to clean up my tab, man.

You know, pick up some more shit.

The thing is, I gotta get it right away 'cause I'm out.

The Aryan Brotherhood

and the Black Guerrilla Family shared the yard.

But Folsom belonged to us,

the oldest clica, La eMe.

The Mexican mafia.

Hey, Montoya.

Homes, I got you at table eight over there.

Órale, carnal. Órale.

Órale, carnal!

How you doing, Paulito? Fine.

H i, Mama. How are you? I'm okay.

How you doing, little one? Fine.

Doing good? Yeah.

Drawing the pumpkin man, huh? Yeah.

Bus ride is hard for you, isn't it?

It's okay, Santana.

You know, your father wanted to come see you,

but something came up.

He couldn't make it.

Whatever, Mama.

Santana, I brought you something.

You know, when Jesus was crucified on the cross,

there was a thief named Dismas on the cross next to him.

He believed in Jesus and asked him not to forget him when he died.

When Jesus died,

he took Dismas to heaven and Dismas became a saint.

I want you to wear it.

Let me see it, Mama.

Mi hijo, let's put it on your brother.

Okay.

Santana. Excuse me, ma'am.

You're not supposed to pass items to convicts.

But you see what it is.

Sorry. That's policy.

He can pick this up with the rest of his property you brought for him.

You'll wear it, huh? I'll wear it.

Don't worry. They'll give it to me later.

I'm okay.

Slippin' into darkness

Takes my mind beyond the trees

I was slippin" into darkness

Yeah

Takes my mind

Beyond the trees

Where I talk to my brothers

Oh-oh-oh-oh

Who never said their names

Slippin' into darkness

Yeah

When I heard

my mother say

I was slippin" into darkness

Órale.

When I heard my mother say

Hey, what"d she say? What"d she say?

You"ve been slippin" into darkness

Oh-oh-oh-oh

Pretty soon you"re gonna pay

Yeah

Cheetah?

Pie Face.

Slippin' into darkness

Japo. Órale.

Takes my mind beyond the trees

Hey, homes, you got a visitor. I ain't seeing nobody.

Have it your way.

Órale, pass it on, ese. Pass it on.

Hey, vato, pass that wire. J ust a minute.

Pinche mayate.

What the fuck's going on, ese? Pass that wire.

Órale, pass the wire!

Here you go, man. Here you go.

Fuck!

Chow release! Let's go.

Let's go, gentlemen. Chow release.

Okay, gentlemen, let's go. Come on, move it.

Give him the uppercut.

He's going down.

That shit wasn't even clean, man.

What's your problem?

I paid for a full load.

Don't worry. We'll take care of business.

Don't worry? I'm sick, motherfucker!

Make sure he gets what he ordered right now.

Simòn.

Thank you. I fucking appreciate that.

Who copped his wire?

Some fucking mayate.

He's dead.

Make sure nothing happens to these guards.

Órale.

Steve!

Órale.

They haven't started to kill each other yet. They're still throwing shit.

Come on, motherfucker!

That's right, you fucking son of a bitch!

Bring it on, then! Fuck you, you motherfucker!

You motherfucker!

Fuck him up! Come on, kick his ass!

Watch your motherfucking ass!

Talk to me, baby. Talk to me!

Dead dude burned somebody for their stash.

Color wasn't involved.

You sent the wrong message.

We can do this any way you want, Doc.

One to one from the chest... Or we can all get down!

Yeah, we can all really fuck this place up!

I'm not going against the guns.

You're gonna lose, Doc.

Any move you make, we're on you.

You fucked up!

You're staying in the hole for as long as it takes

to break up your little gang, Santana.

There was nothing the system could do to stop me.

I could run this show from solitary.

Gracias, carnal. J. D. taking care of business?

Simón, ese, but the heat's on. They're trying to break us up.

Danny's down in Soledad.

Stevie's down in Chino and Willie boy's in Vacaville.

We need a meeting, keep ourselves together.

Any of our people on the outside coming up for trial?

Puppet's little brother got busted.

Tell our lawyer to subpoena us, get us together in one place.

The brothers send their love, carnal. Gracias.

The state is so lame, they paid for the game.

There were a couple of things from some of our people who've already gotten out

that weren't in sync with instructions I've been getting from inside.

Inside runs the show. If there's any problems with that, let us know.

I'd like to interview each of you individually.

Who wants to go first? Corky.

Corky.

Santana, how was the bus ride home?

Sunshine felt good.

This is my brother, ese. They call him "Little Puppet."

He's a genius, homes. Don't get carried away, ese.

He does the best placas in East L.A. Check it out!

N ice tits!

He had a lightweight jones going and got popped.

He's coming up to Folsom. I want him in with us.

Can he take care of himself?

He don't know nothing, but I'll be responsible for him.

You know what you're doing?

How you doing on the tecato side?

I'm clean now, ese.

Thank you for helping us get this meeting together.

Yeah, I'd do anything for my carnal.

When you come up, if you need anything, let us know.

You run into problems, we'll take care of it. Gracias.

Oye. Órale.

Sparky, how're we doing in Vacaville?

Going slow, homes.

Trying to get it together, but we got a little problem.

We spent all of our time trying to get it together.

Dealing with whites and the mayates, only to be dealing with our own.

Órale, carnal. These aren't our own people.

They're nothing but lame farmers from up north.

They're chicanos.

It's too late, homes.

They're already too big in Vacaville.

And now they're making a play on our shit in Folsom.

They gotta pay the bill, ese.

Who's carrying all the weight for them?

Dude named El Chucko Peña.

I know that vato. I know him real well.

That should make it easier to get next to him, ese.

He used to be my crime partner!

What the fuck is wrong with you, ese?

It's cool.

Pie Face had left me only one choice.

The strength of a gesture,

a thought but no voice.

Baby, do you understand me now?

Sometimes I feel a little mad

Don"t you know that no one alive can always be an angel

When things go wrong

I"m just a soul whose intentions are good

Please don't let me be misunderstood

Baby, sometimes I'm so carefree

Órale.

With a joy that"s hard to hide

And sometimes it seems that all I have to do is worry

¿Sabes què? Little Puppet. Her tits and her ass are too big, ese.

Chale, loco. ¿Sabes què? It looks unnatural, ese.

I never mean to take it out on you

Life has its problems and I get my share

And that"s one thing I never mean to do

Open your eyes, vato.

Oh, oh-oh, baby, don"t you know I"m human?

Have thoughts like any other one

Sometimes I find myself alone and regretting

Some foolish thing, some sinful thing I"ve done

I"m just a soul whose intentions are good

Oh, Lord, please don"t let me be misunderstood

Yes, I"m just a soul whose intentions are good

Oh, Lord, please don"t let me be misunderstood

I was proud I didn't let my feelings get in the way

of doing what we had to do to Pie Face that day.

Killing one of our own had earned us a new respect.

But none of us knew the price.

Little Puppet.

Órale, homes.

How you doing? All right.

That's good, ese. Got a little favor to ask you.

All right? Simòn.

You know that dude, El Chucko?

I want you to handle that for us, all right?

I'll take care of it, ese.

Was I talking to you, ese?

Santana?

Let me do it.

Mi carnalito, that's not his thing.

He's not no punk or nothing, but...

He's not talking to you.

There's something I want you to understand, Little Puppet.

What happened to Pie Face, I didn't like it, but it was necessary.

Especially right now.

Take a look over there, ese.

El Chucko and La N uestra Familia's making their play to get respect, ese.

La eMe took a long time earning their respect in this place.

And if we want to keep it,

we gotta show some class.

Now I know Pie Face wasn't weak, ese.

And you know he wasn't weak, either.

But how about other people?

How about El Chucko, what'd he think, ese?

"Cause that"s what it"s about.

It"s not just about being weak that we can"t accept.

It"s about other people even beginning to think we"re showing weakness.

It"s up to you, you know?

Don"t try to serve a summons on me!

I'll do it.

Get down!

Get down!

I said get down!

Wipe your face.

I got him, ese. I got the vato.

You're bleeding, carnal.

Hey, the dude had a filero. He cut me, man.

I got him in the neck.

You did good, Little Puppet.

Take it easy, J. D.

T. C. B., J. D.

Órale, carnales.

We'll be riding right alongside of you out there on Broadway.

Feels good, ese.

Órale. T. C. B. out there.

You know I will, ese.

You keep taking care of it in here, homes.

Órale.

Life was changing for J. D., Mundo and me.

But I didn"t know how much.

Órale.

Want some grilled cheese, ese? Simòn.

Paulito, you grew up on me, man.

Did you get my letters?

Where's Mama?

Did you come here by yourself?

She's sick?

She's dead.

I love you, carnal.

You never stop to think

of what life has meant

till reality hits hard.

You ride behind pride,

thinking you can hide

feelings deep within you.

I had years on the tier to think about how my life

had affected my mother.

All these years, nothing's changed.

A lot has changed, homes.

Took me a while to see it.

I can see where we can move out here, man.

Check that shit out.

It's nothing new.

It's the numbers that are different, brother.

We're talking about 200, 000 tecatos doing their thing every day, brother.

The Italians are still running the show, but they're getting sloppy.

It's a move with a heavy upside.

Running that show on the inside's one thing.

Running it out here is a different trip.

Inside and outside go together, brother.

You're the one who pulled our coats to that.

Control the inside, you own the outside.

Welcome to Broadway, homes.

Yeah.

Shit takes a while, ese.

Heard that.

It's good to see you, ese.

I'm gonna get a drink.

Pedro.

Santana.

I got home a couple hours ago.

I know.

If it bothers you, I won't stay.

I remember when I was a little chavalito.

I used to sit by the window waiting for you to come home.

I would get so anxious, I'd pinch myself on the hand until it would bleed.

Then when you came... There you are, man! I was looking for you!

I want to show you something.

Hey, Papa.

Check it out.

It's the letters you wrote me.

From the time I was a little vato.

I used to read them to my homeboys.

They listened, too.

Said it was like poetry the way you wrote them.

Check it out. This is the homeboys.

Heard a lot about you, homes.

Homes, Paulito talk about you.

Good to meet you guys.

Lighten up, ese.

You know Puppet and Little Puppet?

They're good people. Simòn.

Hey, Chuy. That's Neto.

He's our neighbor. He lives in 116 with his mom and sister.

See that fine-looking one over there in the white blouse?

No, you're not going over...

MICO: I'm gonna go hang out with the guys over there.

What guys? Them there.

Are you okay, man?

Yeah, just not used to socializing, you know?

You want a beer? J. D., want a beer?

Hey, little vato, hiding the tequila?

Tequila. Go get him some.

Feeling"s gettin" stronger

Beat is gettin" longer, too

You"II be somethin" good to me

You live with your sister and her husband?

Her husband?

The guy with the suit.

That's my prlmo Eddie.

He's Puppet and Little Puppet's brother.

He thinks his shit don't stink because he's going to college.

Hey, J ulie!

Come over here. Santana wants to meet you.

J ulie, this is Santana.

This is my brother, man.

Only dude around who'll walk the main yard alone, eh?

Hey, relax. Oldies rule forever.

Let's move over here, all right?

Hey, homes. Simòn.

Yeah.

So, how long's it been since you've been home?

About 18 summers, you know?

H mm, since you were a kid.

J U LI E: You like to dance?

Come on.

That"s for lovin" you

Darling I

Oh, when I

When was the last time you danced?

I never really tried it, you know?

Shit! I don't know how to dance.

I guess this is your first time, huh?

Sorry. It's all right.

Watch.

J ust relax, okay?

Yeah.

J ust, you know, just move.

There you go.

That's good. You're doing really good.

Afraid I'm gonna step on you again?

No, no, I was...

I was checking out your shoes.

I haven't seen any like that in a long time.

They're nice, though. I like them.

Mom!

This your boy? Yeah.

Oh, you're tired, Son. Yes.

Mico, say hi to Santana.

It's all right.

I better get him home. It's... It's late.

Thanks. Come on.

I keep wonderin"

I should have thought with my heart instead of my head.

But I didn"t know about that.

Órale.

How long's he been in?

Six months.

Gentlemen, Mr. Scagnelli would like to see you.

We appreciate your taking time to talk to us.

What can I do for you?

There's gonna be some changes in the way business is done in East L.A.

From now on our people are gonna be responsible for the East L.A. exchange.

All deliveries between Mexico and the exchange are gonna be done through us.

All collections are gonna be done by us.

Is that what you came here for, to tell me my business?

From now on, your business in the barrio is gonna be our business, too.

Let me explain something.

For you, for us, for anybody who does business, things happen.

And you or your family or friend can end up doing time.

Somewhere along the line we have to deal with that.

You run the distribution on the outside, we run the inside.

Our offer is this.

We guarantee your people no problems on the inside.

You listen to me.

I don't know who you think you are, but if anything, and I mean anything,

happens to make my son's stay any more uncomfortable than it already is,

you'll regret the day you make that choice.

Ese, Tony, got some new trays for you, bro.

Hey, wait a minute, what's happening, man?

Good news, carnal.

Hey, man, I got word from my old lady, ese.

She said the meeting with your father went real well, bro.

Yeah, man? Simòn.

Glad to hear it, I wasn't sure how it was gonna work out.

They say your father was a real trip, ese.

Yeah, man, he can get kind of crazy sometimes.

Some of the carnales just finished cooking up a batch of pruno.

Oh, yeah? Good stuff? Simòn.

We're gonna have a taste tonight after dinner. Catch you later, bro.

Hey, hey, hey, man. Uno mà s. Órale.

Hey, I'm into it, man, I'm into it. Órale.

Shit, yeah. I'll see you at the party.

All right, man, party. Okay.

That was funny, man.

PAU LITO: Yeah, chale, homes. That chick ugly, homes.

Hey, homes, fucking...

Check it out, Neto, she ugly, homes.

Órale, carnalito. Hey, what's happening, homes?

Listen, I was just over at your house. Your sister home?

No, she's at work at the bakery store, homes.

Right there on Soto and...

On Soto and Brooklyn.

You guys are flying high, huh?

Chale, dude. J ust some lightweight shit.

You only live once.

J ust don't live it too fast. You might burn out.

Take it day by day. Simòn.

It's not for me to say, but you're gonna have to learn the hard way.

I'll be watching you later, right, carnal? Cuídate.

Take it easy. Later, carnal.

What's wrong with him? I don't know, eh.

He think he your dad or someone?

H i. H i.

So this is where you work, huh?

I mean, I know this is where you work, your brother told me.

Yeah, were you just in the neighborhood or what?

I was thinking about my shoes, you know?

Your shoes?

What you said the other night made me think maybe they're old-fashioned.

Hey, it's... It's okay. I was just...

I was thinking maybe if you could,

if you would wanna help me

buy another pair of shoes.

You don't have to, if you don't want to. Everything's okay, you know.

If you got things to do and everything, you know.

These are pretty good.

I'd like to buy these... I'll be with you in a minute.

Hey.

Look at me when you talk to me, all right?

I have a customer waiting. I'll be right with you.

What's wrong? Nothing.

What, you thought he wasn't showing you respect or what?

I didn't think nothing.

Hey, ese, the vato was just doing his pinche job.

Órale.

Taste this, this is really good. These are chinchalunes.

Sí. Sí. Gracias.

Watch, this is really good. Why don't you taste this?

It's not too hot, is it?

H uh?

Get me some water! Por favor.

Un agua, por favor.

When I got off at Folsom first time, I took a look around,

smiled and said, "I finally made it to the big time."

Mmm, how did you survive there?

Got the clica going.

Had anything I wanted.

Before, you know, before if somebody wanted something from you like

cigarettes or your manhood and they were stronger than you,

they just took it.

We changed all that.

We made it better for our people in the joint.

But you never finished school.

But I fed myself.

H istory, politics, biography.

Anything I could get a hold of.

To help me forget about myself, think about something else.

I loved it in there. Had whatever I wanted.

Yeah? How about walking outside

or going out with a girl?

H mm?

I didn't know about that. Didn't care about it either.

Salud.

Friends! Friends, yeah!

Forever, eh?

Oh, man.

Hijo de la chingada madre.

Tè aventaste, Puppet man. Chingao.

Good, man. It's good shit.

Okay, now, just let... Ease the clutch out and push on the gas.

Okay, good, are you sure you've never driven before?

J U LI E: Good.

Why does it do that?

You got to let the clutch out

and push the gas in at the same time.

'Cause... Watch. Okay, step on the brake...

You did real good.

To the greatest fighter pound for pound,

vato, see, without a doubt, con los left jab, los hooks,

los uppercuts, hands down, Mando Ramos.

Mando Ramos. Simòn.

Vete, hombre. Mando Ramos.

Who the hell is Mando Ramos?

All right, a toast to Mando Ramos.

Do you like what you do?

It's nothing special.

What do you wanna do?

I don't know.

I used to want to go to school, you know?

Really learn something.

Why don't you do it?

Oh, man, wouldn't be that easy now.

I got a kid. I got to work.

I'd be older than everybody else.

Read. Go to school once a week.

Educate your mind.

It'll be good for you and Mico.

Or is it

that all you want is for things to be easy?

I don't know.

You wanna know something?

What?

I never been at the beach before.

For reals?

Yeah, for real.

You like it?

Yeah.

I like it.

Oh, man, I'm getting dizzy.

This pruno goes right to your head.

Hey, man, come on, drink up. It's good for you.

Great party, man. This is a great party.

Hey, wait till the broad gets here.

Oh, yeah, who's the broad?

You are, baby.

Don't even think about it.

Your father didn't think much of our business offer,

or you.

Relax, you might enjoy it.

You've never been with a woman before.

I told you you'd like it, huh?

It's okay. It's...

Wait. No.

Wait. Wait!

No. No! Stop it!

No! Stop it!

No!

We always have beans every single night! No, we don't.

We're gonna put some salsa in it so it'll taste better.

Okay, Grandma.

J U LI E: Why does he listen to you? He never listens to me.

Neto! Neto, come and eat, please.

Neto, come and eat. The food's getting cold, hurry.

What are you doing? I'm making a burrito.

Come on, Neto.

Look at the mess!

MICO: That's why you're here, to clean it up.

Neto?

You're dropping it all in the plate.

I'll scoop it back up.

Neto.

Neto? Mama! Mama! Mama!

Mama! Mama!

Call an ambulance! Get Mico out of here!

Come on, Neto, wake up!

MICO: Neto!

Damn you! What did you do, you stupid shit!

Wake up! Neto!

You better wake up, God damn you!

Wake up! Wake up!

Wake up!

Damn you! Wake up!

Let me see! No, Mico, no!

Let me just see. He's my uncle.

No!

It started happening around 7: 00 tonight as soon as the new stuff hit town.

How many O. D.s?

Thirty, 40, maybe more.

That's just the first ones we know about.

It's all over town, ese.

Scagnelli let the shit run through uncut.

H undred percent pure.

Every tecato's dream come true.

Don't make no sense, carnal.

It makes a lot of sense.

He must have known what would happen.

He's killing off his own customers.

How many Italians O. D. 'd?

Italians? There ain't no fucking Italians in East L.A.

What are you doing? Those are Paulito's things.

Where is he? I don't know.

What kind of shit is he on? I don't know.

Where is he? He don't listen to me, just like you.

Where is he? Get your hands off me.

Listen to me, where is he? Don't touch me.

I said, where is he? Let me go!

Where is he?

Where is he? Talk to me, where is he?

What are you guys doing? Let go!

What kind of shit are you on?

What you talking about?

I'm clean, man.

Paulito told me you've been coming here every day.

About the other night, I... Forget it.

Whatever I did to you or to Mama

to make you hate me,

I'm sorry.

Your mother

was a beautiful woman.

She made me feel proud.

She was 19 years old.

Raped by sailors.

After it happened

we never talked about it.

Then we got married

and we tried to forget.

When you were born

I tried to love you.

But every time I looked at you

I wondered who your real father was.

I wondered which sailor's blood you carried inside you.

Stop.

Hey, what"re they, football uniforms?

Certainly not, they"re space suits.

Hey, Les, don't I look like a piece of bubble-gum?

Step on it again, homes. J. D. wants a good count.

It's gotta be right. Our name's going out behind this.

Makes me nervous looking at all this shit

and not being able to chip a little taste, brother.

Business, Tin Man, then we'll think about taking a little off the top.

Now we're talking, brother.

Watch out, homes.

Órale, homes!

Relax, homes. He's gonna get fired.

I'm just watching the tube.

What happened to Abbott and Costello?

They're on their way to Mars. They ain't the only ones.

Drop the gun! Now!

Back up against the wall!

Who the fuck are you?

Down on your knees, put your hands behind your back.

Now!

Bow your heads! Do it!

You know who we are?

You know who we are? Yeah, I know who you are.

Now breathe! Deep!

Breathe!

Breathe, real deep.

The word is, it was the Black Guerrilla Family.

Scagnelli had his people check out how things work in here.

Farmed it out to the B. G. F.

What the hell are the mayates doing with the Italians?

Scagnelli hooked up with the Compton dope exchange.

B. G. F. runs muscle for Compton.

I hear our lawyers are getting some of our people dates, huh?

Yeah, Puppet and Little Puppet gonna see daylight real soon.

Little Puppet in about three weeks,

Puppet in about seven.

Little Puppet wants to get married on the day he gets out, eh?

He wants me to be best man.

Què vato.

Santana, watch your back.

If we show weakness now, homes, everybody's gonna see it.

Not just the mayates and wops,

but the N uestra Familia as well.

They're just waiting to make their fucking move.

There's a way we can do it clean.

Do what Scagnelli did. Farm the shit out.

To who? Aryan Brotherhood. They hate the mayates.

Mayates hate them. Ain't no big fucking thing.

Let the A. B. give the blacks the message.

That way we don't have to risk anything.

We're spending all of our time dealing with the Italians

and now with the Black Guerrilla Family, ese,

instead of getting our people out and keeping them out.

You know what?

If we don't fight for this shit now,

we're gonna lose it all now, homes.

I also want to take a minute to thank the owner of the club, Maynard.

Let"s have a good time. Let"s party!

Get down! Back, motherfucker.

We don't need no trouble. J ust take the money...

Everybody, shut up! Get down!

What is your name? Arthur J.

Now it's Mrs. J.

For weeks I wanted to tell you how I felt.

But when I was finally with you, I couldn"t find the courage.

This is how I always imagined it.

The only thing, I wish my brother was here.

When he comes out, let's have a party for him.

I want to have a party, a big party.

Órale.

Lourdes, this dude and my brother, man,

are the only reasons I made it.

You know, without them...

I can't believe we're out here, ese.

We made it, que no?

Yeah, we made it.

Let's get a drink, que no? Yeah.

LITTLE PU PPET: Day in, day out.

Same fucking thing.

You know what it was in there, homes?

Dead time, wasting my fucking life away, ese.

And for what?

So I could look in the fucking mirror and say, "You're bad, ese. You're bad."

Shit, homes, the best tattoos in East L.A.

Now I can't draw shit, ese.

Fuck it, homes.

It's okay. I'm lucky, huh?

I can still do something. Go sit him down.

Hey, you know, I'm here, ese.

Órale.

You know what? I don't need to be bad anymore.

What you laughing at, punk?

Wipe that fucking smile off your face, asshole.

Hey, carnal.

Wedding present, man.

Chale, ese. Be cool, man.

Be cool? Órale, I don't need to be cool. ¿Sabes què? I'm married now.

Órale. You're cool.

What went down in Compton was wrong, ese.

It was supposed to be business. It came out racial.

We wanted to send a message to the B. G. F. about staying away from our business

and we send a bunch of fucking cowboys into other people's home turf,

talking trash and shooting some guy in the dick.

I don't know what's wrong with you.

I don't know if it's that woman or what.

But you're starting to show weakness

and we both know that you can't do that.

Get away, damn it, your breath smells like goat shit.

J U LI E: Oh, shit, come on, Little Puppet.

Come on, prlmo, get up. You all right?

Come on, guy. Time for you to take a walk.

Come on.

You okay?

My cousin, man, she a fox or what?

Hey, Santana, I don't want to be in the La eMe anymore, ese.

I wanna be a John Doe, tú sabes, you know?

Sears and Roebuck all the way, homes.

Work for a living. Move to Bakersfield.

Have some fucking kids, ese.

Excuse me.

Oh, man.

Oh, I feel better now,

except I'm fucking hot.

Take it easy, nobody wants to see you naked, all right?

Okay, homes.

I'm gonna go wash up a little, all right?

Wait up, I'll go with you.

Oh, no, that's okay.

J ulie, I'm sorry, huh?

It's okay.

You're my cousin, remember?

Fox is my cousin, que no, ese?

I'm sorry to hear about Neto.

I don't know what to say to you.

Whatever, you know.

You're like two people.

One is like a kid.

Doesn't know how to dance.

Doesn't know how to make love.

That's the one I cared about.

But the other one...

The other one I hate.

The one who knows, the one who has his rap down,

who knows how to run drugs.

Who kills people!

I don't have to listen to this shit, all right?

If you were a man, I'd... You'd kill me.

Oh, no.

No, you'd fuck me in the ass, right?

Right?

I guess we got nothing to say to each other.

You know, when I met you, I was impressed.

Yeah, you talked about la raza and education and the revolution,

but you know what, man?

You really don't care about any revolution, do you?

You're nothing but a fucking dope dealer.

J ust a road to where we're going, esa. Bullshit!

¿Sabes què?

I don't do drugs. I don't even like them, but they're there.

It's a reality.

If I don't take care of that business, somebody else will.

Yeah? Well, your business kills kids, man.

It kills kids!

Like Neto and Paulito and Mico, my son, who look up to you.

They idolize the ground you walk on.

What the fuck do you want from me?

Do you want me to start over?

Get a job?

How about become a citizen?

There's no fucking hope

for our kids,

for our barrios,

with people like you around.

Good evening,

buses stopped running at midnight. Is everything okay?

Yeah, what's the problem?

You ever been in the joint?

Yeah. What about you, miss?

No.

We weren't doing anything wrong.

Can I see some I. D.?

This your jacket? Any weapons?

Okay, step to the car. Put your hands on the hood.

Now!

He wasn't doing... Stay out of this, ma'am.

She's just a chick I picked up at a party.

Come on, he wasn't... Stay back!

Step away from the car and put your hands on top of your head.

Hands out in front.

Over. Wiggle the fingers.

Reach down and lift up your nut sack.

Can I talk to you a minute? Simòn, ese.

I heard about what happened.

I'm sorry, Santana.

Mi carnalito, he messed up.

It wasn't his fault, ese.

It was an all-American beef.

When they wanna pop you, they're gonna pop you.

Want some grilled cheese, ese?

No, thanks. You sure, ese?

People are saying it's Little Puppet's fault.

It wasn't his fault, ese.

You know me, carnal.

I'll do anything for La eMe, anything!

But I'm asking you, please, take my brother's name off.

Your brother's name's on a piece of paper, ese.

They want me to kill him.

It's a mistake, ese.

Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it.

Nothing's gonna happen to your brother.

That's good to hear, ese.

That's good to hear.

I hear Little Puppet's name's on a piece of paper, ese.

I want you to co-sign it.

I'm taking it off, ese.

That punk got you kicked back in the hole.

Set us all back.

Now he's running around talking about how he wants out of La eMe.

H is number's up, homes.

I said I'm taking it off, ese.

What's gonna happen is gonna happen.

Don't try to stop it. You understand me?

I'm asking you, carnal.

Is that where it's gotten to, ese?

The brothers are talking about you.

What are they saying, ese?

They're saying that you're not showing them anything.

You know, a long time ago, two best homeboys,

two kids were thrown into juvie.

They were scared,

and they thought they had to do something to prove themselves.

And they did what they had to do.

They thought they were doing it to gain respect for their people,

to show the world that no one could take their class from them.

No one had to take it from us, ese.

Whatever we had,

we gave it away.

Take care of yourself, carnal.

But it's looking good as far as the appeal is concerned.

I'd say maybe in the next six months, but it's gonna be tough.

Puppet. Órale, Mundo.

What's the word, mockingbird?

Gonna fly the coop on us?

Simòn.

You gonna take care of that business for us, right?

You brought your brother in. You gotta take him out.

Santana was gonna talk to J. D.

Come on, don't punk out on us, ese.

If you can't take care of it, we will.

Anybody that happens to be with him gets to go along for the ride.

One-two-three, five! One-two-three, six!

One-two-three, seven!

Dear Julie,

maybe the reason I learned how to read and write

was so that I could write you this letter.

Here in this cage, behind these bars,

I can read, I can learn.

I can even make love, but it's distorted.

I thought that what I had learned on the inside

was everything I needed to know,

even on the outside.

Like they say,

things don"t always turn out the way one feels they should.

Till now, all the books I've ever read

have been to try to get power.

J U LI E: Let's see.

Mico, help me find my shoe. MICO: Yeah?

You'd lose your head if it wasn't fastened on.

You were the door to another life,

where my seed might have been affirmed.

Ta-da! I found your shoe!

I"ve brought back to this hole

a breath of life,

which I am trying to use.

We make it, carnal.

We don"t fake you, we just take you.

"Cause La Primera"s ese.

Always has been, always will be.

Órale. Órale.

Welcome to the clica, carnal.

Por vida, ese. Por vida.

Are you coming out, ese?

Staying in.

Are you sure you know what you're doing, ese?

Simòn.

You scared me by showing me a glimpse of what my life might have been.

That's Lourdes.

Órale. Hey, be careful!

Don't worry, homes, I ain't gonna crash.

Check that one out. See all the people?

They were throwing rice and shit.

Look at Mama.

Pull over up here. I gotta take a leak.

This medal I send to you as a gift

for helping me find my voice,

a key to my soul which I will use.

St. Dismas is the patron saint of all those in prison.

He has protected me.

May he do the same for you.

Have hope. You deserve it.

PAULITO: La Primera lives, ese.

It lives through us.

It gives to us. It is us.

Simòn, ese, it's all we got.

It's all we've ever had.

Carnal, remember that time we went down to the L.A. River?

We drank that funky, funky wine, ese.

Man, I was sick for a week.

You wanna know what Lourdes asked me?

I'm telling you this 'cause you're my carnal.

She wanted to know if the reason why they call me "Little Puppet" was...

You know.

Made me real angry.

I think she's pregnant now.

I guess I showed her, huh?

Don't look at me!

Don't look at me.

Don't fight. Please, don't fight!

J ust die!

J ust die.

Mi carnalito.

God damn me.

Coming out?

Paulito.

Can I talk to you for a minute?

Your brother sent this for you.

He wants you to have it.

You know what it is, right? Yeah.

Yeah, I went with my mom to give it to him, years ago.

Thanks.

Órale.

Hey, check it out! Look at what my carnal sent me.

Mommy, where're you going?

To school, Mico. To school?

Give me a kiss. I love you.

Is it okay if I go with the guys? No, it's not okay.

MICO: Why not? J U LI E: Because I said so.

Please? No, you can't.

PAU LITO: Looks good, don't it?

You're a man now, ese.

PAU LITO: Let's go cruise the boulevard.

Paulito.

Be right back!

Paulito!

Paulito! Papa, I'll be right back.

You coming out, ese?

Yeah.

You got a lot of heart, carnal.

Maybe too much.

You've always gotta give it your best shot, you know?

Which one, ese?

Don't matter.

Fuck it, homes. La Primera lives!

What is time?

Time is when a man is tryin" to make time with your woman,

but you doin" time behind bars and your time is standin' still.

Yo, Frost, kick it to these people for real.

Kl D FROST: Time slips through the hourglass Through night and day

And I watch as the games people play

It's like do unto others, then split

And if you can"t back up what you say then you ain"t shit

I"ve seen the manifestations of the street

So I can manifest what I see on a drumbeat

Like just last night What happened, man?

I watched these two vatos get in a crazy fight

One of them was quick to pull a knife

He stabbed him in the heart

And now he's doin' life in prison at the age of 21

Livin' on death row "cause he couldn"t let go

Caught in the web of violence

Row deep when they creep

And move in silence of the lambs

Yo.

A tattooed teardrop as the iron gates slam

Ain't no sunshine

Any time, hey

Ain't no sunshine

Damn, damn, ain't that a shame?

You"re lost so pay the cost Shouldn't have played the game

Should've listened to the Frost

When I was tryin" to come across to ya

But no, you didn"t think Sucker.

You just keep gettin" yourself more deep

Until you sink

So there's no one else to thank but yourself

So go ahead and take a bow for a job well done

But you"II never see the day of the sunshine

Or the fun times

Just the old days and your old ways

True.

Corrupt and wicked

Out there doin' dirt instead of just kickin" it

Pow-pow bang-bang and all that noise

Yeah, you and all your homeboys

You take time to read between the lines

'Cause ain't no sunshine

Ain't no sunshine

Any time, hey

Ain't no sunshine

Yo, kick it.

I know about bein" macho

Callin' the shots, the big time head honcho

But here's somethin' even more gacho

One of my homeboys is your old lady Sancha

Yo, shit happens

Her number lights up on his beeper

Right as I"m rappin"

While you sit in your cell writin' a letter

Sayin' when you get out Yo, things"II be better

But, man, she couldn't wait

So she's goin' out on dates with every Tom, Dick and Harry

And if you ask me, yo, shit"s gettin" scary

So how you gonna handle this

When your ho"s in Los Angeles actin' so scandalous

Yo, you can"t blame her you didn"t take the time

And now ain"t no sunshine

Ain't no sunshine

Just for you in "92. You know what I"m sayin"?

Ain't no sunshine

So if you don't want to do no time,

you better take time and try to draw the line.

Or you're gonna be the next fool in line doin' time.

You know what I"m sayin"? Like my man said.

Ain't no sunshine, fool.

Ain"t nothin" happenin" up there. You know what I"m sayin"?

Yo, me and Frost is outta here.