Definitions by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫

If It Were A Snake, It Would Have Bit Me 

An idiom most often used in the Southern parts of the United States. Often heard when older men or women are searching in a general area, looking for a misplaced object. They search for a good while, only to find that the object was a few feet from them all the time. They pick it up, brush it off, grin and say:

"If it were a snake, it would have bit me."

This is because in the rural South snakes are a part of life. Everyone has at least one story about the time they were surprised by a rattler or a cottonmouth.

Guy 1: Where are my keys?
Guy 2: They are right in front of you on that table.
Guy 1: If it were a snake, it would have bit me.

If It Were A Snake, It Would Have Bit Me by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ January 29, 2010

Sur 13 

Sur 13 is another name for the Sureños (Spanish for "Southerners"), a group of Mexican American street gangs with its origins in the oldest barrios of Southern California. Sur 13 also stands for "Southern United Raza." Raza is Spanish for "Race." The Number 13 stands for the letter "M," paying homage to the Mexican Mafia Aka La Eme.

See Sureños

Sur 13 = Sureños
Sur 13 = Southern United Raza
13 = M

Sur 13 by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ January 1, 2010

Sureños

Sureños (Spanish for "Southerners") are a group of Mexican American street gangs with origins in the oldest barrios of Southern California. There are hundreds of Sureño gangs in California, and each has its own identity on the streets. Although they are based in Southern California, their influence has spread to various parts of the U.S. and other countries as well. The term “sureños” describes gangs professing allegiance to a gang set in southern California. The term was first used in the 1970s as a result of a California prison war between the Mexican Mafia (La EME) and Nuestra Familia (NF). This war resulted in a territorial division between gang members from northern California (norteños = northerners) who aligned with NF, and those from southern California (sureños = southerners) aligned with La EME.

Sureños emblems and clothing are based on the color blue. A typical Sureño outfit might include, blue, silver, and white and their favorite sports team apparel that shows their affiliation. Sureños use the number 13 in tattoos and graffiti. It is sometimes written as "X3” or in Roman numerals as "XIII" (Sur13 or Sur XIII). Some Sureños will tattoo themselves with three dots. Sureños derogatorily refers to a Norteño as a "Buster" or "Chap" (Chapete).

Sureños by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ December 29, 2009

Cholo 

A Cholo is a latino gangster (aka Vato Loco). Some Cholos may get their clothes from Dickies that are 2 sizes larger than what they would normally wear while buttoning only the top button. Cholos may invest in lowrider brand clothing and wear plaid flannel jackets during the winter. Shirt /bandana colors may vary depending on the Cholo’s gang. Cholos may wear shoes like Lugz or Cortezes with a wide variety of colors to go with the clothes. Cholos never back down from anyone who disrespects them and always keep their chin up as they stare everyone down. They usually never move out of the way for anybody while walking, unless it’s a lady or one of their homies.

Cholos usually talk a lot of Spanglish; mixing Spanish & English words in sentences. They may say a few words in Spanish and then a few words in English and vice versa. They might also say words like “Vato,” “Foo,” or “Ese” when finishing a sentence.

Cholo by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ December 29, 2009

Norteños 

The Norteños, also Norte, are affiliated with Nuestra Familia (Our Family), a coalition of traditional Latino gangs in Northern California. A member of these gangs is a Norteño (male) or Norteña (female); based on Spanish usage. In the late 1960s, Mexican-American inmates of the California state prison system began to separate into two rival groups, Norteños (northerners) and Sureños (southerners), according to the locations of their hometowns; the north-south dividing line was near Bakersfield. Part of the motivation for the split was the desire of the Norteños to be independent of "La Eme” a.k.a. the Mexican Mafia. As with many other gangs, Norteños have been involved in trafficking of drugs and contraband, and armed conflict with other gangs and with police. According to police investigators, a requirement for full membership in Nuestra Familia is committing at least one murder for the gang. Federal law enforcement agencies, long unable to infiltrate the group, began to step up their investigations in the late 1990s.

In 2000 and 2001, 22 members were indicted on racketeering charges, including several who were allegedly serving as high-ranking gang leaders while confined in Pelican Bay. Thirteen of the defendants pleaded guilty; the other cases are still ongoing. Two of the defendants face the death penalty for ordering murders related to the drug trade. The largest of the federal investigations, Operation Black Widow, caused controversy when it became public that some gang members were serving as FBI informants while still continuing to organize violent crimes. Norteño emblems and clothing are based on the color red. A typical Norteño outfit might include a red belt, red shoes, and red shoelaces. They will also favor sports team apparel that shows their affiliation through symbolism such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers football, UNLV, K-Swiss, and San Francisco 49ers. Norteños may refer to each other by using the term "Ene,” Spanish for the letter "N.” Norteños use the number 14 in tattoos and graffiti because "N" is the fourteenth letter of the alphabet. It is sometimes written as "X4” or in Roman numerals as "XIV". Some Norteños will tattoo themselves with four dots. Norteño derogatorily refers to a Sureño as a "Scrap" or "Sur (Sewer) Rat,” while a Sureño will likewise refer to a Norteño as a "Buster" or "Chap" (Chapete). Norteños also lay claim to images of the Mexican-American labor movement, such as the sombrero, machete, and "Huelga bird,” symbols of the United Farm Workers.

Norteños by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ December 29, 2009

Bloods

The Bloods are a street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. They are identified by the red worn by their members and by particular gang symbols, including distinctive hand signs. The Bloods are made up of various sub-groups known as "sets" between which significant differences exist such as colors, clothing, and operations, and political ideas which may be in open conflict with each other. Since their creation, the Blood gangs have branched out throughout the United States. Bloods have been documented in the US military, found in both US and overseas bases. The Bloods gang was formed initially to compete against the influence of the Crips in Los Angeles.

The origin of the Bloods and their rivalry with the Crips dates to the 1970s, where the Pirus street gang, originally a set, or faction, of the Crips broke off during an internal gang war, and allied with other smaller gangs to found the gang that would eventually become known as the Bloods. At the time, Crips sets outnumbered Bloods sets by three to one. To assert their power despite this difference in numbers, Bloods sets became increasingly violent, especially against rival Crips members. The Pirus are therefore considered to be the original founders of the Bloods. During the rise of crack cocaine, the gang's focus shifted to drug production. Bloods sets operate independently of each other, and are currently located in almost all States. Blood sets on the East Coast are often seen as affiliated with the United Blood Nation, a gang which originated in Rikers Island. Their gang activities include: Murder, Drug trafficking, Robbery, & Extortion. They are allies with the People Nation & Latin Kings. They're rivals are Crips, Folk Nation, Sureños.

Bloods by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ December 23, 2009

Mara Salvatrucha 

The Mara Salvatrucha gang originated in Los Angeles and has spread to Central America, other parts of the United States, and Canada. It is commonly abbreviated as MS, Mara, and MS-13. There is some dispute about the etymology of the name. The most common belief is that the word "Mara" refers to the Spanish word for "gang", and "Salvatrucha" (which is Spanish slang) for "Salvadoran army ant". Alternatively, it is suggested that "Salvatrucha" refers to the Salvadoran peasant guerrillas, the source of much of the gang's early manpower. The number 13 is homage to the Los Angeles gang "Los Emes" or "The Ms"(M being the thirteenth letter of the alphabet). The gang was set up in Los Angeles in 1980's by Salvadoran immigrants in the city's Pico-Union neighborhood. The majority of the gang is ethnically composed of Salvadorans, Hondurans, Guatemalans, and Nicaraguans. Their activities have caught the eye of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), who in September 2005 initiated wide-scale raids against suspected gang members, netting 660 arrests across United States. ICE efforts were at first directed towards MS-13, in its Operation Community Shield. In May 2005, ICE expanded Operation Community Shield to include all transnational organized crime groups and prison gangs. ICE's Operation Community Shield has since arrested 7,655 street gang members.

In the United States, the gang's strongholds have historically been in the American Southwest and West Coast states. Membership in the U.S was believed to be as many as about 50,000 as of 2005. MS-13 criminal activities include drug smuggling and sales, arms trafficking, auto theft, carjacking, home invasion, assault, aggravated assault, assault on law enforcement officials, drive-by shootings, contract killing and murder. Many Mara Salvatrucha members cover themselves in tattoos. Common markings include "MS," "Salvatrucha," the "Devil Horns," the name of their clique, and other symbols. A December 2007 CNN internet news article stated that the gang was moving away from the tattoos in an attempt to commit crimes without being noticed. Members of Mara Salvatrucha, like members of most modern American gangs, utilize a system of hand signs called "clicks" for purposes of identification and communication. One of the most commonly displayed is the "devil's head" (formed by extending the index and little fingers of the hand while tucking in the middle and ring fingers with the thumb), which forms an 'M' when displayed upside down. This hand sign is similar to the same symbol commonly seen displayed by heavy metal musicians and their fans. Founders of Mara Salvatrucha borrowed the hand sign after attending concerts of heavy metal bands.

Mara Salvatrucha by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ December 22, 2009