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WHAT'S IN A NAME
By Victor Marrero


        Loco was from Barrio Coors in East Los Diablos.  He lived on
1848 Polk St., and went to Stanford Benet High School. 

        Now at 16 Loco was claiming Coors, being adventerous, and going to
Barrio Miller and crossing their placaso, something like at the beggining
of West Side Story where one of the Jets writes Sharks suck and Jets rule.
Only Loco didn't write that long a speech.  It looked something more
like...MILLER(CROSSED OUT WITH GRAPHICS)COORS(OVER IT).

         Because Loco was claiming he was down with Coors, but hadn't yet
been jumped in, he had to face his fear of Tiburon. Tiburon had
been jumped into Coors a year ago. He already had some stripes.  He put
work in by shanking a few rats who were let out because they testified
against their homies.  He proved he could do time without being a rat
himself.

        Tiburon didn't like Loco because he thought Loco acted like he was
down, but couldn't back it up.  Tiburon sees jumping Loco in as an
opportunity to prove that Loco's a sissy who can't take the pain of a
real beating.

        So one night when all the homies were kicking it at Spanky's
canton(place to live) and half of them were from the neighborhood
claiming, but like Loco not jumped in, Spanky spoke up, and said "Now
whose down for Coors?" Loco felt something go tight in his guts because
Tiburon was looking at him like what a shark looks at a meal when it's
hungry.

        Loco couldn't show his fear because if he did that would mean he
was a punk.  So he said right along with the other youngsters, loud and
strong, "I'm down for Coors!!  He said it strong so that his fear wouldn't
show.

        So then it came.  Everybody that was already a part of Coors was
getting down (fighting) fists going rap, bap, pap on all the youngsters,
except for Loco who seemed to be in the eye of a hurricane, peaceful with
so much violent action around him.  Yet it seemed that it all went too
slow like a movie where the climax is in slow motion. Then he felt and
almost heard something connect with his cheekbone.  He saw stars and his
knees almost buckled.  As his head cleared Tiburon took shape in front of
him.  Tiburon said. "So what up fool?  You ready to get down?"  Loco told
him "Yeah fool, I'll get down with you."  A part of him felt like he
was apart from reality, in a dream, or a movie as he answered Tiburon's
challenge. Another part felt like everything was happening too fast.
till another distant part said that none of it should happen at all.

        Tiburon was wider and more deep chested than Loco.  He also had
height, and  Reach on him with big bony knuckles that had broken many faces.
Tiburon threw a wild roundhouse at Loco's head.  Loco ducked and went for
Tiburon's legs.  He took Tiburon down with a move that Speedy who was on the
Stanford Benet wrestling team practiced with him.  After he went down to
the grass with Tiburon. He rolled towards his chest, took a few hits, but
still got his arms in a choke hold around Tiburon's throat.  He squeezed
while Tiburon, flailed his arms, and tried to ineffectually pummel him
with his fists from a powerless position.  Tiburon started to
gurgle and spit was spewing from his mouth and tounge.

        The other Coors homies thought that the other youngsters had
enough, but when they saw Loco hanging on to Tiburon like a pit bull on a
bigger dog, they went to make sure he didn't get off that easy.  So they
kicked, and punched him, but Loco wouldn't let go, and Tiburon's face was
turning different shades of red and purple. Spanky  kicked Loco in the
huevos three hard times. Loco let go abruptly.

        Loco was now really down for his neighborhood.  He had the cuts,
bruises, and maybe some internal bleeding to prove it. He was now on his
way to a life that could be the subject of writers and movie producers.
Only it wasn't a screen or the pages to a book.   It was as real as the
life of Loco's suburbian counterpart who either rommantizes or demonizes
what it would be like to be Loco.