who was the person that started nortenos family gang?
There are several stories regarding how the Nuestra Familia started, depending on who you talk with. The short answer is a Norteno inmate at San Quentin had a pair of shoes taken from his cell my a Mexican mafia inmate. The shoes were a source of pride for the inmate, and eventually he saw the inmate wearing his shoes. He attempted to get them back, and ended up killing to get them back. This incident became known as the great shoe war.
Prior to this the Northern Hispanic inmates were being victimized by the mexican mafia ( which controlls southern hispanics or at least requires them to pay taxes and recurits from their ranks after a person proves themselves and is vouched for by members) and the prison guards. Tensions were building prior to the shoe incident. Afterwards, some say the Nuestra Familia was actually started at the duel vocational institution in Tracy California and some say Soledad Prison. Since the State moves inmates around the state very quickly after a major incident, it is difficult to say exactly where the gangs constitution was actually written, or if it was written in several locations and then put together. In about the mid 1960's a cell search at Soledad prison resulted in finding the Nuestra Familia's constitution, and gang membership papers, which led to a major set back and numerous arrests in the Salinas area. Salinas for many years was considered the center of the Nuestra Familia, and still is considered a Northern Hispanic strong hold, but is being challenged by the Southern Hispanics, which has resulted in a lot of gang related shooting and killings over the last several years.
I have heard the names of the individuals involved in the shoe incident, but can not recall them with a 100% accuracey.
If you are interested in the specific names there are several books out there that have that information. However, in the long run the names don't really mean a lot, but it demonstrates a point in time where the Northern Hispanic inmates decided to form their own gang for their protection from other gangs and the abuse of the guards or prison system.
