Barcelona is a cosmopolitan city and open minded when it comes to embracing new cultures. Most people know the Latin gangs as violent groups that carry weapons and cause trouble and one of the most famous Latin gangs of all were legalized in Barcelona on July 31st, 2003; The Latin Kings.

The Latin Kings came about in Chicago and New York in the 1940’s and quickly spread like wildfire throughout the rest of the USA and Latin America. They used to say that they were an association for the defence of South American youths but some of their members took to drug trafficking, theft, rape and murder. The gang has a “King Manifesto” which was created by two members in the 80’s and on it you’ll find their rules, prohibitions and behaviours set down.

One of the main distinguishing marks of the Latin Kings is the five-pointed crown, each one with a meaning: power, royalty, dignity, sanctity, brotherhood. Five is the number of the Latin Kings. They also have a preference of the colour yellow, black and gold and many members can be seen with these colours. Black colours are in reference to Latin American history and death, and gold / yellow in reference to the future and life.

They also use other symbols such as the lion for strength, the circle for perfection and diamonds because they are beautiful. They always greet each other with a three fingered salute which takes on the form of a crown and are Rap and Kingdism (a kind of religion that mixes rap with prayers) lovers.

Along with the Latin Kings another gang called the Ñetas also wanted to shake off its reputation as a violent gang and so both groups began negotiations with Barcelona’s city hall. After months of negotiating, the Latin Kings registered as a legal association of the Justice Department on July 31st, 2003 under the new name of the “Cultural Association of Latin Kings and Queens of Catalonia”. They try to promote the Latin culture along with the integration of young migrants into society and over time they have demonstrated that with desire and determination they have moved away from the violent gang culture and have started to promote new values.