Vargas Gang

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The Vargas Gang, a.k.a "The Filipino family", is a West Coast street gang, mainly spread across California. They are mainly composed of Filipino Americans. The origin of the gang is unknown, but many believed that it was formed in various high schools in California. The gang was mainly formed to help defend Filipino's from harm at schools. The gang then gained a strong reputation for violence in some schools, particularly those located in Escondido, California. Some gang members have emigrated to the Philippines and are involved in selling drugs and arms. There they became known as "The Filipino Mafia."

[edit] Gang Identification

The gang was originally identified with the colors red, blue, yellow, and white, colors of the Filipino flag. These colors can be seen in their bead necklaces, but to easily identify one another, the gang started to wear clothing with the color blue, which is now the color of the gang. They are also identified with the number 6 since there are six letters in the word Vargas. The gang's members also have tattoos with the letters "VG" and "FF," both, which stands for Vargas Gang and Filipino Family respectively. Also they have tattoos with anything with the number 6, both as a Roman numeral and decimal such as VI or 06.

[edit] Rivalries

The gang has no rivalries with Chicano gangs or African American gangs, however it has an intense rivalry with another Filipino-American gang called the Ramirez gang. This rivalry developed as former Vargas Gang members who felt that they weren't treated well decided to be more independent, finally splitting away. As a result, the Vargas Gang identifies them with derogatory terms such as "traitors" or "Rats." Violence between the gangs does occur constantly where Vargas gang members are active.