The first time Samuel had heard about the gang was when Liliana talked about it. She was fearful that he would distance himself, knowing her past, but that didn't happen. He was not afraid of some street gang in L.A., but it was not as easy as he thought.
Liliana's father was the leading figure of the 89th street gang. It was a well-known group in the area. It was an American criminal street gang composed of mainly Hispanic Americans. Samuel could tell that Liliana was not a typical American girl, but he never expected her to be of Mexican descent.
It's not he had never met Mexican people, but she never even spoke any language other than perfect American English.
Apart from that, the situation was tense because they were known as one of the area's oldest street gangs and had occupied its territory since the 20s. It was a significant area on the east side of South LA and some parts of the East.