Vulcans and Jutes: Cuban fraternities and their disappearance

Abstract

Formation of gangs usually has involved two themes: lack of opportunities for youth and cultural context of youths' activities. Although practically all studies of gangs address how they form and attract new members, none have addressed how gangs disappear. Formation of Cuban youth gangs or "fraternities" exemplifies how gangs may form and disintegrate as immigrants establish resources for channeling youth into positive roles. Cuban exiles in Miami between 1959 and 1980 experienced difficulties similar to those experienced by other immigrant groups arriving in the United States during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Family disruption, arduous work schedules, friction with neighbors of contrasting ethnicity, and struggles with a new language characterized their stresses in exile. Formation of gangs followed, as it often does, but these gangs died out by 1978. Reasons for disappearance of Vulcans and Jutes included establishment of true economic power and prosperity within the Cuban exile community and provision of productive roles for youth who otherwise would have been involved in gangs. This experience provides suggestions for addressing gang related problems in other ethnic minorities.