When we jumped someone and beat him down, I would feel bad. But I couldn't show it in front of the homeboys, you know. Clean Slate helped Santellano get rid of gang tattoos on his fingers, hands and ear. He gave up his plans to commemorate the gangland murders of his cousin and best friend by having their tombstones tattooed on his body. But the importance of tattoo removal, he says, is more than just as an aid to assimilating into society.
Tattoos can be deadly.
He has sole custody of the first three because the mother is still in the gang. He is raising them with his fiancee, with whom he has a fourth child. Spanish-speaking Mexican immigrants would rarely be accepted into the gang except maybe to be used as runners. Like tattoos, Santellano says, colors can also be dangerous. There is no logical answer.