Homies and Hermanos: God and Gangs in Central America

Abstract

Robert Brenneman's Homies and Hermanos is situated at the intersection of two of the most consequential social phenomena to emerge in Central America over the last two decades. Transnational street gangs and heavily Pentecostal evangelicalism have each had profound impacts on society in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, and Homies and Hermanos is a compelling examination of the interaction between these two groups. In a forceful and well-written book, Brenneman examines how some members transition out of the infamous Mara Salvatrucha and other Central American gangs and attempt to carve out new lives for themselves in the gritty barrios of the “Northern Triangle” by converting to Evangelical Protestantism. The book prominently features the voices of 63 former gang members and situates them in a theoretical construct that draws from the sociology of emotion and symbolic interaction theory. Central American gangs are predominantly portrayed in the media through stories of appalling violence accompanied by images of heavily tattooed young men armed to the teeth. These reports, backed by the region's staggering homicide rates have elevated Northern Triangle gangs to one of the most feared groups in the Americas. One of the real strengths of this book is the socio-historical contextualization of the Central American gangs. With a thorough review of the literature on street gangs, an explanation of the term “transnational gang,” and a detailed examination of the unique social factors that led to the emergence of street gangs, Brenneman demystifies these groups of marginalized youth. The book provides a nuanced argument as to why young men and women join gangs by acknowledging the “push” factors (social inequality, lack of employment, and family crisis), but also emphasizes the “pull” of gang membership in counteracting the chronic shamed experienced by barrio youth. Brenneman identifies sources of chronic shame and argues that gang membership provides a vehicle for them to escape this “shame spiral” by providing an alternative family-like structure and avenues to lash out against the shame through what he identifies as solidarity, violence, and “adult” pastimes. This conceptualization of the street gang recognizes both the structural social forces and the intensely personal wounds that contribute to a young person's decision to join a gang in Central America's Northern Triangle and reflects the quality of the qualitative data presented in the book.