The Ghetto Brothers were a

gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

and music group founded in New York City's South

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

in the late 1960s with the motivation to uplift young Latino and Black men in their community.

History

Founded in New York City's South

in the late 1960s, the gang eventually spread to much of the Northeastern United States. Like the Young Lords, they were involved in politics, particularly the Puerto Rico independence movement, and were associated with the then-new

Puerto Rican Socialist Party The Puerto Rican Socialist Party (, PSPR) was a Marxist and pro-independence political party in Puerto Rico seeking the end of United States of America control on the Hispanic and Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. It proposed a "democratic worke ...

. Its members had political motivation to uplift young Latino and Black men in the community. Under Benjamin Melendez's leadership, the Ghetto Brothers represented one end of the spectrum in terms of how they treated the women involved with the gang. Referred to as the Ghetto Sisters—the respectful term contrasted sharply with the names used for the women attached to other New York gangs of the period—the women were generally viewed as organization members and as girlfriends, whereas many other gangs treated women almost entirely as sexual property. Former

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

mayor Eddie Perez was a member of the Ghetto Brothers when young. ''New York Daily News'' columnist Robert Dominguez was the leader of a Ghetto Brothers division in the Bronx when he was a teen. In the Connecticut prison system, during the 1990s, the Ghetto Brothers and the Savage Nomads joined to form Los Solidos (the Solid Ones), which is now one of the most powerful Puerto Rican gangs in the state.

Origin of the Name

The name Ghetto Brothers was chosen by Hui Cambrelen one of the original founders along with Ray DelaVega and Benji Melendez.

Music Group

Benjamin Melendez, who left the organization in 1976, was also known as a

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

ist. He led a band, also known as the Ghetto Brothers, which included his late brother Victor Melendez on

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

. They released one album ''Ghetto Brothers - Power-Fuerza'' in 1971, which had only informal, local distribution. It has since been re-released on CD.

Discography

*1971 – ''Ghetto Brothers - Power-Fuerza'' (Salsa Records - SLP 2008) Recorded at Fintone Studio. Produced by Bobby Marin.

History

Origin of the Name

Music Group

Discography

References

Further reading