Sureños
The Sureños (Spanish for "Southerners" [1]) are a Hispanic street gang with origins in Southern California. They're connected with the Mexican Mafia prison organization; opposing the Mexican Mafia is the Nuestra Familia, which similarly has spawned a street chapter, the Norteños.
Gang identification
The Sureños were the first gang to make use of gang colors to distinguish themselves from other gangs. The state of California prison system provided railroad handkerchiefs to inmates in two standard colors: red or blue. Hispanic inmates from Southern California selected or claimed the blue bandanas to identify themselves. Once a member of the Sureños "graduates" off the street and into the prison system they are designated a part of the Mexican Mafia organization.
Headline text
The Sureños identify themselves with the number thirteen, using Arabic or Roman numerals, or a combination of both, ie: 13, XIII or X3 and other creative means of symbolism -- this signifies the 13th letter of the alphabet, the letter M, meaning "La Eme" or "The M": the Mexican Mafia. Numerals are also incorporated into the tattoos, such as Tres Puntos (Spanish: "Three dots") (see also: Three Dots Tattoo) which is the representation for the number three within the Aztec numeral system. A cross in the right is also another way to identify them.
Opposing Gangs
The Norteños who rival the Sureños, identify themselves with the number 14 (fourteen), representing the letter N, the 14th letter of the alphabet. Sureños usually refer derogatively to their rival Norteño gangsters as "busters" or "Chapetes"or norputos, chavalas"(although "buster" is a slang Norteños use to refer to a Norteño gang member, the Sureños use this term in a derogative way) while the Norteños usually mock their opponents as "Scraps, flue-rag fag, and sur-rata."