Original clique business card from Los Future Latin Gents de Varrio Stantone, dating to the late 1970s or early 1980s. Printed on distinctive mother-of-pearl textured cardstock, the card reflects a popular tradition among Chicano neighborhood clubs, party crews, and street gangs during the 1960s through the 1980s, when personalized "business cards" were exchanged as calling cards and symbols of neighborhood identity. The reverse bears a partially legible handwritten dedication or signature, although age and damage have rendered much of the inscription unreadable. Historical accounts trace the Stanton neighborhood's gang culture to post-war youth clubs and car clubs, with groups such as the Latin Gents eventually evolving into what became the Varrio Stanton neighborhood. As a result, surviving clique cards like this provide a rare glimpse into the social customs and visual culture that accompanied the development of Southern California barrio identity.
