The Buca boys from Metro Juarez Leadership, gender and age in Mexico City’s youthful street culture

Summary

This article is published in the journal Etnofoor. It can be read online with a free JSTOR account.

In down-town Mexico City, the Buca boys were a banda or group of street children and others. Apart from a few young adults, they were between 8 and 16 years of age. The kids took their name from their abode in Bucareli Street, a devastated place that still testified to the earthquake of 1985. Usually there were 10 to 15 Buca boys, but occasionally their numbers could shrink to as low as six. However, there was such a large turnover that the total number of gamins who visited the banda more or less often could have been well over 40. This narrative follows the Buca boys from 1993 through 1996, which encompasses the time that I have known them.