a Mexican immigrant birthday party nearby for the sounds of their enemies, the boys invaded the party, and in the ensuing melee, one migrant worker was stabbed and killed. The police rounded up several hundred Mexican American youth, and Hank Leyvas and colleagues from the 38th Street neighborhood were convicted of murder. In part, the convictions stemmed from cultural prejudice born of Chicano zoot suit culture, symbolized by the flashy clothing itself: ballooned pants and broad-shouldered frock coats. Also in favor among African Americans, zoot suits carried social significance for pachucos. The idea was to "relate their appearance on the streets to the concept of pachuquismo" (Cosgrove 78). It has also been said that the pachuco standpoint, which is one of "grotesque dandyism and anarchic behavior," is not one of social protest as an expression of "personal will to remain different" (Paz 14-15). The zoot suit ensemble made all too visible--and threatening, to white people--an ethnic group that was expected to remain in the back
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