Chicharrón Character Analysis in Always Running

Chicharrón is another one of Luis Rodriguez’s middle school friends. He’s instrumental in convincing Luis to join the Lomas in high school, and he and Luis participate in various gang activities together—everything from getting high to getting in fights with rival gangs to burning down a rival gang member’s house. Chicharrón is eventually arrested as an accessory to murder, after which he’s never heard from again.

Chicharrón Quotes in Always Running

The Always Running quotes below are all either spoken by Chicharrón or refer to Chicharrón. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Simon & Schuster edition of Always Running published in 2005.

A naked girl, passed out, lay in the back seat. A black patch of pubic hair stood out on a shock of white skin which looked as if she had been immersed in flour'
"Chale, homes," I responded. "I ain't with it." Chicharrón nodded the same sentiment.

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 121

Explanation and Analysis:

Chicharrón Character Timeline in Always Running

The timeline below shows where the character Chicharrón appears in Always Running. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...of thirteen, Luis starts spending all his time with some friends named Clavo, Wilo and Chicharrón—together, “The Animal Tribe.” The Animal Tribe (or just “The Tribe”) is a powerful gang, and... (full context)

Luis, Wilo, Clavo, and Chicharrón spend more time together after they join The Tribe. They spray-paint their names on walls.... (full context)

...end of the day, a white student attacks Luis’s friend Santos with a bat, and Chicharrón hits him with a tire iron. The police come to break up the fight, arresting... (full context)

Chicharrón tells Luis that he should join the Lomas, now the most powerful gang in the... (full context)

...it’s “a way of life” for some cholos. One night, some Lomas offer Luis and Chicharrón a chance to “get in on this”—in other words, rape a naked, unconscious young woman.... (full context)

...inhaling sprays but starts experimenting with meth, PCP, heroin, mescaline, and pills. Luis, Yuk, and Chicharrón work together to steal heroin. Sometimes, he and Chicharrón go to new neighborhoods and pretend... (full context)

One night, Luis and Chicharrón go driving around the neighborhood. They pick up two girls named Roberta and Xochitl, promising... (full context)

...is furious. He’s even more shocked when he discovers that Xochitl is a prostitute, and Chicharrón has become her pimp. That same night, Frankie kisses Luis, and the two of them... (full context)

Politics, Resistance, and Activism Theme Icon

One day, Luis sits in his garage, listening to jazz. Chicharrón knocks, calling him outside. Chicharrón introduces Luis to his friend Arnie and tells Luis they’re... (full context)

...gunfight breaks out between Sangra and Loma gang members. The next morning police officers arrest Chicharrón for the murder of a teenaged gang member who died in the gunfight. Chicharrón, seventeen... (full context)