Rodolfo Alvarado "Cheyenne" Cadena (April 15, 1943 – December 17, 1972) was a Mexican-American mob boss and a prominent figure in the Mexican Mafia prison gang also called La eMe (Spanish for the letter M).
Cadena was born on April 15, 1943 in San Antonio, Texas, the son of second-generation Mexican immigrants Anita (née Alvarado) and Daniel Hernandez Cadena. The family later moved to Bakersfield, California where Cadena attended East Bakersfield High School. Cadena became a member of the Varrio Viejo Gang (now known as the Varrio Bakers). He was incarcerated at Deuel Vocational Institution after he and Richard Ruiz, who would become one of the founding members of La eMe, stabbed a man to death outside of a dancehall called 'Salón Juárez' in 1959. At the time of his conviction, Cadena was only 16 years old. While incarcerated, he earned the respect and admiration of the members of the Mexican Mafia which was still in its development stage.
According to Chris Blatchford,
By 1961, administrators at DVI, alarmed by the escalating violence, had transferred a number of the charter eMe members to San Quentin, hoping to discourage their violent behavior by intermingling them with hardened adult convicts. It didn't work. For example, the story goes that Cheyenne Cadena arrived on the lower yard and was met by a six-foot-five, 300-pound black inmate who planted a kiss on his face and announced this scrawny teenager would now be his 'bitch.' Chy returned a short time later, walked up to the unsuspecting predator, and stabbed him to death with a jailhouse knife, or shiv. There were more than a thousand inmates on the yard. No witnesses stepped forward, and only one dead man entertained the idea that Cadena was anybody's bitch.[1]
Cadena and Joe "Pegleg" Morgan, who became his best friend and mentor, led the gang to prominence in the California correctional system by terrorizing other unorganized ethnic inmate groups, gaining a monopoly over the sale of drugs, pornography, prostitution, extortion, and murder for hire.
Cadena continued to run the Mafia's activities and began to look beyond the walls of the prison, envisioning a statewide monopoly of crime. He struck an uneasy alliance with George Jackson and the Black Guerrilla Family and became active in Latino political organizations like the Brown Berets. Cadena made overtures to unite La eMe with the rival Nuestra Familia (NF). His peace talks with "the farmeros" were frowned upon by Joe Morgan and other senior eMe leaders. In response, they ordered the murder of two Familia leaders just prior to an important peace conference between Cadena and Death Row inmate Joe Gonzalez, an NF leader at Chino Reception center, undermining Cadena's peace mission and effectively "green-lighting" him. With no remaining influence in the Mexican Mafia, his importance in the eyes of the NF was diminished; he was now a target for retribution. Cadena could have saved himself by requesting Protective Custody, a move that would have shown weakness to the way of life he had fought and killed for. His fate effectively sealed, he chose instead to go out the way he had come in, fighting. On his arrival in Chino for the now sabotaged peace mission, he was taunted by the Norteños and told his time would come.[2]
Death and afterward
The night before his death, Cadena had received multiple death threats and knew that when he left his cell in the morning, he would be leaving it permanently. On the morning of December 17, 1972, Cadena was asked if he wanted to leave his cell with the rest of the prisoners; rather than avoiding his fate and staying in his cell, he stepped onto the tier of his cell in "Palm Hall" at the Chino Reception center. He was stabbed repeatedly with shanks, and beaten with a pipe by Nuestra Familia assassins.[3] He was stabbed an estimated fifty times on the tier and thrown off a third story tier onto the concrete floor below and stabbed another dozen times. Cadena was subsequently buried at Union Cemetery in Bakersfield, California with an inscription reading, "Recuerdo de tu madre y familia" (Remembered by your mother and family.) His parents would divorce shortly afterwards.
Legacy
Cadena's murder sparked an era of gang warfare within the California penal system. Over the next year the lives of 31 prisoners were lost in tit-for-tat killings. The carnage and animosity from his murder still exists 48 years after his death, as La eMe still has a "kill on sight" order for any member of Nuestra Familia.
Cadena was the basis for the 1992 movie American Me, in which, Montoya Santana, a character based upon Cadena, was portrayed by Edward James Olmos. The Mexican Mafia, however, was enraged by certain parts of the movie, especially the portrayal of Santana being raped in juvenile hall and a climax in which Santana is murdered by his own followers. Two of Olmos' consultants on the film were subsequently murdered and a plot to extort the director was uncovered.[4]
^Chris Blatchford, The Black Hand; The Bloody Rise and Redemption of "Boxer" Enriquez, A Mexican Mob Killer, HarperCollins, 2008. Page 6.
^Tony Rafael, The Mexican Mafia, Encounter Books, 2007. Page 283.
^Tony Rafael, The Mexican Mafia, Encounter Books, 2007. Page 284.
^Lombardi, John. New York Magazine, "Scenes from a Bad Movie Marriage." January 12, 1998.
January 06, 2023
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Rodolfo Alvarado Cheyenne Cadena April 15 1943 December 17 1972 was a Mexican American mob boss and a prominent figure in the Mexican Mafia prison gang also called La eMe Spanish for the letter M Rodolfo Cheyenne CadenaBornRodolfo Alvarado Cadena 1943 04 15 April 15 1943San Antonio Texas U S DiedDecember 17 1972 1972 12 17 aged 29 Chino California U S Cause of deathHomicide stabbed and beaten to death Resting placeUnion Cemetery Bakersfield California U S Other namesCheyenneCHYOccupation s MobsterMob BossCriminal statusDeceasedParent s Daniel Hernandez Cadena father Anita Alvarado mother Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Death and afterward 2 Legacy 3 See also 4 ReferencesBiography EditCadena was born on April 15 1943 in San Antonio Texas the son of second generation Mexican immigrants Anita nee Alvarado and Daniel Hernandez Cadena The family later moved to Bakersfield California where Cadena attended East Bakersfield High School Cadena became a member of the Varrio Viejo Gang now known as the Varrio Bakers He was incarcerated at Deuel Vocational Institution after he and Richard Ruiz who would become one of the founding members of La eMe stabbed a man to death outside of a dancehall called Salon Juarez in 1959 At the time of his conviction Cadena was only 16 years old While incarcerated he earned the respect and admiration of the members of the Mexican Mafia which was still in its development stage According to Chris Blatchford By 1961 administrators at DVI alarmed by the escalating violence had transferred a number of the charter eMe members to San Quentin hoping to discourage their violent behavior by intermingling them with hardened adult convicts It didn t work For example the story goes that Cheyenne Cadena arrived on the lower yard and was met by a six foot five 300 pound black inmate who planted a kiss on his face and announced this scrawny teenager would now be his bitch Chy returned a short time later walked up to the unsuspecting predator and stabbed him to death with a jailhouse knife or shiv There were more than a thousand inmates on the yard No witnesses stepped forward and only one dead man entertained the idea that Cadena was anybody s bitch 1 Cadena and Joe Pegleg Morgan who became his best friend and mentor led the gang to prominence in the California correctional system by terrorizing other unorganized ethnic inmate groups gaining a monopoly over the sale of drugs pornography prostitution extortion and murder for hire Cadena continued to run the Mafia s activities and began to look beyond the walls of the prison envisioning a statewide monopoly of crime He struck an uneasy alliance with George Jackson and the Black Guerrilla Family and became active in Latino political organizations like the Brown Berets Cadena made overtures to unite La eMe with the rival Nuestra Familia NF His peace talks with the farmeros were frowned upon by Joe Morgan and other senior eMe leaders In response they ordered the murder of two Familia leaders just prior to an important peace conference between Cadena and Death Row inmate Joe Gonzalez an NF leader at Chino Reception center undermining Cadena s peace mission and effectively green lighting him With no remaining influence in the Mexican Mafia his importance in the eyes of the NF was diminished he was now a target for retribution Cadena could have saved himself by requesting Protective Custody a move that would have shown weakness to the way of life he had fought and killed for His fate effectively sealed he chose instead to go out the way he had come in fighting On his arrival in Chino for the now sabotaged peace mission he was taunted by the Nortenos and told his time would come 2 Death and afterward Edit The night before his death Cadena had received multiple death threats and knew that when he left his cell in the morning he would be leaving it permanently On the morning of December 17 1972 Cadena was asked if he wanted to leave his cell with the rest of the prisoners rather than avoiding his fate and staying in his cell he stepped onto the tier of his cell in Palm Hall at the Chino Reception center He was stabbed repeatedly with shanks and beaten with a pipe by Nuestra Familia assassins 3 He was stabbed an estimated fifty times on the tier and thrown off a third story tier onto the concrete floor below and stabbed another dozen times Cadena was subsequently buried at Union Cemetery in Bakersfield California with an inscription reading Recuerdo de tu madre y familia Remembered by your mother and family His parents would divorce shortly afterwards Legacy EditCadena s murder sparked an era of gang warfare within the California penal system Over the next year the lives of 31 prisoners were lost in tit for tat killings The carnage and animosity from his murder still exists 48 years after his death as La eMe still has a kill on sight order for any member of Nuestra Familia Cadena was the basis for the 1992 movie American Me in which Montoya Santana a character based upon Cadena was portrayed by Edward James Olmos The Mexican Mafia however was enraged by certain parts of the movie especially the portrayal of Santana being raped in juvenile hall and a climax in which Santana is murdered by his own followers Two of Olmos consultants on the film were subsequently murdered and a plot to extort the director was uncovered 4 See also EditList of known gang membersReferences Edit Chris Blatchford The Black Hand The Bloody Rise and Redemption of Boxer Enriquez A Mexican Mob Killer HarperCollins 2008 Page 6 Tony Rafael The Mexican Mafia Encounter Books 2007 Page 283 Tony Rafael The Mexican Mafia Encounter Books 2007 Page 284 Lombardi John New York Magazine Scenes from a Bad Movie Marriage January 12 1998 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rodolfo Cadena amp oldid 1128593328, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
