People of Cypress Park: Gustavo Orduñes

My name is Gustavo Gustavo Orduñes.

This is Cypress Park. Not a lot of people recognize it and they think Glasgow Park. You see changes are a pattern actually. It's like it goes from being a tough neighborhood to being a really nice, calm neighborhood then again tough, you know? When everybody's locked up already, you know all the little kids come out, start getting into all that gang stuff.

For me, I was never into the whole gang thing, but I grew up around it. Friends, you know in prison and stuff like that. But, I was never into that. You know, I got shot in front of my house four years ago.

There was a time that I actually got beat up here, you know? Um, down that alley, you know I was like, 15. My first day of high school. And I was coming up and I don't know why, they just thought I was somebody or who knows what, but I got jumped. And that sucked, my first day of high school, you know? You know, it was tough growing up here.

My worries are that I have little brothers and sisters and wouldn't want them to go through what I went through. I feel if there was a big change in the community in a positive way, I feel like it would change people in a positive way. I'm really sure of that.

The above interview is transcribed and edited from the following interview: