In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio

When returning to East Harlem in 1994, Bourgois provides an update on many of the individuals he befriended. Primo has stopped selling drugs and no longer sniffs cocaine or drinks alcohol. He has found a temporary job and is trying to get hired full-time. He has also moved out of Maria’s house and has a good relationship with their son, Primo Jr., but Maria lost her subsidized apartment and had to move back in with her mother. She’s still on welfare and food stamps. Caesar doesn’t sell drugs anymore either, although he still spends most of his SSI paycheck on drugs on alcohol. He lives with Carmen and their 3-year-old son, Caesar Jr. Caesar is still violently abusive to his family and was placed on a list for a drug treatment program. He abandoned the program when the wait became too long. His family sent him to live with a relative in Florida to try and keep him off drugs and out of trouble.

Candy doesn’t sell drugs anymore either. She also no longer works and lives with Felix and their kids. Felix doesn’t beat her anymore, having learned his lesson.