The Valentinos: Heywood's Gang of Saints, Gold Jewelry and Strict Loyalty

Who they are#

You can spot a Valentino across a room: loud vests, flashy gold cyberware, heavy jewelry, and tattoos of Santa Muerte and Jesus Malverde. The style is Chicano and the look came straight out of a Mexican barrio, but the gang takes anyone, whatever their background.

Most are of Mexican heritage, and they celebrate Dia de los Muertos, quinceañeras, Semana Santa and the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. That shared culture ties the gang to the neighborhood, and the neighborhood protects them in return, which is why police and corporate infiltration almost never works.

The code#

Betraying the gang is the worst crime a Valentino can commit, and it usually ends in a particularly gruesome death. River Ward, the NCPD detective, says he has to give them style points: there is a punishment for every occasion.

Valentinos who die in a fight with gangs, police or corporate enforcers are remembered as saints and martyrs. They get songs and giant murals that work as religious iconography, with the saint's deeds written on the wall. Die in the right fight and you get a wall. It is the cheapest funeral in town and the longest-lasting.

Business#

On the street the Valentinos run restaurants, nightclubs and auto shops, all legal. They are also fronts for money laundering, smuggling stolen vehicles and guns, human trafficking and gang warfare.

The gang has older roots as a small, mostly Latino cartel. At some point in the 2060s or earlier, a bloodbath in Moto Cielo killed many Valentinos. A priest who survived, Sebastian Ibarra, took the experience as a calling and became a Night City fixer known as Padre.

Their predecessor is the El Norte Cartel, a criminal organization with Mexican roots. Theresa Valentino, manager of Santo Domingo, had her position thanks to it.

War with 6th Street#

By the 2070s the Valentinos are one of the biggest gangs in the city, and their moral code says honor, justice and brotherhood. They also have a rival. In 2071 the Valentinos and 6th Street were already fighting over turf, with a firefight in Westbrook. By around 2074 the war was over control of Vista del Rey, and many residents moved out.

Campo Orta, the gang's main leader, was in prison at the time, with four years still to serve. The secondary leaders on record are El Sombrerón and Gustavo Orta.

Valentinos in Cyberpunk 2077#

The Valentinos reach the player through Jackie Welles, a former member. His mother, Mamá Welles, runs El Coyote Cojo, one of the gang's listed locations, which gives the opening hours a family feel that the other gangs lack.

The gang's other locations include La Catrina, Moto Cielo and the Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados Cathedral. Hangouts and a cathedral sit on the same list of gang locations, which says a lot about where the gang draws the line between church and business.

Fixer's notes#

Opinion: the Valentinos are the gang you want on your side and the gang you want to avoid betraying, and the game knows it. Their friendship is described as priceless and following you to the grave. Take that as a warning.

For the other gangs, see Night City's gangs. For the district they hold, see Night City districts.