Page 8 - THE INTERPRETER

C H A R A C T E R S

Diego “D” Bonilla (21)

G a n g m e m b e r

Diego’s life couldn’t be more removed from Sam’s reality. Diego was

born into a ruthless transcontinental gang that provides the eyes and
ears for both cartels and organized crime operations in the U.S. and
abroad.

Diego is the guy on the other side of the wire. Diego’s life has been a
never-ending reaction to the brutal, gang-related murders of his
father and brother when Diego was thirteen. Of course, Diego was

crushed in every conceivable way, but it was more complicated than
that. There was a sense of relief knowing that his father would never

put hands on his mother again.

But Diego couldn’t shake the long shadow of his father or the
temptation of the barrio that takes way more than it gives back. But

his restless soul continued to haunt him. His unforgotten fears and
anguish had evolved into something different; rage. Rage at his father,

at himself, at the world. After several street fights and felony
probation, Diego joined the Marine Corps. But once again, a boot-

camp brawl had Diego on a one-way ticket back home.

And then Paloma came along, and they had a daughter. But that
didn’t keep Diego out of the life. The lure of the streets, the only

world he has ever known, was just too hard to ignore. Then a violent
brawl at his son’s 2nd birthday party got him locked up again. Two
years later as Diego is released, he now finally committed being the

father he never had and staying out of the life for good. But despite
his best intentions, the legacy of his father is an impossible shadow to

escape.