Gangs All Here : Conciliation: Members of three longtime rival Latino street gangs join in rally and peace march.

More than 300 members of three rival gangs marched down the boulevards of the city’s downtown area Sunday in an unprecedented rally for peace.

Members of F-Troop, Delhi and Santa Nita--three of the main Latino gangs in Santa Ana who have been feuding for years--joined in the one-mile march in an effort to stop drive-by shootings and senseless killings in Orange County.

Sunday’s march comes three weeks after the death of Mauro Vergara Meza, 31, who was killed in a drive-by shooting at Santa Ana High School. Meza’s brother was critically wounded after the April 15 altercation in the schoolyard following a pickup basketball game.

About 300 teen-agers and young adults, local officials and community groups marched from Civic Center Drive to nearby El Salvador Park at 1 p.m. Sunday.

“This is getting old, played out,” Chief, one of the organizers of the march, said of drive-by shootings. “Innocent people are dying. We want to set an example. If people want to fight or have a beef, we should hash it out as men.”

Organizers said the march was an ongoing effort by the local gangs to keep peace in Orange County.

Since January, local gangs across the county have been meeting weekly to discuss their differences and seek ways to stop gang violence. The meetings usually are held in county parks--neutral territory, they say.

Sunday’s march was the first of many, organizers say. “We’ll keep doing this until it works,” Chief said.

The group walked down Civic Center Drive holding placards that read: “There Is No Way to Peace, Peace Is the Way.” Said another: “ Gente a Causa de Paz ,” Spanish for “People for Peace.”

A few youngsters wore gang paraphernalia--shirts with their gang names, bandannas and hats. Some had their gang names tattooed on their torsos. Others wore white T-shirts bearing the message, “Stop all the drive-by shootings.”

After the 30-minute walk, the youths were congratulated by local officials including Santa Ana City Councilman John Acosta. Organizers then decided that next week’s meeting would be held in a park in the city’s Delhi neighborhood and encouraged gang leaders to join a planned summer retreat in August.

Afterward, they feasted on bologna sandwiches, enchiladas, chips, fruit and soda, all donated by local Mexican restaurants.

As the gang members ate, police officers on foot and in patrol cars circled the park and the adjoining neighborhood.

Initially, police were fearful that the march could turn ugly in the wake of four days of violence in Los Angeles and asked gang leaders to cancel the rally.

Gang members instead met Friday with Santa Ana Police Chief Paul M. Walters and persuaded him to let them march. Still, several police officers monitored Sunday’s event.

“We don’t want to get a spinoff (from the Los Angeles violence),” Sgt. Ed Andrade said. “We are here to prevent outside groups from interfering and make sure they have a peaceful march.”

Although the rally went off without a hitch, gang members expressed concern that the kind of unbridled violence seen in the rioting and looting in Los Angeles could happen on their turf.

“We don’t want any of that madness in L.A. here,” said one gang member, who gave his name as Stork.

Councilman Acosta, who joined the marchers, said he too worried that Orange County could experience upheaval in its minority communities.

“We need to accept the fact that these young men are part of our community,” he said.

“If we continue to turn our backs on the minority community, we will have the same situation (as in Los Angeles) in Orange County.”