Los Santos in GTA III Era
Los Santos, San Andreas is a fictional city located in Red County, and it is the first city encountered in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Los Santos is based on Los Angeles, California. Los Santos translates to 'The Saints', a play on Los Angeles, meaning 'The Angels'. This also applies to the two cities' nicknames - "The City of Saints" and "City of Angels".
Like Los Angeles, Los Santos is a huge, sprawling co-mingling of cultures and perspectives, full of two-bit hoodlums and small-time actors. The population of over 3 million people is divided into 32 districts, which are home to movie and television studios, multi-million dollar estates, crack-ridden ghettos, and a busy international airport. Numerous roads and a central rail line connect Los Santos to San Fierro and Las Venturas. The most infamous street in the city is Grove Street, located in Ganton, southeast of downtown Los Santos, and just minutes south of East Los Santos, which, like East Los Angeles, contains a predominantly Hispanic population. Grove Street is home to the Grove Street Families, a once powerful gang whose influence faded due to highly successful drug trafficking by the rival Ballas gang.
Los Santos' police are corrupt and the politicians avoid the streets like the plague. There is a motocross track, several basketball courts, and an observatory (modeled after the Griffith Observatory) to satisfy stargazers. Occasionally, independent drug dealers are seen carrying huge wads of cash from recent transactions. Graffiti is commonplace and gambling venues like the racetrack are frequented by many of the city's denizens. The suburbs nestled in the north hills (modeled after the Hollywood Hills) are home to wealthy businessmen, movie stars, and Madd Dogg, the killer rap artist, alike. The occasional shack can also be spotted within this highly affluent district, testaments to the period prior to the gentrification of northern Los Santos.
Storyline
Los Santos is the hometown of GTA San Andreas protagonist Carl "CJ" Johnson, who returns from living in Liberty City for five years, after his brother informs him of their mother's death. The game starts upon CJ's arrival in Los Santos, and the story revolves around a lengthy Gang War between CJ's gang, The Grove Street Families, and their fiercest rivals, the Ballas. Tensions between rival Hispanic gangs, Varrios Los Aztecas and Los Santos Vagos, also threaten the tenuous hold with which GSF clings to its paltry territories.
The city is torn apart over the issue of gang warfare. The Grove Street Families and Front Yard Ballas constantly spar over total dominance in Ganton, Idlewood, Jefferson, Willowfield, and even East Los Santos. In 1992, police officers Frank Tenpenny and Eddie Pulaski of C.R.A.S.H. (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums) are charged with murder and sexual assault, after their extensive corruption becomes blatantly obvious, even to the general public. Immediately prior, Pulaski is murdered by CJ in the Arco del Oeste area after he and Tenpenny, who were using CJ as their patsy, decide there is no more use for him. Alone at the court hearing, however, Tenpenny is released when the prosecutor inexplicably drops all charges. The entire city, outraged that Tenpenny walks free from horrendously heinous charges of which he is obviously guilty, erupts in riots. During the ensuing chaos, CJ kills cocaine drug lord and ex-gang member Big Smoke. CJ then chases after Officer Tenpenny, who dies when his stolen Fire Truck careens off the side of the very overpass visible from the Johnson House. When news of Tenpenny's death reaches the people of Los Santos, the riots immediately cease.
Landmarks
Los Santos is filled with references to famous L.A. landmarks, including:
- Griffith Observatory
- City Hall
- Hollywood Sign
- Walk of Fame
- Watts Towers
- Capitol Records
- U.S. Bank Tower
- Santa Monica Pier
- Los Angeles River
- The Forum
- Stahl House
- Union Station
- Two California Plaza
- Gas Company Tower
- Mulholland Drive
- House of Blues
- Grauman's Chinese Theater
- Vincent Thomas Bridge
- Los Angeles Convention Center
- Chemosphere
- Beverly Wilsher Hotel
- Muscle Beach
- El Capitan Theater
- Hollywood Boulevard
- Twin Towers Correctional Facility
- Bonaventure Hotel
- Shrine Auditorium
- Rodeo Drive
- Sunset Boulevard
- Santa Monica Mountains
- Melrose Avenue
- Randy's Donut
Districts
- Pershing Square
- Commerce
- Conference Center
- Downtown Los Santos
- East Beach
- East Los Santos
- El Corona
- Ganton
- Glen Park
- Idlewood
- Jefferson
- Las Colinas
- Little Mexico
- Los Flores
- Los Santos International Airport
- Marina
- Market
- Market Station
- Mulholland
- Mulholland Intersection
- Ocean Docks
- Playa del Seville
- Richman
- Rodeo
- Santa Maria Beach
- Temple
- Unity Station
- Verdant Bluffs
- Verona Beach
- Vinewood
- Willowfield
Trivia
- Although part of a fictional universe, radio stations in San Andreas broadcast real-life songs, many of which reference various districts in the city of Los Angeles, such as Watts (Jefferson) and South Central L.A., and cities in Los Angeles County, such as Compton (Ganton), Inglewood (Idlewood), Long Beach (East Beach), and Hollywood (Vinewood).