PROGRAMS: EL JOVEN NOBLE and HOMBRES JOVENES CON PALABRA
The Noble Young Man and Young Men with Word
A Male Responsibility Project

We must guide our youth across the rites of passage bridge so they will be prepared to guide the next generation.

Using and innovative mix of culturally significant educational and mentoring activities El Joven Noble is aimed at at-risk Latino men between the ages of 13 and 24. The program is designed to foster responsible, respectful relationships between young Latino men, their partners, and their families with the goal of preventing teen pregnancies and reducing STI rates. The program includes Hombres Jovenes Con Palabra.

Built on the indigenous concept of maintaining PALABRA or credible word, a unique "rites of passage" experience enables participants to draw valuable lessons from traditional cultural rituals. The result is a powerful new tradition that instills positive cultural values, a sense of personal responsibility, and profound respect for others in the circle. A compadres network of other adult men provides extended kinship support and reinforcement for the continued personal growth and development of young men during their enrollment in the program and in the months that follow.

The program offers:
  • Life skills development: educational programs that provide practical lessons in the skills required for living independently in the community.


  • Cultural development: provides ongoing martial arts classes and programs to foster positive cultural identity through the use of theater, music, and recreational activities.


  • Compadres mentoring: experienced men serve as mentors and role models for program participants.
Primary intervention is provided in cooperation with elementary, continuation, and high schools, junior colleges, correctional facilities, and other community agencies. Program participants are also offered ongoing services and support after they formally complete the program to encourage continued positive behaviors.

The El Joven Noble curriculum includes the following components:
  • Conocimento: Acknowledgment of others based on mutual respect.


  • Cultural identity: Discovering the true essence of Latino manhood.


  • Maleness vs. manhood: The lessons of Latino men learn from families, society, and culture.


  • Male and female balance: The cycle of development in male and female physiology.


  • Hombre sin PALABRA: Understanding why men hurt themselves and their families by participating in family violence, drugs, alcohol, gangs, and other negative behaviors.


  • PALABRA or consequences: The truth about the consequences of unprotected sexual activities in the age of sexually transmitted infections and HIV.


  • Myth vs. facts: Knowledge is strength. Know the laws regarding statutory rape, child support, legal rights, and what legal resources are available.


  • Preparing to cross the bridge: Acknowledgment, thanks, and commitment to PALABRA.
A Prayer of Thanks
Creator, on this day, I give thanks for all you have given me
      for the gifts and baggage
      for the ancestors that have sacrificed to provide a path
      for my elders and teachers for their example
      for my family and friends who are my inspiration
      and for this blessed work you send me to do,
I humbly give thanks.
Con respeto, para serviries,

Jerry Tello

For more information about El Joven Noble or Hombres Jovenes Con Palabra please contact:

El Joven Noble
5252 East Beverly Blvd.
East Los Angeles, CA 90022
323-728-7770