Garra Blanca (White Claw) is the title given to a

barra brava ''Barra brava'' () is the name of organized supporters' groups of football teams in Latin America, analogous to British hooligans in providing fanatical support to their clubs in stadiums and provoking violence against rival fans as well as a ...

that was created in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

by the supporters of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

based

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club

Colo-Colo Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo () is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano they play in the Chilean Primera División, from which they have never been relegated. The team has played ...

. It is one of the three largest and most important barras bravas in the country, the other beings

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

's ''

Los de Abajo Los de Abajo ("The Ones From Below") is the official supporters group of Universidad de Chile. They are one of the biggest groups of supporters in Chile. It is the team that takes the most people to the stadium in Chile. History In 1987, Univers ...

'' (''those from below'') and Universidad Catolica "Los Cruzados" ("The Cruzaders").

History

In early 1986 a youth movement gave rise among the various supporters of Colo-Colo imitating the

Hooligans Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events. Etymology There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...

. Amid the

military regime A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

, marginalized members of Chilean society decided to unite and form a voice of identity. Over the years the group has been associated with widescale violence. Fighting with security personnel, the Chilean national police, and other team barra bravas is a common occurrence. Garra Blanca leaders are reported to have an unofficial relationship with Blanco y Negro, the corporate entity that is in charge of Colo-Colo. The board of directors deny such an alliance and have only stated that the barra brava is recognized for stadium safety reasons.">Ruiz-Tagle golpeó la mesa: "Blanco y Negro no tiene relación con la barra" , Emol.com
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References

{{Colo-Colo 1986 establishments in Chile Chilean football supporters' associations Ultras groups