Venice Beach is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located within the Venice district. Venice Beach has acquired a reputation as a cultural hub known for his eccentricities and a global tourist destination, including the promenade that ran parallel to the beach (the boardwalk), Muscle Beach, the handball courts, the paddle tennis courts, Skate Dancing plaza, the numerous beach volleyball courts, the bike trail, and the businesses on Ocean Front Walk. The basketball courts in Venice are renowned across the country for their high level of streetball (street basketball), and numerous professional basketball players developed their games or were recruited on those courts. Many Zapotec-speaking Mexicans from Tlacolula de Matamoros worked at the boardwalk's stalls. Venice Beach once had a Ballas gang presence during the 1990s, later being taken over by The Families. By 2013, the Vagos and Marabunta Grande gangs dominated the Venice Beach area.