Juan Carlos (28) and Claudia (20)

Juan Carlos and Claudia met three years ago in the Parque Central. They live in a nearby hotel called El Scorpio, at a cost of Q50 (£4) per day, or they sleep in the park’s amphitheatre. Their first child, Jonathan, is cared for by Juan Carlos' mother when they are on the streets.

Claudia left home at ten to join a street gang, where she soon earnt the right to a tattoo saying "Big Barrio 18". She left the gang after she was raped by other gang members. Afraid that her 'homies' would kill her, she was in hiding until she met Juan Carlos.

Juan Carlos left home at the age of eight to live with his grandmother, and by ten was spending most of his time on the streets with the Mara 18, one of Guatemala’s most notorious gangs. By twelve he was recruiting older boys into the gang, and at fifteen was leading 'South Side' faction, controlling a part of the Parque Central. The violence led to him being shot four times; in the chest, stomach, leg and the side of his body. At seventeen he was arrested for murdering two members of a rival gang, and was facing a sentence of fifty years. He spent three years waiting in jail, when he "met an amazing person called Jesus Christ". When his accusers dropped all charges and he was released, Juan Carlos renounced his life of violence and began preaching in the park to encourage other gang members to do the same. He now supports Claudia and Jonathan by selling pens on the city buses.

From his right eye fall two tattooed tear drops, marking his first kills. I asked him how many people had he killed? "If I'd continued with the tattoos, my face would be covered in tears.”