This article focuses on the figure of the pachuco in the play Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez in order to explore the most important aspects about this character. To achieve this purpose I will examine its representation in various literary texts and I will trace its history to show how the projection of the character changes from the Chicano movement in the 6os. This character is seen in a positive and memorable way, especially in the play Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez, who regards him as a precursor of the Chicano movement. Zoot Suit is based on a true story, the incident of the Sleepy Lagoon, happening during the Second World War, when a group of pachucos is guilty of a crime and is imprisoned. The accused become an evident target of discrimination and injustice, not only pachucos but the Mexican American community in the United States, through police brutality and the Anglo-American press. Valdez places the pachuco within a long historical struggle by Mexican Americans for civil rights, giving him the status of political fighter and symbol of resistance, Chicano pride and identity.