Article: Teens' dog tags assert identity, show off love interests: Hip-hop culture brought the trend into urban areas, then high schools

WASHINGTON - Without saying a word, Teofilo Rubi announces his identity to everyone he passes at his Prince William County, Va., high school. All they have to do is glance at the dog tag around his neck, emblazoned with the blue and white flag of his native Central American country and the words, "Yo Soy CATRACHO" (I am Honduran).

A few lunch tables over at Gar-Field Senior High, a 16-year-old girl sports a dog tag engraved with a photo of her girlfriend. Another classmate wears a dog tag with a picture of Al Pacino clutching an assault rifle in the movie "Scarface."

You want to know the essential truth of teen-agers? Check out their dog tags. Walk through the hallways or cafeterias in just ...

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