Biography: Catalina

Catalina is a character created by Rockstar Games, first appearing in Grand Theft Auto III, as the main antagonist in the plot set in 2001. She would later appear in GTA: San Andreas, set in 1992, as an ally of the main character, Carl "CJ" Johnson.

A robber and later leader of the Colombian Cartel gang acting in Los Santos in the early 2000s, she was known for her psychotic and treacherous personality, insane behavior and strong Latin accent.

Catalina was voiced by actress Cynthia Farrell.

History

Before and after GTA III and GTA: San Andreas

Of Mexican, Dominican and Colombian descent, Catalina began her life of crime sometime before 1992, probably when she met Carl Johnson of the Grove Street Families gang in San Andreas.

She was introduced to her by her cousin, Cesar Vialpando, leader of the gang Varrios Los Aztecas, and met Carl for the first time at The Welcome Pump in Dillimore. Although she is Cesar's cousin, there is no confirmation if she also shares his surname.

From there, Carl and she set out on a series of robberies, and soon after, they began an intimate relationship. They began robbing several "soft targets" identified by her, but the relationship became strained by Carl's growing desire for money to try to free his brother, who was being held by corrupt C.R.A.S.H. (a branch of the Los Santos Police Department) officers.

Shortly after breaking up with Carl, Catalina got involved with Claude, an illegal street racer. Carl won two races against him, and thus gained his garage in Doherty, San Fierro. Catalina left with Claude for Liberty City, but continued to call Carl for a while, trying to make her ex-boyfriend jealous.

Grand Theft Auto III

Catalina and Claude committed multiple crimes over a period of almost nine years. They traveled through several states, committing mainly bank robberies, including Texas and New Mexico.

Their journey took them to Liberty City in October 2001, when Catalina began to have good relations with the Colombian Cartel leadership in the city. During a robbery at the local bank, Catalina betrayed Claude and another accomplice, shooting them both and fleeing with the money.

She continued her activities, eventually becoming the leader of the Cartel. Under Catalina, they increased the production and distribution of the drug SPANK, and turned even more hostile against rivals such as the Yakuza on Staunton Island, and the Leone Family mafia in Portland.

However, unbeknownst to her*, Claude survived and escaped from prison, and was working for several criminals in the city. He soon began to stand out, even killing a Cartel informant and later destroying a cargo ship full of drugs. When Claude began working with the Yakuza, the two nearly faced off at a construction site in Fort Staunton, but Catalina escaped.

After a setup by Claude and the tycoon Donald Love, a gang war broke out between the Cartel and the Yakuza. Several of the Cartel's drug dealing hubs were attacked, and at this point, Claude became a major threat to their business. Catalina first used her influence to convince the leader of the Jamaican gang Uptown Yardies to kill Claude in a suicide bombing, but he escaped alive.

Death

Finally, Catalina personally went to the place where he was meeting with the Yakuza, killed the underboss of the Eastern Mafia, Asuka Kasen, and the former Cartel colleague, Miguel. She also kidnapped Maria Latore, whom she thought was her ex-boyfriend's lover, and demanded a ransom of $500,000.

Claude took the money to the mansion that served as the Cartel's stronghold, in Cedar Grove. Catalina betrayed him again, taking the briefcase with the bills and leaving a henchman to kill him.

But Claude fought back, killed most of the Cartel members and pursued Catalina, who was trying to escape in a helicopter. As she was flying over the Cochrane Dam, Claude fired a rocket launcher and shot down the craft, killing Catalina.

Character building

Catalina is portrayed as an extremely aggressive, psychotic and limitless woman, who takes advantage of everyone without remorse, such as her boyfriends or partners in crime.

GTA: San Andreas explores her explosive mood better, when during crimes with Carl, she shoots at the police, civilian pedestrians or anyone else in the way. At another point, she shows to suffers from disorders caused by her family, especially her stepfather, when responding to Carl's criticism of her excessive use of force:

They had to die because you were slow and stupid, like a big fat brat that eats chocolates while his father gives nothing to his step daughter but stale bread!

Appearance

Catalina underwent few changes between her participations in GTA III and GTA: SA. The main change was her younger appearance, due to the nine-year difference between each storyline. The only consirable difference is between her console and PC versions; the version most similar to the PlayStation 2 was the basis for the remastered version of the game, where she has darker skin and shorter hair.

She is a brunette with olive skin and brown hair, usually in a ponytail, and wears pants and boots, ranging from a tank top in San Andreas to a tank top with a jacket in GTA III. In the 10th anniversary version of GTA III, her top was shorter, with a neck ornament.

Quotes