LILLY

Colón offers an inspirational memoir about escaping a dreadful childhood to become a successful entertainer in the late 20th century.

The author’s family was from Puerto Rico, but she felt estranged from any Latine identity while growing up in the Bronx. When she was not yet 4 years old, her father put her in an orphanage and had her mother committed. Colón unsuccessfully tried to run away from the institution and lived at the home until she was a teenager. She reports enduring both physical abuse and cruel punishments; when she wet the bed, she remembers having to kneel on the floor with the wet sheet wrapped around her head. The author was able to see the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall and take dance classes, which put her on a path to becoming a performer. She was accepted into the High School of Performing Arts and was able to live with a foster family starting in 1970. Colón began performing, and, to escape her status of being a ward of the state (which would have continued until she was 21), she married her boyfriend when she turned 18. She left him due to his violent behavior and went on tour for six months with the No, No, Nanette company. By 1983, Colón had returned to New York, where she worked her way up to being a Rockette for the 1990 Christmas Spectacular. The author’s story is dramatic and compelling, boasting many twists and appearances by celebrities such as Freddie Prinze and Chita Rivera. Colón engagingly describes dancing at lunchtime in high school (as in the movie Fame) and auditioning for Bob Fosse (“He stared up at the balcony, arms crossed, cigarette still in his right hand, as he said, ‘Would you ask her to do a double pirouette, please?’”); she also nicely conveys how she acquired a strong sense of self-preservation as well as a Latine identity (while dancing with The Latins). Each hardship brought a new realization that propelled her on to success—she describes her heartbreaking mistakes and inspiring developments honestly and movingly.

A thoughtful account of personal discovery and the pursuit of dancing dreams in ’70s and ’80s America.