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Joe
Vega was born in Puerto Rico on December
13, 1921 and came to America at the age
of ten.
At that venerable age being brought up in
Spanish Harlem, he learned to survive by
fast moving feet and even faster fists.
Avoiding the mixture of gangs was the prime
concern of his family and they kept a visual
on him with a stern hand.
After graduating from high school, he decided
to make boxing his career and at the age
of 21 he turned professional. He received
very good notices for being lighting fast
on his feet. At the gymnasium. Jack Dempsey
once said,” If I had those feet I
never would have lost that fight with Gene
Toney.” Joe was known as one of the
minutemen in boxing, able to appear in the
ring at the drop of a hat.
On many occasions he was called to replace
a boxer who for some reason at thelast minute
was not able to make the fight. |
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With
fast moving feet and natural grace it was no surprise
when his interest turned to the dance floor. Joe
became more interested in dancing when he learned
that dancing was the best way to meet girls, after
all, the main event in boxing is one on one compared
to a dance event with five girls to one guy. So
conquering the dance was first and uppermost in
his mind and he turned to his sister to teach
him, but got no where since she was not a teacher
just a good dancer. She told him “you’ll
never learn you got no rhythm”.
Next,
he tried going dancing picking up a step here
and there, but it wasn’t enough. At one
of the dances he over heard a young man say “I’m
going to Arthur Murray’s and their going
to train me to dance and teach and in six weeks
I’ll be earning money and dancing with beautiful
girls”.
Joe
wondered who the hell Arthur Murray. He asked
around the dance floor and got the answer he didn’t
want to hear “who’s going to teach
a guy with two left feet and train him to be a
teacher, what a joke” Not fazed, the macho
in him came out when he muttered under his breath,
“you dumb gringo don’t you know that
all Puerto Ricans have dancing in their blood”.
Joe
was determined to continue his quest and one day
found out that American ballrooms had free dance
lessons and one of the places was the Roseland
Ballroom on Broadway and 50th Street a place where
Latino’s rarely went and in those times
were not welcomed.
His
pride and boxing confidence took over and he decided
to and take the free lesson. Entering the Roseland
he immediately observed that two of the bouncers
were pointing at him, so he immediately walked
over to them and said, “ I only want to
dance so back off” Surprised at the balls
he had, they walked away.
Taking
in the surroundings, he was aware that the Roseland
offered him corny music and catered to a snobby
crowd. Many of the men were in suits and the women
in Betty Bop dresses. While viewing them, they
were eyeing him with their noses in the air and
once they were on the floor he saw that they danced
that way too.
Not put off, Joe was one of the first to join
the complimentary dance lesson. Olga, a well known
dance studio owner, immediately spotted Joe as
a good looking Latino and picked him out to demonstrate
the basic step in the Rumba. Joe is elated but
nervous yet the demonstration turns out to be
the learning experience Joe needs.
Olga
is surprised that her choice knows nothing about
his ancestral dance; she does realize, however,
that with training his latin good looks would
be a one- two punch for her studio. At the end
of the lesson she invites Joe to join her table
and once again Joe is thrilled.
Olga
is an outstanding dresser and a glamour girl far
different than any female Joe has ever met.
Olga knows every body in who’s who of the
world of dancing. Joe is delighted and feels he
is hob knobbing with the elite dancers and teachers
of Broadway. This elation brings him to the realization
that this is exactly the world he wants to be
in. He didn’t know if he could keep up with
these new people who were a world apart from his
Latino friends, yet he is in awe with the sparkles
of the new element. Joe has no idea what he’s
in for in this new world of the dance.
And
as Joe started to learn the name of the game,
sell- sell- sell, be charming always dress well
be flirtatious and dance.
Olga
saw the potential in Joe to be a dancer and salesmen
for her studio and she proceeded to tell Joe that
he had a great future in dancing but also, had
to earn it by dedication and understanding of
the business, and by selling the dance to the
well to do and sometimes to the not so well.
But she also pointed out to Joe that he had to
get rid of the chip on his shoulder and understand
that the prejudices that were around would fade
one day and being a tough guy belongs in the ring
not on the dance floor. Joe’s stubborn streak
and chip did not go away and in a way was one
of his attractions for the women and his hardness
was clear to the guys.
The
Palladium Has a Thousand Stories – (continued)
click
here
© End
part 1
Michael
Terrace &
Elita Gutierrez
Sunday, 27-Nov-2011
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