Young Jennifer
It is July 24, 1970 - a hot summer day in the Bronx, New York. A lot of Puerto Rican people live here and they are not all happy. But it is a good day for David and Guadalupe Lopez and their daughters Lynda and Leslie. They are happy because they have a new little girl in the family. They call her Jennifer.
Jennifer is beautiful and interesting. From four years old she performs for the family. Sometimes she is a singer. Sometimes she is a dancer or a movie star. She loves the movie West Side Story. She watches it one hundred times. In West Side Story, Rita Moreno plays Anita. For Jennifer, Rita is America's number one actress and dancer. "I'd like to be her," Jennifer thinks.
At five, Jennifer goes to a school of theater and dance. In a short time, she can sing, act, and dance very well.
"But is this important?" David and Guadalupe ask. They have good jobs. They want to see Jennifer in a good job, too. For this, schoolwork is very important.
By Rod Smith