Early Life
Cruz was born in Las Piedras, Puerto Rico where he was raised by his parents. His parents practiced brujeria and were followers of spiritism ("espiritismo"). They mentally abused him; his own mother would call him "Son of Satan". The neighborhood in which he lived was one of the worst in Puerto Rico and Cruz was always getting into trouble. According to his book Run Baby Run, his parents sent him to live with his brother in New York City when he was 15, and Cruz soon ran away and started living on the streets of the city. He became a member of the Mau-Mau street gang, and about six months later Cruz was elected Warlord of the gang. He quickly rose to be their leader.
Read more about this topic: Nicky Cruz
Famous quotes related to early life:
“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)