Nicky Cruz
The Reverend Nicky Cruz (b.
December 6,
1938 in
San Juan, Puerto Rico) is the former leader of a notorious
New York City gang,
The Mau-Maus. He later became a world renowned religious minister.
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Reverend Nicky Cruz (present) |
When Nicky was a child, he was raised by his parents who practiced
witchcraft ("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 Nicky was always getting into trouble.
On January 1,
1955, when Nicky was sixteen, he was sent away from home to live with his older brother in New York City. Nicky moved to Fort Greene, Brooklyn in the heart of a tenement that housed over 30,000 Puerto Rican and Black people. In the
ghettoes of New York, such as Fort Greene, life can be very difficult. Joining a gang was one of the few options that
teenagers had in order to survive everyday life. Nicky quickly became the gang's "
warlord." The position of warlord was important within the gang because the warlord is the person who meets with the warlords of other gangs to discuss the time and place of a gang fight and which weapons are going to be used. In
1958, Nicky was 18 years old and already the gang's "president." Nicky was also into
drugs and his friend Mannie Durango, died in his arms during a gang fight. His gang was also involved in robberies and killings.
A
preacher by the name of
David Wilkerson was in Nicky's neighborhood preaching when Nicky ran into him. They exchanged some words and Nicky threatened to kill him. That afternoon the preacher showed up in Nicky's gang's headquarters and was beaten up by Nicky.
Two weeks later, the preacher was back in the neighborhood for an evangelistic meeting. When Nicky heard about it, he decided to go and teach the preacher a "lesson" and, with some of the members of his gang, he headed for the St. Nicholas Boxing Arena (where the rally was being held). According to Nicky, when he arrived at the arena, something strange happened to his body. He started to feel guilty about the things that he had done before and started to
pray. The preacher prayed with Nicky and Nicky asked
God to forgive him. He also asked for the preacher's forgiveness.
The following day Nicky went to the
police and turned in all of his weapons. Nicky began to study the
Bible and returned to school. Nicky studied many subjects, including
theology, for years. He himself became a preacher and returned back to his old neighborhood, where he preached and persuaded some of the "
Mau Maus" to accept
Jesus, including the gang's new leader,
Israel Narvaez, who himself accepted Jesus as his savior.Who is this guy?
Nicky is the founder of the "Nicky Cruz Outreach," which is a program that helps teenagers with troubled lives. The program has been a huge success and has branches in the
United States,
Latin America, and
Europe. Nicky Cruz is also the founder of
halfway houses which help in the
rehabilitation of
drug addicts. He is a member of the Honorary Committee of
The Presidential Prayer Team which includes the likes of former
President of the United States Gerald Ford,
Jerry Colangelo, and others.
In
1970, a
movie production about the life of Nicky Cruz, titled
The Cross and the Switchblade, was made, starring
Pat Boone as Rev.
David Wilkerson and
Erik Estrada as Nicky Cruz. In February
2000, a
television special about Nicky Cruz titled
Run Baby, Run was telecast in the
United States.
Nicky also did a
55 minute documentary with
Art Linkletter called
"No Need to Hide". Nicky took Art to his old stomping grounds and showed him his old turf and showed how
heroin broke the gang up.
The following books about Nicky Cruz have been written in various languages:
The Cross and the Switchblade, by David Wilkerson,
Run, Baby, Run, by Nicky Cruz, and
The Gangster Who Cried: The story of Nicky Cruz, by
R.J. Owens. He has also co-authored a book,
The Magnificent Three, with
Charles Paul Conn.
Rev. Nicky Cruz now lives in
Colorado and continues
preaching all over the world.
*
List of famous Puerto Ricans*
TRUCE*
Nicky Cruz*
Presidential Prayer Team*
Early Book Cover for "Satan on the Loose"
