I moved to new york exactly four years ago on July 1. I started out renting a room by the week from a nice Hispanic family in Harlem. I moved around several more times before ending up in Jersey City with a baby. My time in the JC was brief– maybe about 10 months. I still worked in NYC, so I never really considered myself a Jersey resident. However, I did take advantage of the few ways in which Jersey City totally wins over Manhattan: Target and a regular-sized grocery store. It was at that grocery store, the A&P to be exact, that I encountered a woman who just about made Sharon Osbourne poop her pants the other night on America’s Got Talent.
I didn’t know her name, but she was the serene grey-haired woman who would scan my groceries efficiently and gush over my newborn as I tried to dig my A&P card out of my cavernous and poorly-organized purse. I always liked getting in her line because she was fast and good at her job (plus, the baby-gushing didn’t hurt). What’s funny is I don’t remember a single other person who worked at that grocery store; nor would I be able to pick a single Target employee out of a line-up. Yet when I caught a glimpse of a woman dancing her heart out on television recently, I knew exactly who she was.
It turns out that I’m not the only one. A quick search turned up other A&P customers who recognized the cashier, Carol Lugo, as soon as they saw her. It’s the contrast between her exterior personality and what America now knows she had hiding beneath the surface that makes this woman so compelling. She seemed calm, quiet, perhaps even timid. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who would gossip or get too involved in other peoples’ business. I bet people who knew her would describe her as someone who kept to herself. Yet underneath it all, this is what she had going on:
Was it a technically brilliant performance? No. But I defy you to watch that and not get a smile on your face, if not a tear in your eye. With the worldwide success of the most recent season of Britain’s Got Talent, of course the judges on AGT are looking for their next Susan Boyle. Do I think Carol Lugo fits the bill? I don’t know. I’m not sure how far she’ll make it in the competition, but I know that in four minutes, she has brought more people genuine entertainment than many celebrities way more famous than she ever have, so no matter what, following her dream was worth it.
This unassuming woman decided that, at 62, she was going to live her dream. She auditioned for this show and not only wowed the judges, but brought an entire auditorium to its feet. What fascinates me about this is that the audition that we just saw the other night likely took place months ago. So after this triumphant validation of her lifelong dream, Carol Lugo went right back to doing her job, not giving any indication to the customers who saw her every day that behind her register that she had her dancing shoes on. Here’s hoping she’ll Moonwalk right out the door.
Clacked by Kona Gallagher 
on Jul 03, 2009 @ 11:00 EST5EDT
I think it’s cute that you know her and that’s what made it funny for me. But the whole video felt so extremely staged, teh performance has about five cut-aways in it to reaction shots and it only is about 30 seconds long… I think it’s funny that she stands in her dancing shoes all day, it’s cute that she likes to dance and she’s certainly a character but let’s face it, that performance was just the moonwalk which she did quite perfectly and the rest is extreme editing to make it look as if it’s more than that and I hate that. They were pushing her and the reaction by the judges seems so over-the-top that it really seems disingenuous and that’s a shame…
Sebastian, your heart is made of stone. I think the woman has ability, as well as flexibility and personality, even at 62. However, it’s clearly untutored. If this were a civilian version of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ where you take someone without a background in dance and slowly build their dance knowledge, I think she would do well. And, yes, the judges’ overexaggerated facial expressions did ruin the genuine nature of her dance, but I was impressed by her raw abilities.
But Sb, your heart is made of moldy unwashed socks with moldy purple spots. I don’t believe she did the Moonwalk (at least in the edited version I saw). However, she did the Ferris Bueller (the side to side feet, altho’ there’s another term) and some hipthrusts. I think she could definitely enter some beatbox dance competitions. After all, look at minute 5 of this and tell me you don’t see similar moves :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpQXtFvwQ4M
See you described my problem with the show perfectly. I thought she can dance but wasn’t allowed to see it because her performance, which was extremely short, got hacked into tiny little pieces.
And I think she’s a modest person which got overshadowed by the over-the-top reactions by the jury. Sorry but standing up? After 10 seconds of her performance, not knowing what was still to come?
I think they knew exactly how long she’d perform which makes the pre-interview all the more fake. It’s not her that annoys me it’s the way she’s presented by the show. The people auditioning are made or broken by the jury and the way the show is cut and I hate that to no end. I wasn’t able to just watch her performance. Look at the clip again – there are more shots of the audience and the jury than of her. And that just sucks.
OK, I do agree with you on all those points :)
I just went to A&P to get some medicine for my sick girlfriend at 11:30pm on Friday July 3rd and she was my Carol was my cashier. I was so stunned to see her in her dancing shoes. I told her how great she was and she was so humble. She is seriously the cutest little lady ever. GO Carol!!!
Who says Carol Lugo doesn’t have talent? Anyone remember Lucille Ball? This would have been something Lucille Ball would have done and we all loved her and she was talented. Carol has everyone attention I just love her. IGA needs to re-name their store ” The Carol Lugo IGA MARKET ” …Hope we see much more of her, she is my energy drink. From Illinois