Dancing Teen Beats the Odds

Luis Parra, 15, lived with friends and relatives in Mexico until he was 7.

Then he lived with his mother in Visalia for three years; he never knew his father. When his mother moved to Mexico, he spent four years with a nomadic uncle in Venice, Inglewood, Downey, Highland Park, Visalia and Fresno.

It was a difficult life.

“(My uncle) kept enrolling me in different schools,” Parra says. “I can’t even count how many. . . . I didn’t have any choice. Sometimes I felt good. Sometimes I felt depressed. But I tried not to let myself get down.”

Parra has surmounted the obstacles and has a B-plus average at South Gate High School. The shy sophomore also competes on the B track and football teams and won a county dance contest with a ballet folklorico performance.

For those achievements, Parra recently received the Children’s Defense Fund’s “Beat the Odds” award. The dark-haired, 5-foot, 8-inch teen won $1,000 cash, an internship at MCA/Universal and an outfit from Nordstrom. “Cheers” star Rhea Perlman presented his award at a banquet.

Parra attributes his success to advice from his uncle, teachers and counselors.

“Most of them have said, ‘Please stay in school and learn as much as you can.’ They regret dropping out and partying too much,” he says. “I’ve always hung around with the right crowd.”

Sometimes that means avoiding other students: “I’m very quiet. During lunch, everybody comes out to chitchat. I go hang around the career center and try to catch up on studies.

“I have a few really good friends. One is a straight-A student. I can’t let him go. I’ve got to stick with the right crowd.”

Parra says he’s not angry that many barriers were in his way.

“I don’t like to be negative about anybody, especially my parents. . . . I get depressed sometimes, but I think I’m not the only one going through this and it gets me motivated.”

He sees his mother, 30, several times a year in Mexico.

One such visit delayed his joining the track team. Although he was out of shape, Parra agreed to replace an injured 400-meter runner because he’s a risk taker, says South Gate Coach Paul Hernandez.

“Most kids would be embarrassed and afraid of losing,” Hernandez says. “(Runners) tell me, ‘I’m not hiding behind a helmet, I don’t have the support of a team. And when I lose, it’s just me.’ ”

But Parra will always try, Hernandez says: “Luis came in last. He looked at me and laughed, and said, ‘See, Mr. Hernandez, I told you.’ This one event was like his whole life.”

Beverly Hills psychotherapist Don Fleming says children who overcome serious obstacles are usually bright and have a talent that draws people to them.

“You’re describing a kid with great determination that is simply genetic,” says Fleming. “They have a certain charisma and end up creating great interest among adults . . . (and) getting the best of parenting and teaching from people who see so much potential.”

Parra, who has lived with a former dance teacher for the last year and who plans to be a draftsman or architect, says he knows other teens will need the type of encouragement he has received.

“I want them to know they are not alone and there is hope,” he said in a speech he wrote for the Children’s Defense Fund ceremony.

He sat next to actress Perlman at the dinner. “She said someone like me was an inspiration to her,” Parra says. “I was real happy that night.”

This new column tells the stories of the unsung heroes of Southern California, people of all ages, vocations and avocations whose accomplishments make life better for the people they encounter.