June 2, 2008
by Chris Pham
by Chris Pham
Juarez, Mexico- Many reality show stars ride their lottery ticket to fame and riches after their television success. But not Azeneth Gonzalez.
Ms. Gonzalez was a finalist on La Academia in 2003- a popular reality show similar to American Idol. It airs in Mexico on the nation's 2nd-largest network.
La Academia contestants have spent 109 weeks at the top of the Mexican Top 100 songs list. That's not too shabby for a country of over 100 million.
Sunday night, she spent her free time singing and talking to kids at the Reto de Juventud- a juvenile detention center in an impoverished, dangerous area of Juarez. Juarez residents have been gripped with fear lately with nearly 600 confirmed murders year to date and a murder rate 10 times greater than many large American cities. To make matters worse, over 150 women have been reported missing.
Despite the danger, Ms. Gonzalez journeyed to the juvenile detention center with only 2 friends in an old sedan without air conditioning. Just as she does with ALL of her ministries, she prayed for nearly an hour before arriving.
Over 100 inmates were there for her talk/concert. Inmates at Reto De Juventud are mostly males aged 15-18 with sentences as short as a few days to as long as several years. Many have been convicted of serious crimes.
The night began with the song "your will" in which the lyrics ask, "Christ give me the strength to continue!" After some singing, Ms. Gonzalez spoke out against crimes such as theft as well as legal activities such as viewing pornography. Many of the inmates wore expressions of boredom, resentment, and ridicule.
As the night progressed, the inmates began loosening up and even sang along with Ms. Gonzalez after she insisted that "there are enough people here to sing loudly". She even offered to sing Christian songs that the inmates requested. By the end of the night, the frowns turned into smiles and laughter as the boys belted out songs they knew. The boys even joined arms and danced- in a jail!
Not all music stars get too wrapped up with themselves to forget those in need. Azeneth Gonzalez is one of them. Instead of driving a Ferrari to the movies Sunday night, she rode in a cheap car into a dangerous neighborhood to help strangers.
Several adult attendants had tears in their eyes during the dancing. The inmates sang a song called "mustard seed" which references a passage from Matthew Chapter 17, which suggests that faith can move mountains. Some Christians believe it, some don't. One thing was evident Sunday night- faith is enough to move bored, lonely, hopeless boys into joyous dancing.
Click below to see a video of this story.
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