When Zumba instructor Angel Colon was shot multiple times during the mass shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, he thought he would never dance again.
Colon was shot three times in one leg, and suffered broken bones when clubgoers trampled him trying to escape. He was shot yet again in the hand and hip by the gunman, who he believes wanted to make “sure they’re dead.” And he was injured once more being dragged to safety over shards of broken glass by a police officer who rescued him from the carnage.
While Colon was reunited with the policeman who saved his life in his hospital bed, Officer Omar Delgado was also present to help Colon triumphantly appear on stage at last week’s Zumba annual fitness instructor conference, ZINCON.
Wearing a “We move the world” t-shirt, Colon spoke to the 7500 attendees, calling the past few weeks “the worst month of my life.”
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“But going through this, there’s been nothing but support from everyone,” he said.
After a brief back and forth between Colon and Delgado, Colon danced again for the first time since the tragedy. Joined on stage by other instructors, they picked Jennifer Lopez and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s tribute to the shooting victims, “Love Makes the World Go Round” for Colon’s first comeback. He may have had to sit in a chair to do it, but he danced.
Watch Colon take the stage below and parts of his encore in the second video from the convention appropriately called “Magic moments.” Indeed.
