The night Lucia Rodriguez died, she had dinner with friends and looked toward her future. Days after her death, her friends looked back on the life of a woman who danced with Austin's Ballet East company for more than 10 seasons.

Friends Toni Bravo and Sharon Marroquin met with Rodriguez Sunday afternoon at a house near Lake Austin to discuss an idea they had for creating a new dance initiative in Austin. The plan was to birth a project from Bravo's Diverse Space Dance Theatre that would educate individuals about social issues through art, Bravo said. Before Rodriguez left that night, the three dancers were talking about steps to put their plan in action.

Rodriguez died Sunday night shortly after leaving that dinner, friends said. Police identified Rodriguez, 33, as the woman whose body was found in Lake Austin on Monday morning. Officials say she drove into the lake; her death is being investigated as an accident.


photo by Russ Smith

Friends say they think Rodriguez became lost when leaving the house. She drove down South Quinlan Park Road, where there is one sign notifying drivers of the upcoming dead end and boat ramp into Lake Austin.

During the day Wednesday, the sign was obscured by branches; it can't be seen in the dark, according to many of Rodriguez's friends.

"The lighting is almost completely nonexistent in the area," Bravo said. "It could have happened to me if I had taken a wrong turn. It could have been anyone."

It wouldn't be difficult for someone to accidentally drive into the water, Austin police Sgt. Richard Stresing said Monday.

Stresing said four or five people die each year in similar accidents at Austin's lakes.

Friends and artists who performed with Rodriguez say they want to hold someone accountable for the barely-visible boat ramp at the end of the road, a place they call "a tragic spot."

"Although this is a huge cost, we have to come together to do something," said Ballet East Associate Director Melissa Villarreal.

Rodriguez lived most of her life in East Austin and was the 11th of 20 children, said Russ Smith, an Austin photographer who knew Rodriguez well.

"She came from nothing and created her own life," said Rodolfo Mendez, artistic director for Ballet East. Rodriguez graduated from the University of Texas with a dance degree and was one of the only members of her family to graduate from college, Mendez said.

Bravo and Marroquin said Rodriguez's vision for a new type of dance in Austin won't be forgotten.

"We'll work on it in honor of her," said Marroquin. "It will have a poignancy it wouldn't have had otherwise."

While she danced professionally for companies such as Ballet East and had trained across the country with companies such as Alvin Ailey, Rodriguez's large family rarely came to see her shows, Villarreal said.

When Villarreal questioned her about it, she remembers Rodriguez's response. "She wouldn't let her family come to her shows. She said she was never good enough."

Her friends disagree.

"She danced with her heart open," said Chika Aluka, who also danced with Rodriguez. "I always felt I had to meet her where she was and open my heart, too."

Funeral arrangements for Rodriguez are pending. Bravo said she and others are planning a vigil for Rodriguez to remember her life and commitment to the arts.