A portion of Southwest 152nd Street was closed off by police the evening of June 20 as more than 300 people gathered to remember a life that was lost on that street just the night before.

From 8 until almost 11 p.m., friends and family members came to the corner of Southwest 149th Avenue to lay flowers, cards and candles in memory of Tuly Gonzalez, 20, who was killed in a 10:30 p.m. motorcycle accident.

Gonzalez, who was riding with a friend, Jose Gonzalez, 21, was thrown from the back of the bike when it collided with a Nissan Altima turning left onto 152nd Street from 149th Avenue. Jose Gonzalez suffered minor leg injuries.

Known by friends as the hip-hop dancing violinist, Gonzalez was a 2006 graduate of Felix Varela High School and completed a year at Berklee College of Music in Boston where she was studying music business.

''Tuly always had to be doing something,'' said Brittney Blumengold, one of Tuly's closest friends who knew her from elementary school and danced with her.

She learned how to play violin at Gilbert Porter Elementary School, advanced in the dance program at Hammocks Middle School and went on to be part of the Performing Arts Production Club at Felix Varela, where she showcased all her talents and frequently put on shows.

''She was very special and extremely talented. Tuly was just a star,'' said Wendy Schwartz, the dance teacher at Hammocks Middle School. ''She's now our dance angel.''

As she lay in the casket, dressed in pink and with her violin at her side, friends reminisced.

Jesse Sanchez, 20, remembered Gonzalez as someone who loved to dance at clubs like Mansion and Privé.

''I think every single one of us is missing something from our closet,'' he said. ''Tuly was a treasurer. She always kept your secrets, locked the box and threw away the key.''

Close to 500 people passed through Maspons Funeral Home on the evening of June 22.

Clusters of friends gathered outside, some standing in silence, others crying and a few managing a smile as they thought back on the times they shared.

''I remember my brother would DJ and they would freestyle over beats -- everything from classical music to songs from Busta Rhymes,'' said Natalie Perez, 22, who met Gonzalez in high school.

''Your first impression of Tuly was, she's a keeper. Everybody just remembers her presence and what she brought to them at that moment. She had a wonderful life,'' Perez said.

Inside, friends and family members positioned themselves on couches and chairs, watching a photo slide show put together by Gonzalez's former boyfriend and photographer, Santos Rodriguez, 28.

When asked about the times he had spent with Gonzalez, Rodriguez smiled and said, ''We laughed. We had fun.''

Five collages propped up on easels surrounded the casket with pictures of her trips to Puerto Rico and Las Vegas, dance competitions, clubbing nights in Miami and violin performances.

''Her first love was classical music. But she didn't stop there. She also had an electrical violin,'' said her brother, Jorge Fajardo, 29.

Thinking back to when his sister competed in Battle of the Bands at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood he said, ''She would be playing a violin and without skipping a beat jump off the stage and mix it up with the crowd. She was the only girl member in the band.''

''Music was our biggest connection,'' said Jackie Sanchez, who was with Gonzalez from elementary school through high school.

''I remember a year after Hurricane Katrina, Tuly came to me with an idea for a variety show to raise money for the Red Cross. We got everything donated, a banquet hall, the stage, the lights and raised $1,600,'' Sanchez said.

Although the two didn't talk frequently after high school, Sanchez said you didn't have to see Gonzalez to know you were friends.

''A month ago we were on the phone for almost two hours just talking about how music was our life. She had just started singing and said she wanted to get in the studio. We said we were going to start hanging out more and just focus on our music,'' said Sanchez, a University of Miami music business major.

''I know now that Tuly was motivating me. She was telling me I have to do it for her,'' Sanchez said.

During the vigil Thursday night, more than $2,000 was raised to help the Gonzalez family with burial services.

Mom Ruby Gonzalez, who lost her husband to lung cancer eight years ago, said she finds comfort in knowing how many people loved her daughter. ''I know that she went directly into the arms of God. She was a believer and a person who wanted to do good by everyone,'' she said.

During the funeral Monday morning, as friends placed flowers and memorabilia inside the casket, an orchestra played Adagio for Strings.

''I looked up at that moment, right above me in the sky the clouds made the shape of the perfect rose. Right then I knew she was OK,'' said Perez, who sang at the vigil and also sang Lee Ann Womack's I Hope You Dance at the funeral.

The High Road Foundation, a local nonprofit organization which supports talented young individuals who need financial assistance, recently established the ''Tuly Gonzalez Young Stars in the Performing Arts Fund.''

At a past meeting with the founder of the organization, Fredrica Elder, Tuly Gonzalez and two friends had laid down plans to start their own nonprofit organization.

''Everybody wants to save the world but she was one of the few who had a clear vision and wanted to actually take the steps to do something about it and that's what sets her apart from the rest of us,'' Fajardo said.

''She's not done helping people yet, she's just getting started.''

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