October 1st, 2011. My fledgling organization, the Latino Authors & Writers Society, was having its first writer's conference.
  The conference took place in a fancy building on Third Avenue with an auditorium, classrooms, sign-in area, and catered food and drinks. One of the speakers, as I'd mentioned before was the great poet and essayist; Louis Reyes Rivera.
  His was definitely one tough act to follow. But our Keynote Speaker was more than up to the task. He started out with his background, then segued into what drove him to become a writer and the particular obstacles facing Latino(a) writers trying to get published. That Keynote Speaker was Judge Edwin Torres, author of Carlito's Way (among others).
  Judge Edwin Torres was eloquent, funny, witty, informative and inspiring. He waxed nostalgic about a childhood that seemed so typical for many of us that it brought many of our own childhood memories to life. He shared writing secrets and urged us to keep writing and work towards bringing Latino literature to the fore.
  He was great and I appreciated the favor he did for my organization. He refused an Honorarium, saying that he was happy just to support a Latino organization. Especially one that was for Latino literacy and literature.
Cool.