Solid As A Rock

I wrote this piece on January, 20th, 1998 during my time at SUNY Old Westbury. It is dedicated to one of the most special people I have ever met in my lifetime...Alexandra Mane. Me and Alex ran the new student experience dorm (named after Martin Luther King Jr.) alone during a time when we were understaffed. The challenges we encountered individually and collectively that year inspired many writings...but none as special as this piece. Alex...I still remember many of our talks and our commitments to overcome them...and based on where we both are today...I can honestly say we succeeded.

You are far away but I keep you close to my heart always...
I miss you!

- The Jibaro formally known as Rico


Solid As A Rock

She is
Solid as a rock
She stands proudly
Like a sculptors raw material waiting to be shaped
her destiny has yet to unfold but destined for greatness

She is Solida
Solid as a rock...
She stood strong in the storm of spring 96 alongside 3 of her peers, struggling for excellence as they took womanhood to another level.

Solid as a rock...
Not like the type that gets cast to destroy
The kind that serves as a foundation
One that builds
She stands on a pedestal founded by her strong ancestry
Passed from genertation to generation

Solid as a rock...
Solid as in strength and courage

I know she would let me rest on her shoulders if troublked waters should overcome me
She would not let me drown

She is...
Solid as a rock...
And a monument to her family, friends, heritage and those she chose to bond with in Hermandad.
She has stayed strong although many have tried to chisel her to rubble, so that they can walk over her and celebrate her demise
But there is no chisel strong enough
She stills stands strong

Solida as a rock...
And she is only getting stronger.

George "Urban Jibaro" Torres
© All Rights Reserved
1998-2006Sofrito For Your Soul Media

Latina Lista: Should Military Recruiters Target Gang-Risk Latino Teens?

Should Military Recruiters Target Gang-Risk Latino Teens?

The answer to the title of this post sounds like it should be a no-brainer but with the Army under pressure to meet its quota to help with the additional troops President Bush has decided is needed in Iraq, a second look must be given as to whether the Army, and possibly other branches of the military, are making promises to at-risk kids that either don't live up to the hype or are just not the only available option.

Read the complete post at
Latina Lista: Should Military Recruiters Target Gang-Risk Latino Teens?

Sofrito is back baby!!!!

Ok...I finally put up the site with a few articles just to test it a lil bit...I have some close friends and supporters giving me feedback as to how it looks and all that good stuff. I still have to add in some advertisers and friends that have supported me throughout the 10 years of existence...all in good time.

Take a peek and let me know what you think....

www.SofritoForYourSoul.com

As I am...

George Torres

The Urban Jibaro

Season's Change, things change

So I woke up yesterday to the local news covering the annual Ground Hog Day event in Pennsylvania in which we await prediction from Punxsutawney Phil based on whether he sees his shadow or not. So he comes out and does not see his shadow, which means that we will have an early spring...and I am thinking to myself, Esta rata esta endrogao, winter just started last week in NY. Then later in the afternoon I see that Central Florida (not far from where my family lives) got hit by some major tornadoes that claimed over 19 lives...tornadoes in Florida? We are in for some big surprises in the near future...I gotta look a little deeper into this Global Warming Theory...anyone ready for a blizzard in July?

I say all that to say that things change...and that holds true to what is currently happening with SofritoForYourSoul.com. As you already know, I made a decision to take it down in January in order to make some enhancements. After much research and consulting with people who have followed the site over the years I have decided to take the website to Blog platform. One of the biggest sacrifices I had to make is the the way the site looks. I have enjoyed building and designing the site since day one because I believed that it enhanced the "sofrito experience". Although that may hold true for many people like Pvt. Gonzalez stationed out in the Middle East that uses the site to connect with his heritage, most people that visit the site decided that it was more important to get more information, faster and with RSS syndication, the possibilities are endless.

So, in a nutshell, the blog takes care of all the technology which in turn will free my time to be able to add more substance to the site. In addition, the RSS syndication will allow us to reach 5 to 10 times the people we have been able to reach in the past. I am currently in BLOG BOOTCAMP, training on how to use this new platform, getting everything ready for a February 14th launch date. And in case you were wondering I will be archiving a lot of the old stuff that was not time relevant. I am excited about these changes especially since they incorporate the platform needed for some new endeavours we will be exploring.

So mi gente...the news of our end were greatly exaggerated...we have only begun to feed your souls with the best of Latino culture.

Buen Provecho!!!!

As I am,
George Torres
The Urban Jibaro