Family,
If this is your first time “meeting” me… My name is George Torres and I am a community builder who presents, promotes, and preserves Latino culture via new media.
For my old friends…
It’s been a while. On this very weekend last year, we were celebrating our remarkable 25th anniversary on 5th Avenue at the National Puerto Rican Day Parade. The fact that it has been 25 years still amazes me, especially considering that back in 1997, for at least a year, there was no one around me doing what I was doing. Today, the landscape has transformed so much that there are now full-time creators who are thriving without even having a website, and they are cherished all over the globe.
So today, for more reasons than I can mention, I find myself not on 5th Avenue, where the parade is in full effect while I write this. That story is for another day… or a Ted Talk, Today, I want to focus on the future of Sofrito For Your Soul. but I saw a quote by a long time Facebook friend shared that read…
“There’s presence even in absence, and I’ve never heard louder silence. Our parents and ancestors are alive in every cell of our body…”
Brenda Torres
So what happened as we were prepping for our anniversary celebration is that we were viciously hacked and lost most of our written ,audio and video files on our server. This has been an ongoing ordeal that I still have not been able to recover from.
Considering everything I have been through as far as the hacking, the pandemic and the shifting of my business (in both good ways and bad).
I am still called to rebuild this platform in this moment.
The not-so-good news is that we have lost years’ worth of written, audio, and video content that used to reside exclusively on this platform. I have managed to recover some of it, but I am essentially starting from scratch and will gradually reintroduce some of the cherished posts from the past.
But here’s the good news: I am returning to my roots, I am diving back into blogging, and the even better news is that I have acquired valuable knowledge about building a community in 25 years in projects like Capicu Culture, Por Tu Familia and Hispanicize.
That, said, I look forward to making new friends while welcoming back our loyal supporters.
What will change, you may wonder?
The most noticeable shift is the name change. I have decided to rename it Daily Sofrito to align with the direction I want to take the website. Rest assured, I still own the domain (SofritoForYourSoul.com), and soon it will redirect you to the new experience. However, I wanted the rebranding to reflect my commitment to daily updates, utilizing a mixed media approach to share content across all platforms.
The type of content we will be sharing will remain true to what we are known for: family-friendly content that inspires and tells stories often not readily available in our history books.
In the meantime, you can find me on Instagram and Facebook, providing you with options for consuming our content. I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Lala for keeping our pages active and sharing incredible content every day during the website downtime.
Last but not least, this blog will serve as a central hub for all the projects in my portfolio, including Capicu Culture and our School of Poetic Arts (La SoPA), as well as Siembra Academy, just to name a few. Furthermore, this project takes on an even deeper meaning, as during the pandemic, I became a partner in Talento Unlimited, a Latina-led social media talent agency. Hence, my writing here becomes a means of research, allowing me to provide new opportunities for creators seeking to monetize their passions.
our official merch at http://www.shopsociallynyc.com
This is the update I have for now. Stay connected, as I will be working tirelessly to relaunch the platform.
Pardon the dust in the meantime.
With unwavering dedication… your favorite neighborhood Jibaro,
George Torres
