Star-studded PRBA GALA 2014

Star-Studded PRBA Gala 2014

The annual PRBA gala was held at Tribeca 360 with a star-studded presence, including

• Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez  She has made history several times during her tenure in Congress. 
• 1992- first Puerto Rican woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
• 1998- first Hispanic woman to serve as Ranking Member of a full House committee
• 2006- she was named Chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee, making her the first Latina to chair a full Congressional committee.

• Ruben Diaz, Jr., Bronx Borough President, previously served in the New York State Assembly.  Díaz was elected to the Assembly at the age of twenty-three, which made him the youngest person elected to the legislative body since Theodore Roosevelt.

• Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez, former Secretary of State of New York, the first Hispanic to serve in that role.  Currently she's an Executive VP at AARP and also Board member of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade

• Carol Robles-Roman, former long-standing Deputy Mayor of New York,  now appointed President and CEO of Legal Momentum, a defense and education fund dedicated to ensuring economic and personal security for women and girls. With former first deputy mayor Patti Harris, Robles-Román, 51, was the longest serving deputy mayor in the city’s history 

• and of course the keynote speaker, Melissa Mark Viterito, Speaker of the New York City Council, the first Puerto Rican and Latina to hold a citywide elected position

Scholarships were given to worthy law students.  A silent auction helped raise more funds for the scholarship fund.  And the evening ended as any other Puerto Rican fest, gala or not, with dancing on the dance floor!

Attorneys dancing salsa...

bet you don't see that everyday!

Here are some pictures of the evening of the Puerto Rican Bar Association Gala by photographer Becky Yee from Around Digital Media.:

See them by here....

KIVA - Empowering People with $25 Loans

Empowering people around the world with a $25 loan.

KIVA is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty.  Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of nicrofinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.  Learn more about how it works.

Just donated to MARA DE JESUS from EL SALVADOR through KIVA.  Feels good to pay it forward!!!



Maria is seeking a loan to buy two mild cows so she can make cheese to sell in the surrounding areas.  In this way she would generate income for her family.

In the future she wants to use the income from fruit sales, the harvest,a nd the cows bought with the loan money to buy more cows and increase milk production.


Maria tiene 43 años de edad, solamente logro estudiar hasta noveno grado, ahora ella está casada y su esposo se dedica a la agricultura.

Maria se dedica al comercio de frutas, ella se levanta a las 4:30 AM. junto a su esposo para realizar sus actividades diarias mientras sus hijos van a la escuela, el oficio lo aprendio de su madre, su esposo trabaja en la parcela y camina 2 km para llegar al lugar y en el transcurso de la tarde ella busca más frutas para salir a venderla al día siguiente.

El crédito solicitado, lo necesita para comprar dos vacas que le producirán leche para la elaboración de queso, el cual sale a venderlo a sus alrededores y le genera ingresos para mantener a su familia.

Sus planes a futuro son que con los ingresos que obtiene de la venta frutas y de la siembra y del préstamo para la compra de las vacas, podrá en un futuro incrementar el numero de vacas y así la producción de leche.

Should You Sign a Prenup?

Certain parts of life tend to be stickier than others. To sign or not sign a prenuptial agreement is one of those parts. Who hasn't seen news of the wealthy entangled in court battles when there was no prenuptial agreement? Gossip pages often depict who's divorcing who and the money they are fighting over. It can get ugly. ....

Read rest of article, that includes, a quote from our very own Torres! 

http://voices.yahoo.com/should-sign-prenup-12623845.html?cat=41