The Oakland Raiders have selected Michael Torres as the recipient of the NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award, a recognition made possible through the support of Bud Light. The Silver and Black will honor Torres when the Raiders celebrate Hispanic Heritage month with the 10th Annual Fiesta Latina, presented by Bud Light, on September 25 versus the New York Jets at O.co Coliseum.
Fiesta Latina will offer a variety of Hispanic music performances before the game, including mariachis performing at locations around O.co Coliseum when the Raiders open the 2011 home regular season versus the Jets. Raiderville and The Family Zone will help fans celebrate Fiesta Latina with a Latin rock band and family-friendly activities. Special events during the game include the presentation of flags from Spanish speaking countries, a ceremony to honor Torres in the first quarter and a special halftime performance by the Raiderettes accompanied by over 120 dancers of all ages dancing to Enrique Iglesias' "I Like It." Bay Area radio station 104.9 KCNL, the Spanish radio home of the Raiders for 2011, will be on hand at Raiderville.
The NFL and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) have partnered to launch the NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Awards Presented by Bud Light during the 2011 celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. The awards recognize the contributions of Hispanic leaders in each NFL market.
Torres is a Principal, Chief Executive Officer and portfolio manager at Adelante Capital Management in Oakland. Torres joined the firm in February 1995. Prior to joining Adelante, Torres was the Director of Real Estate Research and a portfolio manager for Wilshire Asset Management. At Wilshire, he created the Wilshire Real Estate Securities Index, widely recognized as the industry's performance benchmark. Moreover, Torres serves on the Board of the UC Berkeley Foundation, the Finance Committee for the Stern Grove Festival Association and on the Advisory Boards for City National Bank, Orchard Partners, Stanford University's Challenge Success, and UC Berkeley's Cal Athletics, and is a member of the YPO Northern California Chapter. Mr. Torres is also actively involved with organizations such as the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), Urban Land Institute, San Francisco Latinos in Finance, and Saber Es Poder's Migrant Scholars Leadership Institute. He has worked to support the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Women's Initiative, and Robert Toigo Foundation.
With support from Bud Light, each award recipient will select an organization of their choice that serves the local Hispanic community to receive a $2,000 donation. "Bud Light is recognizing 32 great leaders in each of the 32 NFL cities with this award," said Margarita Flores, vice president of community affairs for Anheuser-Busch. "We applaud all the recipients for their work in making a difference in and improving their local communities." Torres has chosen the Alameda Wolverines to receive this donation. The Alameda Wolverines is a Pop Warner football and cheer program for children ages 7-14.
The Raiders have a longstanding track record of supporting multicultural awareness and global outreach. The Silver and Black maintains a global presence and communicates with the worldwide Raider Nation through the team's official web sites which feature original and translated content in six different languages - Tagalog, Japanese, German, Chinese, Spanish and English. Raider Legend, two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach and current Raiders Radio analyst Tom Flores received the Roberto Clemente Award for Sports Excellence by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) this summer during the organization's awards ceremony that took place in Washington D.C.
According to the NCLR website, "The Roberto Clemente Award for Sports Excellence, named in honor of the athlete considered by many to be the greatest outfielder in baseball, is presented by the NCLR Board of Directors each year to…a sports professional who has found ways to positively portray Hispanic Americans and bring awareness and solutions to issues that affect contemporary Hispanic America."
Flores was the first Hispanic to be named an NFL head coach when owner Al Davis promoted him to Raider field general in 1979. He went on to lead the Silver and Black to two World Championships of Professional Football with wins in Super Bowls XV and XVIII. Flores also owns a Super Bowl ring as an assistant coach while on John Madden's 1976 Raider staff that posted a win in Super Bowl XI and as a player for Kansas City when Chiefs scored a win in Super Bowl IV. He played quarterback for the Raiders from 1960-61 and from 1963-66.
Flores has been involved in the community for over 25 years. He started a foundation in his hometown of Sanger, Calif., that helps enhance the area's education system.
One of the 32 recipients, Giants honoree Lillian Rodríguez López of the Hispanic Federation, was selected by the NFL and HHF to be recognized at the HHF's national Hispanic Heritage Awards in Washington, D.C. on September 15. The Hispanic Heritage Awards honor notable Latinos who have distinguished themselves in various fields and made an impact on America and globally. The Awards are considered the highest honor by Hispanics for Hispanics in America. In 2011, the Hispanic Heritage Awards mark their 25th Anniversary, which is also the anniversary of Hispanic Heritage Month in America.
Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch have been a longtime friend and partner of the Latino community, enriching people's lives by supporting organizations that make a positive difference. In the past two decades alone, grants and contributions in support of the Latino community have totaled more than $64 million. The NFL will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month during Week 3 of the 2011 season. A national spotlight will be shined on the NFL's celebration during Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football. The Pittsburgh Steelers face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, September 25 and the Washington Redskins take on the Dallas Cowboys on Monday, September 26.
