Two years ago, Esai Morales was a speaker at the NAHREP convention in Chicago, courtesy of my friend Raul Espinoza at Bay Equity Home Loans. Esai flew in on a red-eye flight the night before our event because he had also committed to an industry event in LA the evening before. He arrived at the hotel at 7AM and was due to be on stage with me at 9:30AM. After a quick nap, Esai made his way to the ballroom. He looked sharp, and was charming and insightful during his presentation. He also spent two full hours signing autographs, taking photos and meeting with fans. He struck me as a humble and grateful guy. Last month, Esai announced his candidacy for president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG Awards), a position once held by Ronald Reagan at the powerful union for working actors. I have always been a fan of Esai’s work (who doesn’t love La Bamba?), and after meeting him, and getting to know him in person, I think he would do a great job. He’s not a superstar, but I think he is the consummate working actor and would represent his fellow actors well. Good luck, Esai!
About a year ago, I was convinced by some of my closest friends that I should do a podcast. Today it seems like everyone has a podcast, and frankly, 99% of them aren’t very good. I wasn’t sure I could do much better, but I realized I do have some ideas that some people have found interesting in the past.
The decision to invite President Barack Obama to the NAHREP Policy Conference last Spring was a decision I made with the NAHREP National Board. Anytime we have a political figure of that stature at one of our events, we know it will stimulate a lot of buzz among our members and stakeholders.
L’ATTITUDE 2022 is less than two weeks away. This year’s event includes a concert at Rady Shell; the coolest new concert venue in America according to Forbes magazine. The concert is in partnership with La Musica, and will feature music superstars, Juanes and Farukko.