Today we’d like to introduce you to Rich Rivera.
Hi Rich, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
As a kid living in NYC trouble was easy to come by in those days so in order to stay out of trouble, I would accompany my father to work where he was a “houseman” for a high-end social club on 5th Ave in Manhattan. There I watched my father bring to life different blueprints for many, many events, he was the first step in bringing an event to life.
Being part of that sparked an interest I never knew existed. I was already passionate about music but adding coordination & dedication brought me where I am today. In 1996, I threw my first event via a “Sunday School” program I attended in NYC. Watching that come to life made me feel amazed and immediately I needed to recreate that feeling again & again. In 2009 I moved to NC where I joined a team of people with the same energy as me & brought the first Latin Event on a Thursday in Downtown Raleigh. Fast Forward 2021, I now manage two clubs manage multiple artists, we have thrown the majority of the Latin concerts in this city & were the group responsible for “Reggaetón Bash”. We have not only turned around the bad ratings at our venue but have helped the community around us by throwing many open door events where entrances were FREE as well as giving back to our community & believe me, we are not done yet. This Community needs so much more and we are looking forward to being a part of that. More Success Daily is our motto here at Soul Frito Entertainment.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nothing is ever smooth sailing, unfortunately in this business there is plenty of things to worry about but never did I think that someone can just steal your event or even impersonate your business just to steal from others. I remember the first time we had any real competition in the Latin community we had a great night going when all of a sudden the entire Fire system began going off sprinklers & all. Unfortunately, we found out later someone pulled it purposely. Competition is something we understand will come with just about everything, the more we curated, the more we created “The Culture” or “The Vibes” the more others want to emulate. Back in 2009, we made a decision & that was no matter what we we’re going to bring our culture, the Music, The Dance moves, the way we Love, Our Happiness & our Heritage into this community deeper than what it was at the time.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am the C.E.O at Soul Frito Entertainment. Here we specialize in Event Planning, Marketing & Logistics. We also have teams at our disposal for every position an event may need filled.
We currently are the managing event coordinators at multiple venues in North Carolina & Virginia. We are also half of the official creators of North Carolina’s Latin Jam & Reggaeton Bash. We have successfully promoted events in the Triangle area since 2009 & are looking forward to bringing Raleigh many more memorable nights.
As a team, I am most proud of when we come together to give back to our community.
I’m as REAL as they come & very genuine.
So where ever our name is “SoulFritoEntertainment” we will bring that positive energy & make sure the team is bringing that same energy all around the board.
What does success mean to you?
Success to me is being able to accomplish my daily goals without too many struggles, it’s seeing my children happy every morning, success is knowing I left a legacy behind not only to my children & their children but also to future entrepreneurs. I really would love to inspire others & it would be to never let the culture die, no matter what your culture is.
Contact Info:
- Email: Soulfritoent@gmail.com
- Instagram: @SoulFrito_ent
