Mr. Alberto O. Cappas:
Is a poet and entrepreneur in several diverse areas. He is the author of Echolalia, a collection of poems, published in 1989, author of Disintegration of the Puerto Ricans, published in 1997, and author of The Pledge: A Guide for Everyday Living, published in 2001. His poetry has been included in many publications and anthologies in the United States and Canada. Cappas is the recipient of the "Keepers of Our Culture" Award for Literature, presented to him by the New York State Hispanic Heritage Month Committee -- on September 15, 1994.
Alberto is also the author of a highly successful small book, “Never too late to make a U-turn: An Educational Pledge & 15 Questions to Self-Development (Nubian Voices, 2005), designed for youth-at-risk in urban areas, which is based on the original poem, The Pledge.
His talents and skills as a writer, interest in the human condition and concern for those socio-economic issues, which influence the Puerto Rican/Latino community, have served to foster in him an active interest and involvement as a journalist. This has led to his role as co-publisher and co-editor of the Latino Village Press, a monthly publication designed to educate and inform the Puerto Rican/Latino community about the importance of going into business and developing their own economic institutions and infrastructures.
His accomplishments and achievements lists him as the founder and Chairperson of the AOC Speakers Bureau, the only Latino and African American speakers bureau in the country (now known as A&L Speakers & Consultants), founder and Chairperson of Don Pedro Enterprises, the makers of Don Pedro Cookies; and he was co-founder of A Place for Poets, a national publication which featured aspiring Latino and other emerging writers and poets.
Further, his works have achieved wide interests, growing appeal, and numerous accolades. It should be noted that his work has been featured and preserved in the City of Buffalo’s new Metro subway system, with a commissioned work by the Niagara Frontier’s Transportation Authority of an artistic "vignette" with two other Latino artists. The work is a thirty-foot steel tile mural that reflects the search for a sense of belonging in this city. In addition, his early works have been included in the renowned Schaumburg Library’s archives.
Alberto O. Cappas is an alumnus of the State University of New York at Buffalo and a recipient of the NYC Urban League’s Charles Evans Hughes Award for Creative Writing -- presented to him by Harlem Preparatory School in 1967.