DOWNEY — Downey community leader Maria Torres was honored on Thursday for her work on behalf of women.  

Loteria Nights, an organization of women entrepreneurs, partnered with local business owner Lilian Simonian and hosted over 60 women at Las Palmas Supper Club, a new restaurant located at 8060 Florence Ave. in Downey.  The venue is a joint-venture launched by three women in hopes of creating a space for women to dine and dance.

Among the female owners is Simonian, whose husband, Simon Simonian, owns Joseph’s Bar and Grill.

In tapping Maria Torres as the night’s honoree, the group of women hoped to emphasize the work that Torres focuses upon, chief among them, her “Empower Hour” Series.  

Torres, who is executive director of Downey-based non-profit Ferias Legales, is no stranger to working with women. Through her work, Torres enables women to come together while opening their respective networks to each other.

Now in its third year, the “Empower Hour” series has become a safe space for women to celebrate one another’s accomplishments while connecting women from various fields, including the entertainment, legal, medical, political, and journalistic arenas among others.  

Torres, or “Marilola” as she is known to close friends and family, was born in Zacatecas, Mexico and migrated to Los Ángeles as a child with her parents and five sisters. 

Torres’ mother worked as a seamstress and her father a dishwasher to care for Torres and her sisters. They taught her to always be responsible, take dignity in her work and lend a hand to others. 

Torres began attending college while still a junior in high school. Since then, Torres has earned a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology on top of her Bachelor’s Degree in the same field where she was invited to attend the Honors Convocation as a Cum Laude graduating student. 

For nearly 12 years, Torres has worked in the non-profit sector. She worked particularly close with attorneys and judges in her role as the executive administrator for a legal non-profit organization. Feeling that a need existed in the community for more consistent access to free legal resources, Torres worked to establish a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization known as Ferias Legales (Spanish for “Legal Fairs”).

Through Ferias Legales, Torres has ensured the delivery of services to women. As a former victim advocate in the family violence division of the Los Ángeles County District Attorney’s Office, she launched the first Ferias Legales “Break the Cycle: A Free Domestic Violence Clinic” where battered women obtained free assistance with legal, mental health, and victims services. 

In her capacity as executive director of Ferias Legales, Torres was instrumental in establishing a mentorship program for Rio Hondo College students.  The mentorship program paired attorneys and judges with students who are enrolled in the Rio Hondo College Pathway to Law School Program, which is designed for college students with an interest in law with the goal of increasing diversity in the legal field.

Torres also oversees multiple interns in various sites. Many of these students are young women and Torres stresses to them the importance of “paying it forward” to other young girls and women in the community through legal clinics and volunteer opportunities.

Due to her work in in the community, Torres was named to the Downey Patriot’s “40 under 40” young leaders.

On Thursday, she was honored by her fellow women pioneers and was celebrated by friends and family.  

The organization Loteria Nights was started to support women in business. The vision is to build a community where women just starting their business can be given a chance to showcase their products and also support women who have found success with their businesses.  

Today, Loteria Nights is incorporated into the shopping experience that is more personal while helping women connect with other women entrepreneurs.

Through the event, they create an environment for women to unwind and bond with other women outside of their work and home life. The Loteria players keep coming back month after month because of the fun and upbeat environment that’s been created along with the amazing vendors.

The event is an ongoing series held on the fourth Thursday of the month.