He was born July 3,1950 in the same hospital as Tito Puente; raised by his Puerto Rican parents in Spanish Harlem, a.k.a. El Barrio, New York City. Torres's mother, a hospital worker; his father an inventive plumber, sparked Eddie's knack for inventing. No dancers or musicians in the gene pool to Eddie's best knowledge.

     He was merely 12 years old when he caught the dancing bug. Just back in New York after a two year sojourn in Puerto Rico, he developed a puppy-love crush on a girl from the hood. Shyly, he asked her to the movies and she made a counter-offer: why didn't he come to her house? That Saturday, when Renée opened the door, Eddie was surprised to see a tall, good-looking guy sitting on the couch. Renée whispered apologetically, "He's my ex-boyfriend. He's looking to make up with me." Then, in an attempt to break the tension, she asked Eddie, "Do you know how to Latin?" She wanted to know if he knew how to dance Latin. Fresh from Puerto Rico, his confidence emboldened him. Renée leaned over the record player and dropped the needle on the groove of Eddie Palmieri's Azucar Pa' Ti. Not knowing a thing about leading position or about timing, the young suitor started jumping around, then glanced over to collect looks of approval. But his rival on the couch sat clamping his jaw closed, holding back a burst of laughter. Two minutes into the number, Renée retired her inexperienced partner, pulled her ex-boyfriend up and explained in a professorial manner, "Let me show you the way WE do the Latin." It was plain to see that there was a lot of coordination, plenty of moving together and all sorts of turns. The more they danced, the worse Eddie felt. After the dance demonstration, his love interest pulled him to one side and explained, "He really wants to make up with me." From that moment, Eddie made himself a promise, "This is never going to happen to me again. I'm going to learn how to dance."

     The idea of learning "to dance Latin" became an obsession. Schooling took the form of going to all the clubs and hanging out with all the good dancers--watching, imitating, asking, and being a pest. Slowly he started to learn the foundations of the dance.

     In those days, not many clubs allowed teenagers in, but the famous Hunts Point Palace opened every Sunday from noon to midnight, and for $5, they presented five top Latin bands, back-to-back, on two stages.
Fifteen-year-old Eddie punched the clock when the club opened and sauntered out at closing time, exhausted but determined to learn.

     Eight years later, he was teaching and competing in dance contests and garnering a reputation amongst the good dancers as being one of the best. One night, while he was dancing in a head-to-toe white outfit, in a club lit with nothing but black lights, his sister pulled him off the floor. It seems Renée, his childhood flame, spotted a slick dancer and wanted an intro. In the dark, Eddie's sister did the honors."Renée, I want you to meet Eddie." Upon recognizing the skillful dancer, she froze as if she'd seen ten ghosts. Eddie wanted to dance with her desperately, he wanted to thank her, "You're the reason why I got into this." But she disappeared and that was the last time he saw her.