I know Robert as Swami. I know his mom as Mom. I know Swami because we have a very deep and common passion-love: West and Central African dance and drumming. I have been blessed to share this common love through dance classes and performances with Swami for over four years now in our desert town of El Tucsòn.

We currently have a class together on Friday nights that we call Central African Inspired Dance that I teach and he drums on N’Goma drums for. It is a HOT HOT HOT and JUICY class, it is indeed. Our intention in class is Self Love and Tribal Togetherness. I love Swami: A lot.

I asked Swami a while ago if I could have the honor of photographing him and his spicy Puerto Rican mother. Swami is a rare bird in the sense that he lives to take care of his beautiful mother. He takes care of her with unconditional love and without a second thought and this type of care is so beautiful to me. It reflects a sort of normal and love-filled way of being that I feel is lost in our American culture. For the most part, our elders are not present in our daily lives. At least not in mine. Or in ANY of my friends. They seem to be stowed away like vintage cars for visiting only and are not wholly integrated into our lives and daily ongoings.

Growing up in Yelapa there was no shortage of elders sitting outside in the setting sun recalling stories from another era and laughing toothless smiles at us enamored children. The same sense of Elder Presence I found true in Africa. Living mostly in the USA now, I miss elders in my community and so I love Swami’s Mother deeply…