I was born on an insanely hot day during July in the Sonoran desert. Upon a bean bag chair sprawled on my Mother’s bedroom floor, I took my fist Breath. The midwife was called in the late afternoon and I came out with a cord wrapped around my pasty purple-pink neck by Twilite. ’Jade Twilite at your service’, I said to my wide eyed and innocent 10 year old sister and to my startled looking bearded father.. My mother closed her eyes and put me to her breast where I remained for 3 years. I was born to rise.

My sister pulled me off the toilet in 1987 because my 7 year old body was covered from blond head to dirt-encrusted toenail in army ants. The Mexican jungle is full of night time creepy crawlers. I had fallen asleep in middle of a mid-night pee and a determined crew of ants thought me an excellent exploration opportunity. Sapphire washed the ants off me by scooping cool water over my whole body from an old plastic yogurt container in our outdoor shower and put me back to bed. I was born to rise.

I left my pristine Mexican sea side jungle village and my first kiss, Ismael, when I was 13 years old. I told my mom I wanted to go to the University and in order to do that I needed to go to high school in Los United States of Gringolandia. My mom did not want me to go but I left that summer. When I returned for Christmas break to Yelapa 6 months later, Ismael had impregnated a girl. If that had been me I would have a 20 year old son today. I was born to rise.

I graduated from Tucson High School in the top 10 of my class and was put in a special ”smart people” page of my senior yearbook. I had full scholarships to every University in Arizona. I accepted all of the scholarships but then felt spontaneous and got in an ’87 Toyota pick-up with a friend. We drove from Tucson all the way across the Panama Canal to the Darien Gap where the road abruptly ended into massive jungle. We had a 4 month layover in Costa Rica, a month layover in Lake Attitlan in Guatemala and several months getting lost on remote beaches in Mexico. I never went to any of the Universities but I still have Costa Rican earth between my toes and wild ginger form the highlands of Central America growing in my heart. I was born to rise.

In 2005 I worked hard in the Northern New Mexican mountain town of Taos to save and raise enough money to fly myself to and study in Guinea, West Africa. I wanted to study dance with my Dance Guru, Youssouf Koumbassa for a month. I danced in Guinea every day for 30 days to live, traditional and Spirit evoking drumming, balafon playing and singing by the most joyful people I had ever met. Africa took me by the ankles, turned me upside down and shook up and out all my old belief systems. My heart grew 10 times from its original size. I have never been the same since and my smile hasn’t faded from that expirience of dancing bare footed in the Red Earth of the Mother Land. I was born to rise.

This year I opened my very own dance, photogrpahy and massage studio in downtown Tucson. The studio has beauiful maple hardwood floors to dance on and offers trippy acoustics for the live drumming during my thriving dance classes. There are dance classes, exquisite photo shoots, weekend concerts and sacred dance parties for the whole community in this studio I have created and to which I have absolutely no attachment to. I was born to rise.

I am 21 weeks pregnant and my female body is making a penis. I am making the most glorious Divine little man I have ever known! There are billions of men on our Sacred Planet, yes, and yet I cannot stop laughing at the the fact that my completely and VERY feminine body knows how to make a penis! HOW?!?! As I work and sleep and eat and as I type these very words, my body is making a boy-child. How does it know how to do this? My womb never went to a University to learn this stuff. I am made of uterus and ovaries and estrogen and here I am making penis and scrotum and testosterone. I was born to rise.

I am a child raised in the land of La Revoluciòn, Quetzales, guacamole y tequila.

I prefer black beans to your papas fritas. I like fried plantain on the side.

I am half mestizo, half west African and entirely authentic. My blond hair is to confuse you. My blue eyes ask you not to judge me. My blood is from Quetzalcoatl and from Wangari Maathai infused with the fresh juice of Sonoran desert prickly pears. My bones are made from the Red Earth in Africa and from the clay on the Taos Mesa. My tears are form the salty waters of the Pacific Ocean, the Bahia de Banderas in Yelapa.

I am a believer of The Goddess because my mother asked us to pray to Her every night:

“Goddess within you will give you peace and guidance through the night. You wake up in the morning feeling healthy, happy and strong, ready for a new day.” -My mother’s bedtime prayer.

It’s a new day. Are you ready to raise? It’s true, you know. We were born to rise.

Here are 3 different photos shoots I had the honor of shooting recently. One of my Mama Mabiba Baegne, my Mother of Dance and Spirituality. One of my Dancing-Sister Tara and her Goddess Mother. And one of my birth mother and sister. Yes, we were all born to raise.