Roberta Alvarado: Bridgette, Ivory Coast
Sunday, June 4, 730am, Bridgette and I agreed to meet along the river. We were greeted by the intense sun rays of a hot Sacramento summer day. I had only spoken to Bridgette by phone a few times leading to this day. Upon meeting for the first time though, it was familiar. Bridgette lives in Sacramento, but her story began in the Ivory Coast on the African continent. Her culture is rooted far from here yet it appears our ancestors knew each other well. Just like the other people that I am featuring as part of this project, our cultural ways are much more alike than different.
Today our focus was telling a visual story about the ancient ritual of Libation. The Libation ceremony is pouring water as an offering to one’s ancestors. Libation is done to simply greet the day with intention and also for formal events such as weddings. Libation is a time to converse with one’s ancestors. Their guidance is a compass with insights to inner wisdom.
The Del Rio Project has shown itself to be a gift on multiple levels. It may always start with charging camera batteries, preparing SD cards, loading my backpack camera bag, setting my alarm, and hardly sleeping all night as my brain toils loose concepts and possibilities in creative excitement, but it always takes its own course. Luckily, I am open to being led by the energies of the situation. It keeps the process exciting. The direction of today’s shoot was embracing the strong colorful summer rays and sun spots that intertwined, pierced, and graced Bridgette’s presence.
We followed a path with high dry grasses surrounding us that led to the water's edge. She said it reminded her of her home land. As she gathered river water in her traditional clay bowl, ducks gathered adding a nice peaceful and welcoming touch. I mentioned how they are just like the ones I have from the American continent. They are made of earth and easily returned to earth. We talk about how cooking in clay flavors the food and drink so beautifully. We talk about cacao, corn, and the connection between Africa and South America. How our ancestors visited and traded among each other thousands of years before the story of Columbus. We talked about the many colors/ varieties of corn that we don’t have access to in the US. How the corn can be made into a drink and when fermented, an alcohol. I tell her about another lovely person I hope for her to meet that I will be photographing soon from Columbia. We will also be honoring the sun and this corn beverage known as Chicha. We are eager to see how similar or different the chicha will taste to that of her land.
I’m doing my best to convey the beauty and connectedness I am experiencing as I meet different people from different lands that have all found their way to this region while continuing the rituals, customs, and traditions rooted in their Indigenous ways. Indigenous cultures around the world are bridged in commonalities as a result of living in harmony and gratitude with our ancestors, Mother Earth, and often influenced by religious history
Roberta Alvarado
www.NewBirdStudio.com