ENCAMINO
Editorial: In dedication to Roberto Enamorado aka Roberto in Love
It is with the unfortunate news of losing a cherished friend that my extended tribe begins the New Year. Roberto Enamorado aka Roberto in Love was an artist/poet from NYC, an entrepreneur and love-ambassador. He was my friend and peer. His work touched on themes of love and heartbreak, utopias and systemic corruption, and the minimal essence of what constitutes for a good life. Challenges both personal and large scale, for which there often are no easy answers, hence why Roberto's work sought to face them time and time again. In the hopes perhaps, of at least learning something new about them. Roberto was always learning something new, period.
Us who knew him, will miss his soothing voice which when used in poetry, contained remnants of early Hip-Hop cadences, softened into romantic whispers that could soar in volume and intensity when called for. He wrote books, exercised and overcame physical obstacles. Knowing he's gone now, I'll forever remember how long he lived. He performed frequently, gave talks, showcased Teslas, and was a die-hard proponent and practitioner of minimalism. He also shadowboxed by the Hudson and whenever we hung out, there wouldn’t be too many sentences between the next joke.
There were various friend circles but he seemed central to so many of them, a nucleus is how I would often describe him—He's actually the mutual friend who introduced me to Vicky and Key, who I feature in this second issue of the Primitive Prime! Lab. His mission implicitly involved the unification of people, in love or in community or in tapping into self and uniting with their inner artist. In his own words, “to incite a revolution, from a lens of empathy, to propagate throughout space and time.”
I’ve never closely known anyone who’s committed suicide. My mind still splinters when trying to make sense of it. Of course, one of the earliest things I was able to manage was a playlist to help me dive into my feelings. But as my grief shifts from rationalizing or theorizing, and steps instead towards accepting that this loss has in fact happened, I wish to take this opportunity to share the work of my friend, the poet, the artist. 'En camino' feels like a fitting phrase to remember how Roberto lived his life, translating to 'on the way' or 'en route' it reminds me of process, of transit, iteration, and practice. Of imperfection and movement in spite of preparation. He says in one of his videos you can't always move fast, slowness can be advancement and development too, but the important part is to continue moving. We move with your spirit my g.
You can find links to all of Roberto's works, including books via his Website. His YouTube Channel and Instagram collects his poetry, live talks, thoughts, recordings, collaborations and glimpses into his exercise routine and other physical disciplines. Rest in peace brother.
This is the link to the playlist I made, although it comes with a warning that it definitely reflects my original intense need to plunge into darkness in order to face it. In other words, these aren’t the happiest songs. In fact, most were chosen for their complicated context, their need to change, move, or be beyond.