Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Skye Cabrera . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Skye, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
From my lineage. My Mother, went through so much adolescent trauma and managed to show up for me. Her faith in her religion. From my grandparents! Especially Yndiana Cabrera, my paternal grandmother. They were hustlers and hard working dreamers. They are immigrants from Dominican Republic. They landed in NYC in the 60s with nothing. No money or reputation. My grandma sold food like pastelitos and arroz con gandules from their Harlem apartment on 148th & Broadway. My grandfather, Hipólito was a gypsy cap driver in his penny loafers working 13 hour + days in his Cadillac. Before UBER, he was the original ride share driver. No health insurance just ancient remedies when they got sick. Raising 6 boys. On days when I’m tired, and I don’t feel like fighting for my life, I think of them. And even now, phone calls from My grandma are my life force. She manages to stay tender and soft and loving all these years. I think love is resilience and love is power. They still walk 20 City blocks when they visit NYC. That lineage and power of our ancestors is strong.
My resilience is also really stemmed in my spirituality.I grew up with the Yoruba tradition, but also went to church. I had all the gods locked in with me. My connection to my roots. To the earth. To the ocean. The rituals. I didn’t allow my world to be colonized. Or my spirituality to take a back seat.. Even with health. The foods and medicines that sustain me. Plátanos. Yuca. Power Foods from my grandparents lands that sustain me. I get sick maybe once a year because my immune system is powered by all the stories we pass down on how to stay alive and how to stay vital.
My radical self acceptance! Realizing no one is me, and my story is only told once.The music I listen to is life giving.
My resilience is from being around people who are resilient! Life giving people. People who fight for resistance. Freedom Fighters. The poets I grew up witnessing like Caridad, La Bruja. My friends who are activists and stand up for Palestine. I actively Choose my tribe, of speakers, leaders and those who use their art or creativity to breathe life into this world. Seeing them inspires me. Keeps me going. So I would say, keep a solid tribe of people around you who push you through the fire and inspire you to rise.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m just Skye. Bronx born, tender, Scorpio, Aries Moon, multidisciplinary artist trying to make the best of the madness like everyone else, but uniquely me. So me when you see me, hug me. My brand is just me. I have nothing to sell but the genuine interest of connecting with humans on a deep innate level. Whether it’s through sharing my own writings or helping people express their own. I always told myself that if anyone ever knew me, or if I “made it” it would be, by being myself. By living boldly and out loud. I’m here to relate to people and humanity through storytelling and my photos and creativity and music. Staying genuine and authentic to me is vital. I’m launching a 12 series writing workshop in LA. The first one is January 28th called “The things we left in the fire” and it’s based on us purging/letting go. Not just things in our lives but things in this world, that need to be let go of. What do we need to speak out on. What parts of this world, need to be destroyed so we can transmute it into greater. Writing as resistance or liberation so we can propel forward.
I’m also publishing a book in February called “Yaguate” and it’s an homage to my grandmother’s town in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. It’s love poems and short stories to the people who live there. The ones who fed me and helped me appreciate life. They are the most environmentally sustainable people do. Seeing how they live off little resources and remain happy. Or how that barrio is the perfect model for community to me. It’s a world town. Yaguate is how I feel the world should be. So I want to paint a picture and share those people with the world.
Music, making music is definitely in the works as well this year. I would like to produce and record some of my poems and turn them into music and collaborate with other musicians. Reach out to me and let’s make music this year.
What I offer genuinely, is a safe space to create and formulate the feelings in your chest. People tell me I make them feel and that makes me feel like I have purpose. If anyone needs a songwriter/ a poet for a university class, an emotional consultant who helps you form it into something tangible, I’m
Here.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
- I know this is hard to hear but, Don’t listen to your parents. Or live life to please them. Or anyone. Listen to discern, listen to sift through. Dissect and find what is useful from those teachings, and leave other things behind. Ultimately, only you know what’s up. As for me, my best teacher was experience. They said don’t go down that street, and that only intrigued me more. Find out for yourself what’s down the dark corridors. Trust yourself.
- Travel. Skip the Gucci sweater and buy a ticket to France. Use your money for experience, not tangible things. If you can. Travel is the best teacher. Even if it’s, 20
Minutes out of your city. Go see how other people exist. Listen to how others feel. Be curious. Care about stories that are not your own. That’s the best skill builder. You get to learn how to navigate people and circumstances in new ways. Walk in your hood, see how people live. - Don’t stay at one job for 30 years. Take risks. I took on so many different jobs in NYC. Got fired. Quit if there was discrimination. I was a Cab driver, barista, secretary, server, promoter, property manager, barback, cleaned hotels in BK. I must have had 30 jobs in my life and that was exciting and I learned so much. You learn to be humble. You learn to be resilient. With this economy, if you asked me to be a marketing manager, I could be. I learned this from my immigrant grandparents and people in my hood. People who sold flowers out of shopping carts. There’s money, if you create it. When people say “what do you do?” I’m able to say “what do you need?”
Here’s a bonus.
Fall in love. Get your heart broken. Do it again. Love is the greatest teacher.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
There’s no gatekeeper between me yet so just talk to me! People can email me or find me on IG.
I want to collaborate with everyone. Music producers.
Writers.
Activists. Curators. Organizers. We are a microcosm and I may have skills that others don’t, and others have skills that I don’t, and I think that’s the beautiful part of it. Co-creation is what makes our dreams real. We may not have all the resources, but we can exchange resources and make dreams happen together.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://SkyeCabrera.com
- Instagram: @skye.Cabrera
