Chronicles of Brooklyn Walks

A year ago, I was blessed by the abundance of love for my date of birth.  I have to say that for the most part, my life is always packed with spontaneity, creativity, go-with-the-flow vibes and extraordinary moments.  Often, I’m asked what my favorite places are, and I never can come up with a straight answer and that’s because I don’t do ‘favorites’.  My reasoning behind it is everything I experience is my favorite.  I find beauty in it all and always enjoy each moment differently.  I wouldn’t be able to say that my walk through the Darien Jungle in Panama was more epic than my rides on a motorbike through the ‘barrios’ of Cali in Colombia.  Both these adventures were experienced at different periods in my life, with different things in mind.  I try as much as I can to live in each moment without discriminating by comparing it to another moment I’ve previously lived or will soon encounter.  I don’t think it would be fair, and to be frank, way too deceptive in my book.  All that to say, that my 2016 birthday weekend was one for the books…but aren’t they all.. sigh of joy.

As I’ve realized over the years, I’m a connector.  I tend to remember who? what? where? when? and how? when it comes to bringing people together.  I had this idea to get my friends on film in my neighborhood of Brooklyn.  Friends whom I consider family, and who made time to come spend my day with me.  New York City is most likely one of the most visited city in the world, where people from different walks of life mingle, or not, with the already heavy populated town.  These tourists come with an avid interest in the most visited places; Empire State building, Central Park, M&M store, just to name a few.  The ones who have been to the city many times, I would hope would be more interested in what the locals do.  As a traveler, I seek to discover a city by the way the people who live in it, LIVE IT.  I will take a night and go to a local movie theater, will grab a beer at a popular pub, will walk around town by setting a destination while referring to Google Maps.  I allow myself to get lost.  As a friend once told me, “the joy of discovering a city is to get lost”.  To get lost is to rely on your human sense, use your brain, your insight, your intuition, and learn the way you deal with the “stress” of being in a new place and figuring your way, all while absorbing the environment.  I wouldn’t’ dare to state my way is the best way, but I’ve allowed my intuition to guide me instead of a Lonely Planet.

It came down to combining these two concepts.  I phoned my good friend StillOne and asked him if he would be down to capture moments of me taking my friends around town, the way I would go around town if they weren’t here.  So on March 27th, 2016, we hopped in a car and went around a few spots in Brooklyn, shopped, conversed and danced.  I’m grateful for these moments and looking forward to creating magic with more of my visitors.  Chronicles of Brooklyn Walks.

Always Fresh, Never Faded

g&L