Meet Rina: In My Words

Photo By Curtis Bryant

Rina Casero Espiritu - Click here to find out more about Rina and her art!

Dear Rina,

I’m sorry it’s taking me three weeks... maybe a month to write this. Trust me, I didn’t mean for it to be this way. I so appreciate your willingness to embark on this adventure with me. To let me “interview” you for my blog. Your openness to see where this will go... without either of us setting too many (really, any) expectations. I’m sorry nothing has come to fruition just yet. Well, I guess that’s actually changing now as we speak...

Trust me - its all been in the works. I was just struggling to put something together that I thought would do you justice. I’ve since relinquished that idea. In part, because I feel your art and words can speak for themselves.

Anyway, Rina, thank you for being you. Thank you for choosing to be an artist. For pursuing your craft relentlessly. For remaining curious about yourself and the world around you. For constantly daring to be different. And reminding me that my own differences are okay and worthy of love and care.

Your choices in life (and art making) are radical. Yet in talking to you, I was surprised to find that they’re not reckless. Rather, there is this beautiful sense of self-awareness that permeates them. You examine the world around you and recognize the impact your life (and artistic) choices have on yourself and others. And what they say about the world and your place in it... At the same time, you appear driven to take risks - dig in deeper and question more. I admire this youthful curiosity. I aspire to hold onto that same energy in my own life choices... even as I pursue a more traditional pathway than that of yourself, with a 9 to 5 full time job...

In your own words, “when I see something set in stone, I get excited if I feel I can fuck it up”. Look at you.... looking at things. Forging your own pathway. Investigating. Pushing barriers... This is what I see when I look at you, Rina. And you inspire me to investigate and push things around more in my own life.

I remember my first class with you at Hunter College. An introductory improvisation class... and how, especially at that time in my life, I felt so detached from everything and everyone. How I felt so different. And how this made me feel so alone. But you made me feel welcome. You made me feel different was okay.... I don’t mean this to sound sappy. But I really am very grateful for you and this. Your brazen defiance to not be anything other than who you are. Your self-ownership.

You know who it is that you are. And you are not afraid to show it... At Hunter, I watched you evolve as an artist. Explore new, different things... things that set you apart from the creative culture there. But you knew what you wanted to do. And you did it...and you’re still doing it today. Now, you’ve breached the safe, beautiful walls of Hunter College dance... and burst out into the scary, larger “real” world like a firecracker.

I know none of what I’ve written here or will write to come can do you and all of your art making justice. And maybe this is not at all what you wanted or expected in your head. It’s far from what I initially imagined. It’s just how things took shape. In my head at the moment, I envision that this will be two parts. The first being this, focusing on my words and who you are to me, and the second being more “you”, a collage consisting of your own words and art.

Before ending this part, let me just leave you with a few final words. (You clearly don’t need my words to validate you and your life choices, but I’m going to offer them anyway.) Keep exploring. Keep defying. Keep being you. Thank you for being my classmate, friend, and someone I can look up to in my own life journey. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

-Paul

Part 2 Rina Collage COMING SOON!