Remembering a Friend

When I awoke on October 2, 1997, my 8-year-old daughter broke the news. Carybé had died of respiratory heart failure the night before. He was attending a meeting of the obás of the Candomblé temple Ilê Axé Opô Afonjá. Although he was attended by a doctor on the way to a nearby hospital, he was pronounced dead on arrival. These are the cold and clinical details. The fact is that, from one day to another, a dear friend had gone, and the pain of that loss has dulled but not lessened nearly one year after his passing.

Carybé where he most loved to be--
in his studio.

Who was Carybé? If you live in Bahia, you know the answer. Carybé was an artist who adopted this part of Brazil as his home -- and was adopted by it. His works portrayed the color, mysticism and sensuality of this place, with its unique blend of European, African and Amerindian cultures.

When he first arrived here in 1938, he had lived in and visited many countries and regions (including Argentina, where he was born, Italy, his father's homeland, and Brazil, his mother's country). But Bahia bewitched him. In 1950, he settled here permanently, with his Argentine wife, Nancy, and their 3-year-old son Ramiro.

Something similar happened to me. The difference being that I first arrived in 1986 and never left. When I came here, I already knew about Carybé from his reverent watercolors of Candomblé and its divinities, or orishas (in the first edition of African Gods in the Candomblé of Bahia), and his dynamic pen-and-ink drawings of Capoeira. He was one of the two people in Salvador I most wanted to meet (the other was Mother Stella of Oshossi, iyalorishá of Ilê Axé Opô Afonjá). The orishas granted both my wishes. Ashé!

A comprehensive look at his
life and work

Carybé's path converged with mine in two areas: publishing and religion. I revised the translation of a huge tome on his life and work in 1986, shortly after my daughter was born. As a result, I felt as though I knew him and his family well, although I'd never met them. The first time we did meet was at the launching of the book Bahias, the first I actually translated.

I visited his house for the first time when escorting a visitor from Nigeria (as an interpreter). I took the opportunity to ask him to sign my copy of his book Carybé. He did, and painted a picture of Oshun on the title page.

Oshun, as depicted by Carybé
in my copy of his book

Later, I often saw him and his wife, Nancy, and their daughter, Solange, at the terreiro. There, I was dressed in the long skirt and head tie of an abiyan, or novice Candomblé priestess.

Then, I was invited to translate the second edition of African Gods in the Candomblé of Bahia. It was while working together on this project that we finally became friends. His friendship is a gift I will always treasure.

Browsing the Internet recently, I couldn't find any English-language sites about Carybé and his work. This site is intended to rectify that. Over time, I'll add biographical information and more reproductions of some of his most representative works.

Eshú will take you back to my home page.