Raphy
Portrait with Mary Ellen Matthews
Description: A young man sits on a meditation cushion in a cross-legged position. He wears a casual white outfit and his shirt says, “Super Human.” Behind him, hang many miniature Dominican flags.
Portrait with Zachary Maxwell Stertz
“I remember everything about the Dominican Republic. I remember when I was four, going to the park with my mom, and everything was good. Everything was happy. Everybody will still be outside communicating with each other. It’s a more connected place. In D.R., I had a lot of friends. I had a lot of fun. I could go outside and play with my friends. Everything would be okay, safe.
Sometimes when I’m tired, I just lie back, stare at the ceiling, close my eyes, and just open my soul. I don’t know how to explain that, but it’s just like opening my soul. It creates a high frequency. It’s like I’m connecting with something that is hearing me out. When I first meditated, I was shocked. I was like, “Oh my God! What is this?” I felt like there was just something there just looking over me and watching me and guiding me like an angel.
It’s like my shirt says, Superhuman. I’m different. I feel like I just have life in the palm of my hand. I want to inspire everybody out there that thinks that they don’t have nothing in life. I want to really just get into their head and just inspire them and motivate them everyday through my music.”
New York, 2018