Alexander HardyCultural AnthropologyDr. Leanna WolfeNovember 20, 2010

On a recent trip to New Orleans, I met a photographer named Saphira Frances Contreras, a beautiful, artsy type with an infectious passion for life. Our initial conversation was about hair, as we both have dreadlocks, and soon shared our life stories with one another. She invited me to her home where we drank tea and I got a close look into her personal world.

This is the front door to her one-bedroom apartment in a quiet, residential neighborhood of New Orleans. All furniture is second-hand. Saphira created or altered most of the art contained within. I learned a lot her life and culture in four short hours.

Saphira was born in Livingston, Guatemala in the Izabal department of the country. Her family consists mainly of farmers. Until she moved to the United States, she had always grown, bartered, killed and prepared her own food.

Since relocating to the states, she has become a vegetarian, with the goal of eliminating the toxins of meat from her body. She has a garden where she still grows many of her own vegetables (tomatoes, beans, onions, fruits, etc) when weather permits.

Saphira has lived in this home for 18 months, and has used the microwave three times. She finds it “too American.”

Saphira is a photographer, hair stylist, and business woman. Here is the desk area where she handles all of her affairs, studies English, and works to strengthen her mind.

On the left is a scanner where she transfers her print work to computer to manipulate digitally. Her laptop allows her to edit photos and communicate on the go. She keeps any quick reference materials here as well – dictionaries, photo editing manuals, English textbooks, etc.

Having relocated from Guatemala to Santa Barbara, California to New Orleans, Saphira has accumulated thousands of photos. Here are binders with some of her favorite work dating back to her very first shots a decade ago.

Considering herself “practical and minimalist,” she navigates the town on her bike, which she got in exchange for some wedding photography. She mentioned that her family in Guatemala often traded high-quality handmade jewelry and garments for livestock, so she feels “no barter is unreasonable.”

Here is Saphira’s book collection. She prefers books dealing with Afro-American or Afro-Hispanic culture and struggle. Her favorite topics range from Huey Newton to the various slave trades, to fiction titles.

She devotes one to two hours a day to reading. On average, she reads about seven to 10 books monthly. It helps to improve her English and introduce her to other societies and time-periods There are also more photography books here, and a few cameras from different time periods as well.

Saphira prays at this altar several times weekly. She kneels on a silk pillow made my her late grandmother, and prays to her ancestors. In the top center is a picture of her baby brother who died as an infant. Below that is a picture of her parents on their wedding day. Her father died when she was five. To the right behind the candle is her late grandfather. On the left side is her late grandmother.

She lights candles and communicates with her ancestors in good times and bad. Being very spiritual she truly feels they move around and through her and guide her through life’s biggest challenges.

About 75% of the clothes she wears during the spring and summer, Saphira makes by hand. When weather permits, she wears mostly sarongs, ruffled skirts, wrap dresses, and anything with beads, huge buttons, or fringed edges. She believes clothes should be an expression of your personality, and that matching colors is “unnecessary conformity and should be optional.”

In Livingston, Guatemala, her mother and grandmother were known throught their region for their fine dresses, ceremonial robes, flattering maternity gear, and bejeweled head scarves. She hopes to revive that legacy in generations to come.

Every morning begins with 20-40 minutes of intense mediation. Saphira uses this time to declutter, and de-stress and just breathe before rushing headfirst into the day.

“Progression is not necessary without reflection,” she says.

She crafted these pillows herself from suede and cotton, a modernized spin on the methods used by her mother and grandmother. Most days she lights incense, places a candle at her feet. She has calming mood music to help if necessary.

Coming from a family of seamstresses and tailors, Saphira upholds family tradition and sews her herself and others. In addition to created garments, she regularly “improves” things found in second-hand or retail stores. She says, “People don’t embellish enough.” So, she adds feathers, hooks and beads, swaps out zippers or buttons , even adds or removes hoods. This ensures her individuality, and she serves as walking business card for her various talents. All pieces from the striped black and white top near the middle over to the cream colored dress on the right are original pieces. She was even asked recently to produce a traditional Garifunawedding dress for a friend, which was very similar to the one shown on the right.

Here is Saphira’s bedroom. I could not take this picture as she does not allow men in the room. Right before her grandmother passed, she made her promise to “wait for marriage,” so Saphira is a 26-year old virgin. Even though I’m gay, she would not allow me to cross the doorway. If repairmen absolutely must enter the room, she leaves the house.

She sleeps nude throughout the spring and summer months, and uses heat sparingly in winter months. The bed skirt is handmade.

Saphira relaxes here with music until she falls asleep. She listens to various Caribbean styles as well as 80’s pop, Garifuna punta, and salsa. On Sunday nights she lights candles around the room and listens to hungu hungu, gunjai, and sambai, her late grandmother’s favorite forms of Garifuna music.

I learned a lot during my brief time with SaphiraContreras. Since my mother’s family originates in Panama, I noticed many similarities in music and fashion between her Guatemalan heritage and my Panamanian roots. Both people have Spanish and African ancestry, with influences from across the Caribbean and numerous settling peoples. Similar to many women I grew up with, she was welcoming and overwhelmingly generous, cooking a full traditional dinner just hours after we’d met, soon calling me “brother.”

Her use of space is inspiring. Every corner has a purpose. Her home is more than where she rests her head; it is her safe haven. Inside the walls, she is constantly working to strengthen her spiritual connection with her past while improving the outlook of her future. This project was highly enlightening for me.