Raafi Rivero | images and ideas

Inna Ghana

A few years ago I went to Morocco, my first trip to Africa. On my second flight to the Continent – a year ago – the man sitting a row in front of me said of Morocco, “yeah, but that’s not really Africa.” The sentiment is so common that even I, a foreigner, shrugged when I said “Morocco” as if to confess the crime before even being accused. For many, including the man sitting a row ahead of me, Sub-Saharan Africa is Africa, the rest is just details.

The flight was to Ghana. The trip was to Kokrobité, a town just west of the capital Accra, and the Kokrobitey Institute, which was founded in the 90s and continues to be run by Renée Neblett – Auntie Renée – an irrepressible woman with the charm of a million charmers, and the style to match.

Renee Neblett walks the grounds of the Kokrobitey Institute in Accra, Ghana

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Tyre Nichols & We.

The heartbreaking story of Tyre Nichols had me clenched up all week. I wrote a more fulsome post about his life and what inspired the design elsewhere. Perhaps one day I’ll do some writing about the value skateboarding has had in my life. Tyre was an excellent skater.

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NBA Box Scores ∢external link

A few years ago I got into the habit of checking the NBA box scores on my phone right before bed. Mainly on ESPN and nba.com but sometimes right in Google. Then on other sites, lots of sites. And while most places do an OK-enough job acting as portals to other basketball-related stuff, the part I came for – the box scores – tended to be hard to navigate and read.

It’s 30 lines of data, I thought, how tough could it be?

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Lord Willing and the Creek Don’t Rise

My father Askia Muhammad died a few months ago and it’s been hard to figure out what to say here about it. We weren’t always close. We were close in our own way. I loved him dearly.

Lord willing and the creek don’t rise – I’ll see you here again next week.

That was my father’s sign-off for over 40 years on the radio. Rest easy, Pops.

Low Light in Santa Fe

These photos were captured a year ago in and around Santa Fe, NM. Seeing the sun (or moon!) so low on the horizon was a rare sight in my previously urban existence. These next pics were taken while hiking with my friends Eric and Emily, who nursed me through a shoulder injury and opened the door to a place I hope to visit again.

Two from Fall

I’m not sure when landscape photography became a dominant form of exploration for me within the craft. I just know that it happened. As with almost everything I’ve posted over the past few years, these were shot on an iPhone SE and edited in Photoshop.