Yúcahu - Box 12

Yúcahu - Box 12

Yúcahu is the supreme spirit of fertility, agriculture, and the sea within the ancient Taíno mythology of the Caribbean, especially as these relate to what we now call the Dominican Republic. As the son of the primordial mother goddess Atabey, he represents the life-giving forces of nature and is revered as the creator of yuca, which was the essential staple crop of the indigenous peoples. He is traditionally believed to reside on the sacred mountain peaks of the region, watching over the fields and coastal waters. In classical creation stories, Yúcahu stands as a symbol of peace and abundance, constantly balancing the destructive forces of his chaotic twin brother Guacar, who manifests as the hurricane.

I used guitar picks to form the design of a flower on the lid.

Box gifted to my beautiful Dominican friend, Carla - with whom I worked with for many years at Zabar's. Her and her husband Tomas invited me into their home very early on - and have treated me as family every since. Carla and Tomas attended many of my bands live shows over the years. Whenever we recorded a new CD - Carla spearheaded numerous sales of the CD to the employees of Zabar's. In this way, she made it possible for us to continue recording more and more music. I spent so many nights with my Dominican family, eating and drinking, dancing and celebrating. We all worked 60 hours a week back then - but it never prevented us from staying up way too late in Washington Heights. Even if we had to work the next day.