Eu Sambo Diferente

About a month ago, Brazilian artist Caique Vidal allowed me to document his busiest week of the year, as he prepared for his Carnaval show. Vidal, a native of Salvador da Bahia, is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music educator. He stays true to his Afro-Brazilian roots by creating samba-reggae music, which is also a way of staying connected to home despite being 3,000 miles away. For the past six years, he’s been promoting Brazilian culture in the Triangle area while trying to strengthen the community.

The Opportunity

In August 2018, the Southern Durham Spartans welcomed me to photograph their brotherhood. I documented their season: from the joyful moments to the lowest points where they had to regroup and be ready for the next challenge. During my time with this team, these young men taught me about resiliency. They were always up for the challenge, they never gave up on each other, and they always found a way to bounce back when games didn’t go their way.

Though the season didn’t end how they would’ve liked, they made sure to take advantage of all of the opportunities being part of this team offered.

Thank you to all the players and coaches for allowing me to be a part of the journey.