A Brief Alternative Biographical Narrative

 

David H. Brown draws his daily inspiration from the Atlantic Ocean. He consists of approximately 60% water, 17% protein, 17% fat, and 6% other elements. He believes that if you have not read Dirty Havana Trilogy by Pedro Juan Gutiérrez, Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War by Peter Maass, and Drama of the Gifted Child by Alice Miller, you can't be sure where you stand on most things. He earned his Ph.D. in American Studies at Yale University in 1989. In 1997, the delightful corporation called Emory University decided it didn't want him any more. He landed on his feet and eventually found retail again, a great but hitherto unfathomed inheritance of his Jewish ancestors from the Old Country.
 

In 2000 David became an asentado of orisha Obatalá-Ayáguna Leyibó in Havana, Cuba and began developing his ashé as a botaniquero and orisha artist. He is the author of two works of art history and cultural anthropology: Santería Enthroned: Art, Ritual, and Innovation in an Afro-Cuban Religion and “The Light Inside”: Abakuá Society Arts and Cuban Cultural History (2003). He is the owner of www.folkcuba.com. A forteen-year old named Enmanuel Padrón is the light of his life; plus he’s a ferocious high school basketball player.