How rafa esparza transformed himself into a lowrider cyborg for Art Basel Miami?
At the beginning of his career, rafa esparza could barely walk. After injuring his ankle, he was forced to give up touring in order to have the surgery. His career never recovered.
Over the past decade, though, esparza has reinvented himself as the ‘lowrider cyborg’ — a master of high style and low impact movements, who uses a ‘motorized wheel’ to deliver a low-impact performance every single night in the streets.
This isn’t some new trend. It’s just rafa’s way of being himself. The 25-year-old Brazilian, who is now an ambassador of the city and has an art walk dedicated to his work, has been going out on the streets dancing and performing, all while staying away from the spotlight. He’s been doing it for seven years, and has now been invited to the Art Basel Miami Beach edition — where he’ll be performing his new song, “Lowrider”.
“Just over a year ago, I was stuck in a very low part of my career,” he says. “My main goal is to be able to go at least three years without performing on stage. I haven’t had many chances to just be myself.”
He went on to tell me how he has reinvented himself into a cyborg performing, and he’s not the only one who is doing so.
“The way people see me is the result of all the people that helped me with my transformation,” he says. “I was looking for an outlet, so through my own efforts, I became the lowrider cyborg.”
Rafa says he’s no different from most artists — he has the same reasons to do what he does. He wants to share his music with the world. He wants to create something that inspires him. And he wants to do something different.
“I had always wanted to be on tour with no music in between,” he says. ‘I always wanted to be a
