"Tonight I might go bungee jumping off the 59th Street Bridge."

"Off the 59th Street Bridge? Aren't you afraid of cops?"

"I've got a friend who is a pro. You've got to set it up real quick, then jump."

Renzo Spirit Buffalo is full of spirit... Brimming with spirit... It's a youthful spirit, but one that has done a lot of traveling. It's an old spirit, but one that is still learning...It's here, and it's there...but mostly, it's in the moment.

Renzo and I met a few weeks after I saw his first solo show of photographs at Soho Black and White Gallery Laboratory. The exhibit was in honor of Unci Celane Not Help Him (Renzo's Grandmother). Taken on Pine Ridge Reservation, the pictures lovingly detail the everyday life on the rez. They are full of humor, love, and are ripe with the mischievous eye of the picture taker. Some of the photos made me smile with recognition, some made me laugh out loud. Though I've never been to Pine Ridge, there is something instantly humorous and comforting in his picture of a big old soup pot - it's an Indian thing, I guess. So, when we met, I wanted to know where he got his recipe from. His artist's statement contains the answer:

"Death always brings life. This is the cycle of life. When my grandmother passed on to the Spirit World, I knew I had to give something back. I remember her invaluable words and gifts she has passed on to me through the years, the world that she knows most about and I knew less of. She was the one who brought me to my senses, back home. She was and will always be instrumental in realizing who I am and what I am made of. Now it is again my turn. I couldn't think of a much better way to Honor her in an environment where I am."

Renzo was raised by his grandmother on the rez until he was in his early teens, when he went to live with a foster family in the San Fernando Valley. "It was what people did then" Renzo says. "I was very quiet, very withdrawn... I didn't want to get involved" he says of his first few years in California. "I did a lot of observation." Beginning to nourish his artist's eye, he become aware of the differences in the various cultures of the area, of the buildings, the land, the surf... He bought a camera and began taking pictures. And, of course, he did surf.

After high school he returned home for a few years, then, like young people do, he left to see the world. A few years bumming around, trying to figure out what to do, led him to... New York City. "The first two years in New York were the loneliest time in my life. I remember on Christmas - I was so lonely - I had on a second hand coat from Canal Jeans, and I had a bottle of red wine. I went out and sat by the East River, with two glasses and that bottle. I filled both glasses, raised them in a toast and clinked them together." He laughs as he tells the story, but his eyes darken with the memory. Nevertheless, he stayed. Maybe it was that toast, but soon his luck changed.

"Things happen for a reason. You have two choices - worry about it or not. The result will be the same whatever you do." Soon Renzo was managing a restaurant on weekends and working as an assistant to a fashion photographer during the week. This led him to working as an assistant on videos and films, resulting in his learning to be a cameraman. Soon he was making his own small films. Being behind the camera, Renzo watched the actors and began to think "I can do that!". He started studying acting, and was soon surprising his cameramen friends by appearing in front of their cameras. In the upcoming Spike Lee film, "Summer of Sam", he has a small but very visible role: "I'm naked in a bathtub full of naked men and women. Everyone is making out. It's great!". He will also be seen shortly in the Martin Scorcese film "Bringing Out The Dead", in which he plays a homeless junkie.

Renzo credits the many wonderful people he has met on his journey in this city for much of the good spirit he exudes. He is especially thankful to Brian Annamanthado, the masterprinter at Soho Black and White Gallery/Laboratory, for the success of his exhibition. "He developed the pictures, and he said they were good enough to put on a show with." With his encouragement, Renzo was able to present his exhibition in Annamanthado's gallery. The prints are beautiful, and both parties are planning on continuing this relationship.

When I asked Renzo what his future holds, he laughed. "I'm a bum. I'm on film sets, I make pictures, I take pictures... I do stunt work... Tonight I might go bungee jumping off the 59th Street Bridge."

Meeting and talking with Renzo Spirit Buffalo was an experience that raised my own spirit. His energy, his joy for living, his honesty, his laugh, his talent...if good spirits are contagious, his is. He is a star...rooted in tradition and reaching for the next experience. Keep an eye on him, because you never know what he'll do next. I bet his Grandmother is so proud of him.