O’odham Artist Tomas Karmelo Releases Sueño Park
Creative Director, Film Director, Writer, Photographer, and visual artist, Tomas Karmelo has released a new single “Sueño Park.” His work focuses on creating opportunities for healing by embracing Indigenous teachings and knowledge systems in his expressions and collaborations. Raised by traditional healers, storytellers, and innovators he views the world through a trauma and healing-informed lens in a process he describes as creating visual medicine. In an Instagram post about the single, Tomas revealed the meaning behind the new track.
“This is a snippet of the track “Sueño Park,” a song about the place where I was born and raised in West Phoenix as well as surrounding areas. The song is one of several cuts from my first music project that I’ve been slowly developing. Damn, can’t believe I’m finally saying that after years of procrastination, self-doubt, intense workload, immense blessings paired with back to back hardships, I’m diving in.
As a kid I would jump in cyphers, perform in talent shows, and loved bringing smiles to people’s faces through laughter, dancing, and music. I was crackin jokes one moment then writing poems the next moment. Most of all I would spend hours on hours talking to my elders, cheering them up, and making sure they were solid. They taught me how to not take myself too seriously and to find beauty in life every day.
When a dear friend Eric, who taught me how to beat box, passed away when we were kids I felt an even stronger pull to be a student of hip hop in his memory. From his hair nets, jars of tres flores, and starched up Ben Davis shirts my brotha stayed looking firme. More than anything, he looked out for our squad and made sure to show love.
This song is produced, written, mixed, and mastered by yours truly and you already your boy is community made.
I think of the people closest to me telling jokes, sharing songs, and holding space for one another. Being a story teller can be fulfilling and healing in every art form, but especially in music. Songs helped us dearly in the highs and the lows.
Thank you to my parents, my family, my friends who have taken time to hear me out, to lift me up, and call me in when I was down. Thank you to my loving wife @sweetsib, for being the unrelenting force of love, brilliance, and resilience to me, Haseya, and so many others.
To the land, loved ones, and communities who make this place beautiful, matétera-bá, chiokoe utte’esia, gracias, thank you.”