Emmanuel Vita our brother, our best friend and our colleague passed away one quite morning in the month of April. His presence in our lives is only surmounted by his sudden absence. The following is the Eulogy given for Emmanuel on the day of his services, by his best friends Alex Oropeza and Michael Jacobson. . .
I want to thank-you, friends and family for coming out today to mourn the passing of our son, brother and friend Emmanuel Vita. I look out and see your solemn faces. They reflect the heaviness that you all carry in your hearts. My heart too, bears that same burden. But today my spirit is lifted and my heart rejoices because I am not here to mourn the passing of Emmanuel, but to celebrate the life of my best friend. Today I invite you friends and family to join me in my celebration.
I've known Emmanuel the last 10 years of my life. We met the very first day of classes at Boston University. I was only 19 when we met, who knew that the next 10 years would see us become the best of friends. I look back at all those years that we grew up together and realize that I have had the rare opportunity to appreciate Emmanuel for everything he was. Today I would like to share with you how I knew Emmanuel . . .
To me Emmanuel was a Mus ician.
The newest Wu Tang Clan album had just dropped. It was the winter of 96. I had just met Emmanuel and I was heading over to his dorm room to put him on to real music. As I approached his dorm room I could hear a muffled orchestra of instru m ents . I paused for a moment before knocking, absorbing the sound escaping through the cracked door. A muffled rapping not part of the symphony complemented the sound creating an intricate pattern of beats and melody. My curiosity disregarded knocking and gave the door a slight push. The opening door raveled the symphony of sounds coming from Emmanuel's broken cd boom box, that only played cds when he laid a heavy book, in this case his Bible over the cd tray. The muffled rapping came from Emmanuel as he sat on his dorm bed, drumstick in each hand, eyes closed swaying heavily to the music as he tapped an intricate drum pattern on his pillow.
That was how Emmanuel introduced me to the world of Jazz in particular John Coltrane. Emmanuel loved jazz like one can love a soul mate. He dedicated his life to its pursuit. Emmanuel love for music stirred his inner talents establishing himself as a drummer, guitarist, keyboardist and bassist and producer. With a beat up lap top and simple mixing software, Emmanuel wrote, arranged, and produced two brilliant albums, that could best be described as Rare Groove. His first album, Curve of the Earth, a 10 track album earned him 1st place at the celebrated New York Electronica Film Festival. His second album, The Suspects EP was a brilliant mix of trip hop beats, jazz overtures and rock chords, all charged with political undertones.
To me Emmanuel was a Philosopher.
Whether he was talking to me about Nietzsche, Hegel or Fuko , Emmanuel was the quintessential modern day philosopher. His application of Philosophy was not limited to his written works, but resonated in his actions, his spoken words and dreams. While Hegel and Nietzsche were his Philosophy teachers, Emmanuel was mine. From him I learned to deconstruct the world we live in, to always question the status quo for the purpose of not destroying the system but to make it work better. I believe that Emmanuel’s love for philosophy came from his personal quest to attain the furthest level of understanding, to conceptualize the dynamics behind our actions and reactions within the context of reality. To question life in such a profound manner is a privilege born only to a handful of great individuals worthy of its cause. Emmanuel was one of those great individuals.
To me Emmanuel was a Novelist and Screenplay Writer.
While I spent my sophomore year at Boston University expensing my creative energies in chem lab, Emmanuel labored over a novel he titled Lucky. It was the story of a n intricate character riddled with qwerks who found himself in the most complex of situations, who as he put was Lucky until one day . . . Whenever he happened to leave the room or left the computer unattended I would greedily feast over his written work. I never had the privilege of reading his novel in its entirety, but the piecemeal portions were brilliant, comedic and outrageous! In his writing, every last bit of Emmanuel fascinating mind was exposed and offered for study. In the summer of 2003 Emmanuel wrote Dot Comma. It was a full-length s creenplay that unveiled the life of a young philosopher amongst the backdrop of the surreal Internet era. His screenplay was the recipient of several awards and cash prizes. His Writing like his music represented his inner voice shaped by his family and friends.
To me Emmanuel was a Comedian.
Whether he began with, "Hello my name is Carlito" in a scarface voice or he was wearing a John Kerry mask yelling, "We're going build a coalition of nations!" or performing his infamous Michael Jackson dance moves which undoubtedly exploded into the world's fastest Roger Rabbit, Emmanuel was beyond a comedian he was an entertainer.
Here is my personal Top 5 Emmanuel Funniest Moments:
1) Emmanuel's Movie Guy impersonation.
2) Emmanuel's John Kerry impersonation
3) Emmanuel's Martin Busheer impersonation
4) Emmanuel's crack head hobble and impersonation.
5) Emmanuel’s Keanu Reeves impersonation.
To me Emmanuel was a Wine Connoisseur.
An aficionado to the highest degree, Emmanuel would argue with wine sellers about which grape, the Aglianico or Corvina would distill a wine of greater depth and finesse. He would stump bartenders at Otto, Mario Batali's wine bar, with his knowledge of wine and their origin! He offically was inducted into the chronicles as a wine zealot after his adventures in Paris, which only strengthened his love for wine. When I think of Emmanuel as a wine connoisseur I see him sitting next to me at the bar describing how rich the soil was for the Barbera grape in a region in France, and between each factoid he would raise his glass and swirl his wine like a red tornado, to the point where you were almost afraid it would spill out, but it never did.
To me Emmanuel to me was a Master Chef.
I remember the day of my birthday he called me up and said he was going to cook me a birthday dinner. He came over with a large duffel bag packed with ingredients and necessary tools. The meal started with seared scallops wrapped in bacon drizzled with ginger. Next came a deep-dish pizza made entirely from scratch, covered with 5 different kinds of cheeses. For the main course Emmanuel served salmon stuffed with fennel, a double mashed potato and asparagus. As my entire family reveled in the meal, I remember seeing a look of satisfaction on Emmanuel's face as if watching the unveiling of a painting.
To me Emmanuel was a Fashionista.
From his black squared frames to his short brimmed hat to his scarf he wore as a neck wrap, Emmanuel left his own mark on the fashion scene. Did you know Emmanuel aspired to be a designer? In his private collection of works he has several books with pages and pages of design illustrations.
To me Emmanuel to me was a Socialite.
It was a Friday evening. I was finalizing a project at my job. My phone kept ringing every 15 minutes. It was Emmanuel and he was resolute on going out. I told him I was busy and that we could meet up tomorrow for a few drinks. A half hour passed, and no call from Emmanuel. I thought, "Hey, he actually let me work!" No sooner had that thought crossed my mind, I hear a familiar shuffling. It was Emmanuel, making his way towards my office with a bottle of wine in one hand and two styrofoam cups in the other. He beams me a look of satisfaction as he stretches his long arms into the air as a triumphant gesture that he evaded the security guard. I yell out E! What are you doing?! My co-worker is still here! He apologizes and quickly shuffles out of sight, only to return moments later with three styrofoam cups! Now my coworker and I are sitting in my office with cups in hand, sinking lower and lower into our seats with every sip of the styrofoam wine. I stare outside my window as the last bit of light leaks into oblivion, wondering where the day went. I look at Emmanuel; his face is lit up like a burning candle, his long arms gesturing wildly, as he swishes his styrofoam wine, telling us of a gallery opening with an open bar till 10pm.
To me Emmanuel was a Ladies Man.
And why not? Aside from his handsome features and his ORIGINAL style, the man had moves on the dance floor! If you weren't intrigued by his presence, then 15 minutes into a conversation with Emmanuel and either you began looking around to see if somewhere there is a hidden camera, or you realize that you are having a conversation with a random stranger about your new Mark Jacobs bag, the latest international conflict, your interest in baking, his new album debut and how his sister Jemina sings on track 6, Martin Busheer's televised interview of Micheal Jackson, brunch tomorrow at Tartine and somewhere along the lines you've already accepted an invitation for Emmanuel to cook you and your friends a gourmet cuisine, and that he is inviting his good friend Alex from college.
For the benefit of us who caught only glimpses and flashes of Emmanuel’s extraordinary life I wanted to share with everyone the accomplishments, dreams and talents of Emmanuel Vita. Sadly, his life capped at its prime will forever leave us wondering what else he would have accomplished in the second half of his life. Like the great minds that have walked among us, Emmanuel has only a beginning and no end. His words, actions memories and talents come alive at the mere mentioning of his name. Emmanuel is a legend. But of all the traits that Emmanuel possessed there is one above all his other traits that I will miss most . . . t o me Emmanuel was my Best Friend.