All photographs:
Nicoló Lanfranchi Photograph: Nicolo Lanfranchi
I met Dom through my Indigenous friend, the environmental activist Davilson Brasileiro, with whom I investigated the 2015 Rio Doce disaster. Thanks to Davilson, Dom discovered my work, and we began collaborating on the stories he wrote for the Guardian. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, which we often celebrated by surfing together and cooking Italian recipes.
We met for the last time in Rio de Janeiro just before the [coronavirus pandemic] lockdown, to surf at Arpoador beach in Ipanema. We then worked together again, albeit from a distance, for some pieces on Covid-19 in Rio.
In the two years that followed, Dom concentrated on the book he was writing, and on research trips to the Amazon. We talked often, though far apart, about our common passion for music, about life, and made plans for when Covid would pass. We thought about how I could contribute to Dom’s book with my photos, and he asked me to accompany him on [what would be] his last trip, to Brazil’s Javari valley.
