Cedric Irvil Bramble

Cedric Irvil Bramble was born in Harlem, NYC on September 4, 1966, the third and last child of James Christopher and Christiana Irenie (Markham) Bramble. Cedric's arrival followed that of his sister Joy (four years older), and brother Joel (two years older).

As a child, he spent a number of summers with his parents and siblings on his parents' home island of Montserrat in the British West Indies, where they stayed with his maternal great-grandmother Lydia (known as "Lovely"), and grandmother Mary (known as "Bea").

After a brief period adjusting to the local children's playful teasing of the visiting "Yankees," Cedric and his siblings soon acclimated and became immersed in island life, with Cedric particularly enthusiastic about climbing his grandmother's breadfruit and mango trees, helping her work the garden, and playing with his new island friends (including a favorite pastime of catching and releasing small lizards). Other staples of these extended visits included visiting with family friends and relatives, attending Sunday services at their grandmother's Wesleyan Methodist church, and even attending a few classes at the local primary school, which remained in session during the early weeks of summer.

Always curious, and content keeping his own company, Cedric would often go off happily on his own to explore the small island by foot for hours at a time, acquainting himself with various areas, including the nearby village of Harris, whose name would much later serve as part as the inspiration for his own son's name.

During a rare Christmastime visit to the island in his teens, for the first time, he had the opportunity to experience in person the festive music and colorful costumes of Montserrat's Carnival and "Jump Up" celebrations, experiences that many years later would be echoed in the vibrant images he would capture of Caribbean-Americans celebrating Carnival in Atlanta, Georgia.

Even back at home in New York, Cedric's Caribbean roots were a regular part of his childhood: from the Calypso music albums in his parents' record collection (alongside Connie Francis, Nat King Cole, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and others); to the sweet potato pudding and coconut tarts his mother cooked for holidays, or the breadfruit she might serve up at dinner alongside fried chicken or fish; to the Wesleyan Methodist Church services his family would attend along with many other West Indian families and friends during the summer months when Sunday school at the family's regular church was on hiatus. All these experiences and more were weaved into and influenced the person Cedric would later become.

Cedric's connection with the Brick Presbyterian Church began early on, as his family began regularly attending services there when he was only 3 years old. After a year of nursery school at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, Cedric followed his brother in attending Kindergarten at Brick's day school, and along with his siblings, soon became an active participant in Brick's Sunday school and youth choir, and later, the handbell choir and youth group. At various times during his high school years, Cedric also served as teaching assistant to both his mother and his sister, each of whom taught their own Sunday school classes at Brick for a number of years.

After graduating from Kindergarten at Brick, he was fortunate to secure a scholarship to attend the Trinity School. Cedric's experience at Trinity helped to develop his intellectual curiosity and academic abilities, and to spark his interest in languages - first through a required study of Latin in Middle School, and later, in an elective in Spanish, which would later influence his life in a way he likely would not have anticipated.

At various points during his twelve years at Trinity, Cedric also enjoyed participating in activities such as judo and wrestling, as well as the school chorus, which provided him with opportunities to perform not only in school musical productions, but also at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center.

In addition to schoolwork and church activities, Cedric and his siblings spent many years of afternoons and Saturdays at the Harlem School of the Arts, taking classes in chorus, studio arts, music theory, ballet, modern dance and drama, in addition to private lessons in piano and violin. These exposures helped to nurture his broad appreciation of many forms of art and culture, something that he would continue to express in many ways as he grew into adulthood.

After Trinity, he continued his academic studies at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY), taking up a major in Spanish Literature and Latin American Studies, settling into the Spanish House section of Anna Comstock Residence Dorm, and immersing himself in international life and culture. By then, the Spanish language proficiency that he had first started to develop at Trinity had blossomed into a facility that could easily convince most native speakers that he was one as well. It was at a Spanish House dinner in his Junior year that Cedric met Sonia Catalina Parra Zuña, a fellow New Yorker and House resident enrolled in the graduating class a year behind his.

After graduating from Cornell, Cedric returned to New York and secured a job as an editorial assistant at Research Institutes of America, a professional publishing company. With Sonia still at Cornell finishing her undergraduate degree, Cedric developed a small but close circle of work friends who enjoyed exploring the variety of Latin music clubs the city had to offer - The Copacabana and Les Poulets being two of Cedric's particular favorites.

After a few years at RIA, Cedric capitalized on his language skills by securing a job as a marketing analyst at the American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal, Telemundo. By this time, Sonia was pursuing graduate studies at Michigan State, so the two of them maintained their relationship long-distance. Cedric's career at Telemundo would later take him to further assignments in Miami, FL and then Los Angeles, CA. Over this period, the couple were engaged in Miami, and upon completing her studies at Michigan State, Sonia joined Cedric in L.A..

Once the couple had established themselves in L.A., they took the opportunity to pursue their shared interest in various languages, cultures, and foods by exploring various international destinations; Mexico, the Philippines, Paris, London and Hong Kong were among their earliest trips.

It was during the couple's period living in L.A., that they were married in an intimate ceremony at Brick Church. Following a honeymoon in St. Lucia, the couple returned to L.A, where they remained for a few years until Sonia's acceptance into the MBA program at Emory University's Graduate School of Business brought the couple to Atlanta. Upon relocating to Atlanta, Cedric took up a position in retail sales, and shortly thereafter began pursuing what would become a strong interest in photography.

A few years after settling in Atlanta, Sonia gave birth to their son Harrison Danilo, and a delighted Cedric embraced fatherhood with enthusiasm. In the months and years that followed, Cedric took great pleasure in his role as a nurturing, doting and supportive dad. Once Harrison was old enough, Cedric and Sonia began to expose him to their shared love of travel by taking him on his first international trip, visiting Montréal and Québec City. The family was disappointed that their next planned international trip - to Japan - December 2021 had to be canceled due to the ongoing global pandemic, they looked forward to their intended next destination of Denmark in June 2022.

In the meanwhile, Cedric's interest in photography blossomed from a casual interest to a full-blown passion, which he eventually incorporated as a business. Between his personal photography and his professional work, Cedric captured subjects and events as varied as portraiture, pop music concerts, fashion photography, engagements, baby showers, weddings, food, nature, architecture, political rallies, cultural events, family gatherings and more.

Among the wide variety of subjects captured vividly in Cedric's portfolio, his photographs of Sonia and Harrison stand out - these photographs reflect the same inquisitive, reflective and celebratory qualities evidenced in his other work, but reflect a special intimacy and sense of appreciation.

In addition to his wife Sonia, son Harrison, mother Christiana, and siblings Joy and Joel, Cedric is survived by his mother-in-law Cristina Zuña Pacheco, his sister-in-law Carmita Cortes and her husband Angel Cortes, his brothers-in-law Carlos Patricio Parra and Walter Rolando Parra, Joy's husband Thomas Scott Ressler, Joel's wife Lisa Sabath, godmothers Ruby Brewster and Evelyn Dyett, and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.