I’m able to be somebody
From hate rise above
I’m able to help somebody
When they’re giving up
I’m able to tell somebody
The things that I want
I’m able to love somebody
And I can be loved
These are the lyrics to I am Able, a song written and performed by Tabi. ” It’s a song about being able to do anything including giving love,” she shares. Tabi has muscular dystrophy and is a wheelchair user. She performs in and around TriBeCa in New York where she lives.
https://youtu.be/osbr4b_RfoA
Tabi began singing at a young age as a way to exercise her lungs and diaphragm. Now singing and songwriting are a way of life. Tabi has performed at venues both big and small. ” I was the opening performer at the first ever Annual NYC Disability Pride Parade in Madison Square Park [in 2015] to celebrate the ADA’s 25th anniversary,” she shares. And she was recently awarded the Robert Ross Personal Achievement Award presented by the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) in part for the advocacy work she does for people with disabilities through volunteering and music. One of Tabi’s songs, Make A Muscle, was written for the MDA and has since become the anthem at her local chapter.
So what kind of music does Tabi write and perform? “My music is catchy,” she says. “It’s a mix of genres from jazz and R&B to folk and rock to electronic and samba!”
Thank you to Tabi Estrellado for sharing her passion with AbleThrive readers!