Ray Cabarga left us on July 4, 2025.
Ray suffered from muscular dystrophy and was wheelchair bound. In recent years his health was also complicated by congestive heart failure and a wound on his leg that simply wouldn’t heal – probably because of his compromised heart. Even while regaling us with his unique humor on a daily basis, he was frequently in a lot of pain. He ultimately opted for home hospice care, and, after only a few days, passed peacefully in his own bed.
“The Sky Is Not the Limit” — Ray Cabarga
Dear friends,
I’m writing to you with a heavy but steady heart. I want you to know that our friend and fellow artist Ray Cabarga has passed away. Ray had been struggling with serious health issues for some time, and while his death was not entirely unexpected, it still hits hard for all of us. He lived with a great deal of pain over the last few years, and now his soul is at rest.
Ray was part of the fabric of this group. He brought sensitivity, humor, intelligence, and a deep creative spirit into everything he touched. Through his work, his music, and his conversations, he reminded us that vulnerability and strength are not opposites — they often live side by side.
Ray played an important role in the creation of our book. His prose was brilliant, often skewering critics with sharp wit, yet always delivered with warmth and humor. He was a captivating storyteller, and his writing had a musical cadence — he believed words should flow the way music or poetry does. Reading his writing always felt like listening.
Many of you knew Ray personally. Others may have known him through his work or correspondence. However you encountered him, his presence mattered, and his absence will be felt. He was one of the funniest, smartest, and most genuinely positive people I’ve ever known.
Ray taught me so much about art — light, color, and composition. I even learned kerning from him while we were working on the book. One of his great joys was seeing us sell a stack of copies at our first show in Miami, where we somehow managed to get him two nights at Chris Blackwell’s apartment in South Beach Studio.
We wrote to each other often — sometimes every day — and his messages were always cerebral and hilarious. Ray was also a jazz trumpet player and a devoted listener of jazz piano recordings. He had an uncanny ability to recognize truly great performances and explain, in detail, exactly why they worked. And in true Ray fashion, he also built incredibly detailed paper airplanes — elegant constructions that seemed able to fly forever.
I didn’t want this news to arrive through rumor or silence. It felt important that you hear it directly, and with respect — for Ray, and for all of us who care about him.
In the days ahead, if you feel moved to share a memory, a thought, or a piece of work in Ray’s honor, that would be very much in his spirit. Please know there is no expectation. Grief takes its own shape for each of us.
Thank you for being part of a group that values not only the work, but the people behind it. I’ll be posting some of Ray’s incredibly detailed works on our pages for a while as a tribute.
Fly forever, Ray.
Jamie and The Gang
Dear Ray, One of a Kind, thank you for bringing your humor and design to the world and for being a generous teacher. I hope you had fun. We’ll keep trying down here. -Malaga
If anyone deserved celebrity status, is was Ray. I could go on for hours. He was the REAL life dos equis -most interesting man in the world.
He made me two small portraits of a dog that passed away, they’re incredible. I used to call him and talk for hours. I don’t have any of his media on my current phone or new computer.
He was the funniest person I’ve ever met. I didn’t know how bad he was doing, he wasn’t a big complainer, I wish he had said more about it on FB or I would’ve called him. I met him in a FB comment section from Joey Alexander pianist a long time ago.
I have several of his arrangements and original music on my old computer, he sent me a book with a Character called “Next.” He was working on a new comedy book and wanted to get it published on what he called “scamazon”
Ray Raphael “Opter Flame” Cabarga was a GENIUS!
He would be roasting all of us if he could see these comments!
This is really devastating!! This is a true loss for mankind.
He had more creativity in his finger nail than a 10,000 people combined. He would’ve been unmatched as a movie director or script writer, he had more imagination than anyone I’ve ever met. There will never be another Ray Cabarga, this is really heavy and a major loss. He had so much to contribute to the world, a real artist and creative.
“Yo mama’s so ugly, when she came to kiss you goodnight, you asked the monsters under the bed, “Can I come sleep with you guys?”
Hey Ray,
I’m still talking to you in my head, so I figured I’d put it down here.
I don’t know how many people really understood how sharp you were — how funny, how musical your thinking was, how much care you put into every sentence, every note, every line. I did. I always did.
You taught me how to see things more clearly — art, light, color, even spacing between letters. You made me laugh when I needed it most. You were there, consistently, brilliantly, generously.
I miss writing you. I miss your messages showing up, always smarter and funnier than mine. I miss the way you could explain why something worked — or didn’t — without ever being cruel.
I hope you’re free of pain now. I hope you’re somewhere with good light, good sound, and room to let things fly forever.
Thank you for walking with me for a stretch of this life. It mattered more than I probably ever said out loud.
Love,
Jamie
Dearest Raimundo Raphael Op, your verve and enthusiasm will never be forgotten. My heart has always been with yours. Creativity like yours lights our pathways. Thank you dearest. Op
Ray played with me and my band mates in San Francisco on the 1980’s,I still can sing some of the amazing Jazz lines of ” The Detached Hand,” I am saddened by his loss, but will tell the tales of the great “Opter Flame,” forever.
Op aka Ray, it was great fun knowing you on Folsom St and fun reconnecting via FB years ago. Looking forward to another re-connect in the outer limits someday (or all days?) Rest in peace – then back to work dude!