A Woman to Know: Angie Xtravaganza
I'm not a beauty, but I've got class. — Angie
In 1982, Angie and several other trans performers founded House of Xtravaganza, the first Latino house in New York's gay ballroom scene. Both Angie and the House featured prominently in Jennie Livingston's controversial documentary, "Paris Is Burning." Angie nurtured dozens of homeless gay and trans youth in New York City's drag scene. "A mother is one who raises a child, not one who borns it," she told her children.
She died young, only 28, but many of her children memorialized Angie with an epic service held inside a nightclub, complete with an Angie shrine, floral wreaths arranged in "X"s and (of course) performances by all her favorite queens. The New York Times covered it for the Sunday Styles section, with a giant photo of Angie and the headline "Paris Has Burned."
Add to your library list:
Paris is Burning: A Queer Film Classic (Lucas Hilderbrand)
Nonstop Metropolis: A New York City Atlas (Rebecca Solnit)
Queer Latino Testimonio (A. Cruz-Malave)
Flesh and Blood (Michael Cunningham)
Read more:
Paris Has Burned (The New York Times)
The Slap of Love (Michal Cunningham)
Why the debate over Paris is Burning rages on (The Guardian)
The Oysters in the Spire (UC Press)
John Simon Saw it All (The Advocate)
10 lesser known trans women pioneers from history (Autostraddle)
Paris is Still Burning: A House of Xtravaganza Ball (The New York Times)
Watch more:
Paris is Burning (Jennie Livingston)
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