Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Angie Xtravaganza

Queer Ancestor Spotlight
Written By White Rose Witching

The House of Xtravaganza, founded in 1982, is one of the most famous houses to emerge from the New York City ballroom scene. Originally founded by Hector Valle as an all-Latino house, Xtravaganza is now primarily composed of African American and Latino LGBTQ+ folks. Although Valle may have been the founder, an early member of the house would rise to leadership as “house mother” and shape its future , a Puerto Rican trans woman named Angie Xtravaganza.

Photo of Angie Xtravaganza circa 1987 by Adam Hill

Angie Xtravaganza was born on October 17, 1964 to a Puerto Rican-American family in the South Bronx. At the age of 14 she ran away from home, and began doing drag and competing in balls by 16. As an early teen she was already caring for a community of “children” in queer cruising spots, such as the Christopher Street Piers, made up of folks who had been rejected by their families. She met Hector Xtravaganza, with whom she would co-found the legendary house with, at the Piers.

Angie served as House Mother from the beginning. As House Mother she helped the house children select their outfits for balls, exemplified the standards and behavior expected by the children, and enforced the house rules. She also helped the children navigate the complexities of being gay in a world that had abandoned them. She took in many rejected and homeless folks in the community, feeding them, celebrating holidays with them, and providing a caring chosen family for them.

One of the biggest things Angie advocated for was more education and awareness around HIV/AIDS. The House of Xtravaganza was founded shortly after the epidemic began, and Angie would see many friends and loved ones die from this illness. Given the abandonment of the LGBTQ+ community by the American government in terms of a coordinated response or medical research, the responsibility for advocacy and caring for the sick fell on the queer community itself. Social structures, like the houses, provided support when there was little else to be found.

Under her leadership, the House of Xtravaganza became a powerful player in the ball community and heavily influenced the culture in New York City. Angie was featured in the 1988 article “The Slap of Love” by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Cunningham and the 1990 documentary by Jennie Livingston, Paris is Burning.

Angie was diagnosed with AIDS in 1991 and developed Kaposi’s sarcoma. She died in 1993 at the age of 28. The New York Times published an article following her death with the headline “Paris Has Burned”. And in 1994, Junior Vasquez, a DJ at the original Sound Factory in New York City who was heavily associated with the House of Xtravaganza, released his single “X” which was dedicated to both the house itself and Angie.

White Rose Witching
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