Founded in 1982, the House of Xtravaganza is a "house" that emerged from the New York City underground ballroom scene. It is among the longest continuously active houses in the scene. House of Xtravaganza members and the collective group have been recognized for their cultural influence in the areas of dance, music, visual arts, nightlife, fashion, and community activism. House of Xtravaganza members have also been featured in popular media and have traveled internationally in connection with and as ambassadors for vogueing and ballroom culture.
Ballroom Scene Composed primarily of African American and Latino LGBTQ people, members of the ballroom community traditionally form "houses" which serve the dual purpose of providing a surrogate family structure and competing for trophies and prestige in community-organized balls. Houses are traditionally formed in a family-like structure, with a house "mother" and/or "father" who oversee and direct the group. In keeping with ballroom community tradition, members take the house name as their surname (e.g. "Jose Xtravaganza"). House members compete or "walk" in balls in various categories including representations of dance, fashion, costume design, runway modeling, and gender representation.
1982 to 1988: Founding and Formative Years The House of Extravaganza (original spelling) was founded in 1982 by Hector Valle (1960–1985), a gay man of Puerto Rican descent, recognized for his elegant and athletic style of voguing."Voguing and The House Ballroom Scene of New York City 1989-92". Soul Jazz Books, 2011, Interview "Hector Xtravaganza, Grandfather of the House of Xtravaganza", pgs. 32–35 While Hector Valle was familiar with the ballroom scene, he himself did not belong to a ball house. In the summer of 1982 he made a bold decision for the time to create an all-Latino ballroom house,Valenti, Chi Chi. "The Latin Houses of Extravaganza and Labeija". i-D, September 1988, pgs. 35–36 in response to what was a nearly exclusive African American gay subculture. Hector undertook the task of building up the House membership among friends he socialized with in the West Village of NYC and at popular nightclubs of the era, such as the Paradise Garage. One of the earliest members was a transgender teen of Puerto Rican descent who came to be known as Angie Xtravaganza. She assumed the role of "house mother". Mother Angie quickly emerged as the dominant leader and driver of the House.
In early 1983, the House of Xtravaganza made its first ballroom appearances.Valenti, Chi Chi. "A House Is A Home". The Love Ball (program), Design Industry Foundation for AIDS, 1989 Although young and not widely experienced in ballroom competition, the desire to succeed captured the group numerous grand prize trophies in their first outings. Over the next few years, the House of Xtravaganza recruited talented young members, often drawn from the downtown gay discos and nightclubs of NYC. The outsider status as a Latino house within a primarily African American scene fostered a fierce family bond among the Xtravaganzas, and that closeness emerged a recognizable distinction from many of the other houses.
During this formative period, house mother Angie Xtravaganza felt that they had made their stand as an exclusively Latino group, and not wanting to exclude based solely on ethnicity, made the decision to open the house to all potential members regardless of ethnic background. The House of Xtravaganza ultimately included African American, Asian, and Caucasian members, although it remained true to its roots as a primarily Latino ball house.
In 1985 founder and house father Hector Valle died of complications from AIDS. Later that year Angie Xtravaganza recruited a young up-and-coming star of the ballroom scene named David Padilla to leave the rival House of Ebony and become the father of the House of Xtravaganza."Voguing and The House Ballroom Scene of New York City 1989–92". Soul Jazz Books, 2011, Interview "David Ultima – Former Father of the House of Xtravaganza", pgs. 62–64 David Padilla had admired what the House of Xtravaganza had accomplished in a relatively short period of time and being of Puerto Rican heritage felt a kinship to the primarily Latino house.
To celebrate the House's fifth anniversary, Father David and Mother Angie organized the 1987 Xtravaganza ball, held at the popular New York City nightclub Latin Quarter. It was one of the first balls to be held in a proper nightclub, as opposed to the social halls of Harlem which were the traditional venue for ballroom events. The House continued to promote balls for the community throughout the years, including many at the most popular and famous NYC nightclubs of the era, including Tracks, Sound Factory, Red Zone, Roxy, and XL.
Prominent members of the House of Extravaganza during this period recognized both within the ballroom community and as ambassadors of ballroom culture to the larger world include: Angie Xtravaganza, David Ian Xtravaganza, Danni Xtravaganza, Venus Xtravaganza, Carmen Xtravaganza,Suggs, Donald. Venus Envy: The Drag Balls of Harlem. The Village Voice, May 28, 1988 Bianca Xtravaganza, Hector Crespo Xtravaganza, Jose Gutierez Xtravaganza, and Vanessa Xtravaganza. The House was also known for its stable of "impossible beauties"; transgender women (known as "fem queens" in ballroom lingo) who reigned in the ballrooms and worked as professional models and entertainers.
1988 to 1994: Mainstream Recognition By 1988 the ballroom scene had received attention from the press for its cultural significance. With the support of strong relationships built in the popular nightclubs of the period enabling a reach beyond the mostly closed ballroom community, the House of Xtravaganza was uniquely situated to take advantage of public interest in the ballroom scene. In 1988, Chi Chi Valenti, chronicler of downtown culture, featured the House of Xtravaganza in her landmark essay "Nations" for Details, with group and individual portraits by noted photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders.Valenti, Chi Chi. Nations. Details, October 1988, p. 159–174.
The same year, members of the House of Xtravaganza were featured in the December 1988 issue of American VogueEconomy Class. Vogue (U.S.), December 1988, p. 368–371. with Naomi Campbell and other supermodels as well as the May 1989 issue of Time, and the September 1989 issue of Vanity Fair.D'Souza, Christa. Fanfare: Striking Poses. Vanity Fair, September 1989, p. 54. Xtravaganzas were also featured in numerous other local and national publications as public interest in voguing and the ballroom scene continued to grow.
In 1989, the House of Xtravaganza participated in the Love Ball; an elaborate celebrity fundraiser organized by the Design Industry Foundation for AIDS which used the basic structure of the original balls as a template for the evening's festivities. Love Ball participants included designers Carolina Herrera and Thierry Mugler; supermodel Iman, artists Keith Haring, Francesco Clemente, and Julian Schnabel; and performance artist Leigh Bowery, among others. David Ian Xtravaganza was the Love Ball Master of Ceremonies. Several Xtravaganza members along with fashion retailer Barneys formed the one-night-only "House of Barneys", winning a trophy by artist Donald Baechler for the "God Bless This House" category.
Coko & Shady Louie Xtravaganza won the "Banjy Team" category trophy by artist Joseph Kosuth, Father David X. and Julie Jules X. won the "Wedding of the Year" category trophy designed by artist Kenny Scharf, and Jose Xtravaganza took the Voguing competition grand prize trophy created by Keith Haring—likely the most valuable ball trophy ever created. Of the event, Chi Chi Valenti later observed, "The Love Ball was simultaneously a massive coming-out party for the uptown ball culture and the end of a certain naivete that had been inherent in that culture. The Harlem balls never were quite the same again."Valenti, Chi Chi. Walking the Ball. Love Ball 2: The Crowning Glory (program), 1991
In the fall of 1989, the House of Extravaganza changed its name to "Xtravaganza". At this time the House and its members were quickly gaining notoriety outside of the ballroom scene and were frequently cited in the press. The X in the name has been interpreted as the Roman numeral for 10, representing the highest score given in ballroom competitions. Impresario Malcolm McLaren recorded one of the early vogue-specific records, "Deep In Vogue"; the introduction for the track calling out the House of Xtravaganza as one of the legendary New York voguing houses.
That same year David Ian Xtravaganza, along with DJ's and House members Johnny Dynell and David DePino, recorded the seminal single "Elements of Vogue". Its lyrics, recorded over a dance track sampled from popular voguing beats, provided a step-by-step introduction to the art and attitude of voguing. David Ian and Johnny Dynell, accompanied by other House members including Jose Gutierez and Luis Camacho, toured Japan in support of the record release – introducing voguing to an international audience. David Ian Xtravaganza assumed the position of "house father"; a position he held through 1993.
In 1990 the ballroom scene and voguing went mainstream. Jennie Livingston's award-winning documentary film Paris Is Burning chronicled the underground scene and made celebrities of some of the long-time stars of the ballroom scene, who to that point had remained mostly unknown to the larger public. Members of the House of Xtravaganza were the most frequently credited in the documentary. Among those featured in the movie are Venus Xtravaganza whose life and murder form a principal story arc for the film, and Angie Xtravaganza who is extensively interviewed in the film. Filmed from 1986 to 1989, the film features a very young Jose Gutierez Xtravaganza voguing in competition, foreshadowing his transition to professional dancer the same year as the film's release. Paris Is Burning was widely critically acclaimed and was the highest grossing documentary at the time of its release.
Madonna's 1990 hit single "Vogue" was based on the dance style developed in the ball scene. For the video and subsequent Blonde Ambition world tour, Madonna recruited two voguers from the House of Xtravaganza; Jose Gutierez and Luis Camacho. Madonna's "Vogue" went to #1 in 30 countries and was the best-selling single of 1990. The accompanying video, directed by David Fincher, featured choreography by Jose and Luis for which they were nominated for the 1990 MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography in a Video.Fincher, David. Music video, Vogue. Madonna, Sire / Warner Brothers, 1990
In addition to touring with Madonna, they also appeared with her in the 1990 MTV Video Awards live broadcast of "Vogue", a "Rock The Vote" public service announcement, and the tour documentary "Madonna: Truth or Dare"Keshishian, Alek. Documentary film, Madonna: Truth or Dare. Boy Toy Studios, 1991, movie (a.k.a. "In Bed with Madonna" outside of North America). Jose Gutierez Xtavaganza also appeared in Madonna's video for "Justify My Love ", as a model for Jean Paul Gaultier, and as a choreographer and dancer with other pop music artists. In 1993, under the name "Jose & Luis", the duo recorded "Queen's English" with Junior Vasquez for Madonna's Maverick label. The track featured background vocals by Madonna; the only record on which she is credited as a background vocalist.