Emanuel Xavier
Encyclopedia
In 2005, Suspect Thoughts Press published Bullets & Butterflies: queer spoken word poetry, a collection Emanuel Xavier edited. The anthology featured the work of thirteen openly queer spoken word artists and new work by the editor himself including: "Legendary", "Outside" and "A Simple Poem." The collection earned him his second Lambda Literary Award
nomination.
He has been featured on television on Russell Simmons
Presents Def Poetry
on HBO (Seasons 3 & 5), In The Life
on PBS
and hosted several editions of Out At The Center on Manhattan Neighborhood Network. He also appears in the Wolfgang Busch
documentary How Do I Look
.
In 2005, he co-starred in his only lead acting role in the independent feature film, The Ski Trip
, which was the first gay black and Latino movie ever to air on television (MTV
's Logo (TV channel)
). In the film, he ends up partnered with a character played by actor Haaz Sleiman
.
In 2007, he appeared on Mark Kostabi
's game show, Name That Painting, as a celebrity guest alongside editor Bonnie Fuller
and percussionist Jerry Marotta
. This stint landed him on Page Six ("Bonnie wordplay whips poet").
In 2008, he appeared in The Cult of Sincerity
, the first feature film to premiere on YouTube
which later aired on PBS
. Also in 2008, an invitation-only online literary journal sponsored by UNESCO
included him as a contributor to an international project. He was also invited to select finalists for Best Gay Erotica 2008 (Cleis Press
).
In the fall of 2008, Floricanto Press published Mariposas: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry, a collection which he edited featuring the work of 17 fellow queer Latino poets. This would be the first book ever to gather the work of openly queer poets from the Latino community.
In 2009, Emanuel Xavier appeared in front of thousands of New Yorkers at the nation-wide Fight The H8 Protest reading his poem, "Children of Magdalene", and has been an avid supporter of same-sex marriage and civil rights. That same year, his poem, "Urban Affection", was commissioned by a private collector of Walt Whitman memorabilia for the 190th birthday anniversary of Walt Whitman and Rebel Satori Press published a revised tenth anniversary edition of his semi-autobiographical novel, Christ Like. He was interviewed by John Blake for CNN
for an article titled, "Gay Latino Americans are 'coming of age'" as part of the "Latino in America" documentary. He capped off the year with the release of a spoken word/music compilation CD, Legendary- The Spoken Word Poetry of Emanuel Xavier, produced by El David. Additional musicians featured on the CD include percussionists Cartagena, Luis Perez, Dr. Drum, Carlos Cartagena, and El David. An original house music
remix, "Legendary (The E-Mix)", was released as a single for music download
on iTunes
as a bonus track.
He has appeared as a background actor on the television shows Law & Order
, Fort Pit, Canterbury's Law
and The Return of Jezebel James
. He also appeared in the independent art film, Nothing To Nobody, first screened at the Anthology Film Archives
in New York City as part of the New Filmmakers series.
He has been invited to recite his poetry throughout the country at venues such as: Rikers Island
Prison, Lincoln Center, Columbia University
, DePaul University
, St. Mark's Poetry Project
, Irving Plaza
, The Henry Miller Theater, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
, Brown University
, University of Chicago
, Syracuse University
, Drew University
, School of Visual Arts
, Wellesley College, Shaggy Flores
's "Voices For the Voiceless" at Amherst College
, Miami Dade College
, University of Louisville
, Princeton University
, Bao Phi
's Equilibrium series at The Loft Literary Center
in Minneapolis, University of Florida
, Bates College
, Canisius College
, the San Francisco Public Library
, the Center on Halsted
in Chicago, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Grand Central Public Library, and The Allen Ginsberg
Estate. He has also appeared as part of the annual Saints and Sinners Literary Festival
in New Orleans. He remains a favorite amongst queer youth organizations and the college and university circuit.
He has performed abroad in the South American cities of Buenos Aires
, Argentina
and Guayaquil
, Ecuador
. He has also performed in Europe
at Ghent University
in Belgium
as part of a queer literary kinship symposium, at The Book Club in the Shoreditch
area of London
for the Glam Slam UK (based on an annual event he created in New York) and at Shakespeare and Company (bookshop)
in Paris
, France
.
He collaborated with Nuyorican Poets Cafe founder Miguel Algarín
and poet Caridad de la Luz
on staged readings of "The Mongo Affair" at Central Park Summerstage, Joe's Pub
and Aaron Davis Hall
. He has also performed for the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC), the Association of Hispanic Arts
(AHA), and curated several evenings of Latino/a spoken word poetry at El Museo del Barrio
in New York City.
He also contributed spoken word/musical collaborations to the CD, Word War I, produced by El David to benefit political prisoners in Puerto Rico
.
His work has appeared in Urban Latino, Latin Girl, Genre (magazine)
, The New York Post
, A&U, Long Shot, Drumvoices Review, James White Review, The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide
, Assaracus and many other publications.
His work as an activist has been particularly profound as a former homeless gay youth. Aside from his work for causes like the Latino Commission on AIDS
, the World Trade Center Disaster Relief Fund, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, The October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, No on Prop 8, and Behind the Book, his main focus is working with queer youth organizations. He has organized benefit events for organizations such as Youth Enrichment Services, The New Neutral Zone, Fierce, Sylvia's Place, The New York Peer AIDS Education Coalition, The Hetrick Martin Institute, Live Out Loud, and many others.
Regarding his career, he has been quoted to say “I think at the beginning it was about me, about sharing my story. But as it evolved, it became more about the larger picture, hoping to inspire others not to follow that path, that it wasn’t the only way to go if you were gay, a person of color, and thrown out because you were gay. That it wasn’t the only option.”
and was threatened with arrest before a major presentation at a Miami Dade high school. He apologized to the audience and proceeded to share an edited selection of his poetry while local police officers watched over his performance.
Despite all of his work as an activist and with youth organizations, in October 2005, Emanuel Xavier was brutally attacked by a group of about twenty young men in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn. Rumors swirled about the attack, some suggesting it was his affiliation to The Latin Kings (he granted them permission to publish one of his poems against police brutality, "Waiting For God", in their newsletter), while others suggested it was simply another gay bashing. Rather than join the hate crimes wagon, in an exclusive interview with fellow activist, Andrés Duque
, for Gay City News, and later in an editorial for The New York Post
, Emanuel called this crime out as a random act of violence and eventually captured his experience in the poem "Writer's Block".
A silver lining to the 2005 attack was that significant hearing loss led to an MRI which resulted in the discovery of an acoustic neuroma
for which he was diagnosed and underwent surgery in 2006. The tumor was successfully removed but he remained permanently deaf in his right ear with minor facial nerve complications to his right eye.
In 2009, he headlined a hugely successful event at El Museo del Barrio
controversially titled, Spic Up! Speak Out! Due to some public outcry, the event organizers changed the name to Speak Up! and issued a formal apology. Regarding his personal use of the word spic
as an artist, in an article for The New York Times
, he stated, "For me, it's about empowerment. Look at everything we have done and accomplished. And it is a play on the word. We are speaking out our truths and identities in very perfect English. . . . spic is a word that we can re-appropriate, that was used to oppress us and box us in a negative way." He uses the word within this context in his poem, "Americano."
In 2010, a positive book review for "If Jesus Were Gay & other poems" posted on a popular Latino website during the Christian
observation of lent
ignited a firestorm of controversy. The response prompted coverage by FOX News Latino, a division of Fox News.
's Speak Up! monthly spoken word poetry program (through Spring 2011). Emanuel Xavier also edited an anthology inspired by the successful series which was published Spring 2011.
In addition, El Museo del Barrio
staged their very first NYC Gay Pride event on June 20, 2010, The Legendary Project, a choreographed dance presentation by Ferdinand De Jesus featuring selections from the spoken word/music album, Legendary- The Spoken Word Poetry of Emanuel Xavier.
The music video for "Legendary (The E-Mix)" was filmed in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
by independent film director, Arie Ohayon. Remixes were released April 2010 by Hades Music featuring mixes by Michael Hades, Lorant Duzgun, Tim Letteer, and El David.
An exclusive dance track collaboration with producer Lorant Duzgun, "Sound X", was featured on Lorant Duzgun's The History of Love EP released on Royal Advisor Records and was released as a remixed single in the summer of 2011.
He signed a lucrative publishing deal with Rebel Satori Press to print the poetry collection, "Pier Queen", fifteen years after it was self-published, a ten year anniversary edition of his first poetry collection, "Americano", and a new poetry collection for 2012.
. His stepbrother is Dee Jay Blaze.
In 2009, he was one of the honorary Padrinos featured at the annual Three Kings Day Parade in the Spanish Harlem
district in New York City. Later that year, he was named one of the "25 Most Influential GLBT Latinos" by the Mi Apogeo (My Latino Voice) website.
In 2010, The Equality Forum announced him as a GLBT History Month Icon.
His poetry collection, "If Jesus Were Gay & other poems" was selected by the American Library Association
as one of their Over The Rainbow books for 2011.
Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Awards are awarded yearly by the US-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works which celebrate or explore LGBT themes. Categories include Humor, Romance and Biography. To qualify, a book must have been published in the United States in the year current to the award...
nomination.
He has been featured on television on Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons
-External links:** * * * * * * from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum* *...
Presents Def Poetry
Def Poetry
Def Poetry, also known as Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry or Def Poetry Jam, which was co-founded by Bruce George, Danny Simmons and Deborah Pointer, is an HBO television series produced by hip-hop music entrepreneur Russell Simmons. The series presents performances by established spoken word...
on HBO (Seasons 3 & 5), In The Life
In The Life
In the Life is a gay and lesbian television newsmagazine that is broadcast on PBS. It is one of public television's premiere educational programs and is nearing its 15th season on national broadcast...
on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
and hosted several editions of Out At The Center on Manhattan Neighborhood Network. He also appears in the Wolfgang Busch
Wolfgang Busch
Wolfgang Busch, born on November 6th, 1955 in Heppenheim, Germany, is a humanitarian award winning documentary filmmaker, director, producer, cinematographer, editor and special events coordinator, and is also a social and artistic activist for the LGBT community who has used his skills to lead...
documentary How Do I Look
How Do I Look
How Do I Look is a LGBT Historic Art Documentary, released in 2006 as a documentary film directed by Wolfgang Busch, assistant directors are Kevin Omni and Luna Khan. Distributed by Art From The Heart; USA , 80 minutes...
.
In 2005, he co-starred in his only lead acting role in the independent feature film, The Ski Trip
The Ski Trip
The Ski Trip is a 2004 LGBT independent romantic comedy movie written and directed by openly gay entertainer Maurice Jamal. It stars Maurice Jamal, Daren Fleming, Cassandra Cruz, Haaz Sleiman, Emanuel Xavier and Nathan Hale. It was rated R by the MPAA for sexual content and language...
, which was the first gay black and Latino movie ever to air on television (MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Logo (TV channel)
Logo (TV channel)
Logo is an American digital cable television channel owned by Viacom's MTV Networks division. Launched in June 2005, the channel's programs are geared towards the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community...
). In the film, he ends up partnered with a character played by actor Haaz Sleiman
Haaz Sleiman
-Career:One of Sleiman's first roles was in the 2004 African-American gay comedy film The Ski Trip. He co-starred as undocumented Syrian immigrant Tarek in the critically acclaimed 2008 independent film The Visitor, a drama nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Oscar, directed by Thomas...
.
In 2007, he appeared on Mark Kostabi
Mark Kostabi
Kalev Mark Kostabi is an American artist and composer.-Early life:Mark Kostabi was born in Los Angeles on November 27, 1960 to Estonian immigrants Kaljo and Rita Kostabi. He was raised in Whittier, California and studied drawing and painting at California State University, Fullerton...
's game show, Name That Painting, as a celebrity guest alongside editor Bonnie Fuller
Bonnie Fuller
Bonnie Fuller is a Canadian media executive and the editor of HollywoodLife.com. Fuller has been responsible for several magazine titles, including as Vice President and Chief Editorial Director of American Media .She was editor of Flare magazine, YM magazine, the...
and percussionist Jerry Marotta
Jerry Marotta
Jerry Marotta is a drummer currently residing in Woodstock, New York. He is the brother of Rick Marotta, who is also a well-known drummer and composer....
. This stint landed him on Page Six ("Bonnie wordplay whips poet").
In 2008, he appeared in The Cult of Sincerity
The Cult of Sincerity
The Cult of Sincerity is an independent film about hipster culture and postmodernist irony set in Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York. It was released on April 8, 2008. The film has not received conventional distribution and is notable only as being the first feature film intentionally released in...
, the first feature film to premiere on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
which later aired on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
. Also in 2008, an invitation-only online literary journal sponsored by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
included him as a contributor to an international project. He was also invited to select finalists for Best Gay Erotica 2008 (Cleis Press
Cleis Press
Cleis Press is an independent publisher of books in the areas of sexuality, erotica, feminism, gay and lesbian studies, gender studies, fiction, and human rights. The press was founded in 1980 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, later moved to San Francisco, and is now based out of Berkeley, CA...
).
In the fall of 2008, Floricanto Press published Mariposas: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry, a collection which he edited featuring the work of 17 fellow queer Latino poets. This would be the first book ever to gather the work of openly queer poets from the Latino community.
In 2009, Emanuel Xavier appeared in front of thousands of New Yorkers at the nation-wide Fight The H8 Protest reading his poem, "Children of Magdalene", and has been an avid supporter of same-sex marriage and civil rights. That same year, his poem, "Urban Affection", was commissioned by a private collector of Walt Whitman memorabilia for the 190th birthday anniversary of Walt Whitman and Rebel Satori Press published a revised tenth anniversary edition of his semi-autobiographical novel, Christ Like. He was interviewed by John Blake for CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
for an article titled, "Gay Latino Americans are 'coming of age'" as part of the "Latino in America" documentary. He capped off the year with the release of a spoken word/music compilation CD, Legendary- The Spoken Word Poetry of Emanuel Xavier, produced by El David. Additional musicians featured on the CD include percussionists Cartagena, Luis Perez, Dr. Drum, Carlos Cartagena, and El David. An original house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
remix, "Legendary (The E-Mix)", was released as a single for music download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
as a bonus track.
He has appeared as a background actor on the television shows Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
, Fort Pit, Canterbury's Law
Canterbury's Law
Canterbury's Law is an American legal drama, which ran from March 10, 2008 to April 18, 2008 as a mid-season replacement on Fox. The show was created by Dave Erickson and executive produced by Denis Leary, Jim Serpico, Walon Green, John Kane, and Mike Figgis, who also directed the pilot...
and The Return of Jezebel James
The Return of Jezebel James
The Return of Jezebel James is an American situation comedy television series, starring Parker Posey as a successful children's book editor who, unable to have children herself, asks her estranged younger sister to carry her baby...
. He also appeared in the independent art film, Nothing To Nobody, first screened at the Anthology Film Archives
Anthology Film Archives
__notoc__Anthology Film Archives is a film archive and theater located at 32 Second Avenue on the corner of East Second Street in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City devoted to the preservation and exhibition of experimental film. It is the only non-profit organization of its...
in New York City as part of the New Filmmakers series.
He has been invited to recite his poetry throughout the country at venues such as: Rikers Island
Rikers Island
Rikers Island is New York City's main jail complex, as well as the name of the island on which it sits, in the East River between Queens and the mainland Bronx, adjacent to the runways of LaGuardia Airport. The island itself is part of the borough of the Bronx, though it is included as part of...
Prison, Lincoln Center, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, DePaul University
DePaul University
DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
, St. Mark's Poetry Project
St. Mark's Poetry Project
The Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church was founded in 1966 in the East Village of Manhattan by the poet and translator Paul Blackburn, it has been a crucial venue for new and experimental poetries for over four decades....
, Irving Plaza
Irving Plaza
Irving Plaza is a 1,200-person ballroom-style music venue at 17 Irving Place and East 15th Street in the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City...
, The Henry Miller Theater, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is a multi-disiplinary contemporary arts center in San Francisco, California, United States. Located in Yerba Buena Gardens, YBCA features visual art, performance, and film/video that celebrates local, national, and international artists and the Bay Area's diverse...
, Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
, Drew University
Drew University
Drew University is a private university located in Madison, New Jersey.Originally established as the Drew Theological Seminary in 1867, the university later expanded to include an undergraduate liberal arts college in 1928 and commenced a program of graduate studies in 1955...
, School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
, Wellesley College, Shaggy Flores
Shaggy Flores
"Shaggy Flores" is a Nuyorican poet, writer and African Diaspora scholar who forms part of the Nuyorical literary movement.-Early years:...
's "Voices For the Voiceless" at Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
, Miami Dade College
Miami Dade College
Miami Dade College, or simply Miami Dade or MDC, is a state college with eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers located throughout Miami-Dade County, Florida in the United States. It is part of the Florida College System. Miami Dade College is the largest school in the Florida College...
, University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Bao Phi
Bao Phi
Bao Phi, a Vietnamese American spoken word artist, writer and community activist living in Minnesota.Bao Phi was born in Sai Gon, Viet Nam, the youngest son to two mixed blood Chinese and Vietnamese parents who raised him in the Phillips neighborhood of South Minneapolis.A graduate of Macalester...
's Equilibrium series at The Loft Literary Center
The Loft Literary Center
The Loft Literary Center is a nonprofit literary organization located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Incorporated in 1975, the Loft's stated mission is "to support the artistic development of writers, to foster a writing community, and to build an audience for literature"...
in Minneapolis, University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, Bates College
Bates College
Bates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...
, Canisius College
Canisius College
Canisius College is a private Roman Catholic college in Buffalo, New York, United States. The college was founded in 1870 by members of the Society of Jesus from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. The college is one of 28 institutions in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and...
, the San Francisco Public Library
San Francisco Public Library
The San Francisco Public Library is a public library system serving the city of San Francisco. Its main library is located in San Francisco's Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street at Grove. The first public library of San Francisco officially opened in 1879, just 30 years after the California Gold...
, the Center on Halsted
Center on Halsted
Center on Halsted is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community center in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest LGBT Community Center in the Midwest with more than 1,000 people walking through its doors every day....
in Chicago, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Grand Central Public Library, and The Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
Estate. He has also appeared as part of the annual Saints and Sinners Literary Festival
Saints and Sinners Literary Festival
Saints and Sinners is an alternative literary festival specializing in LGBT literature, held in various locations around the world-famous French Quarter neighborhood in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana each May.-Overview:Founded by Paul J...
in New Orleans. He remains a favorite amongst queer youth organizations and the college and university circuit.
He has performed abroad in the South American cities of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. He has also performed in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
at Ghent University
Ghent University
Ghent University is a Dutch-speaking public university located in Ghent, Belgium. It is one of the larger Flemish universities, consisting of 32,000 students and 7,100 staff members. The current rector is Paul Van Cauwenberge.It was established in 1817 by King William I of the Netherlands...
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
as part of a queer literary kinship symposium, at The Book Club in the Shoreditch
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
area of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for the Glam Slam UK (based on an annual event he created in New York) and at Shakespeare and Company (bookshop)
Shakespeare and Company (bookshop)
Shakespeare and Company is the name of two independent bookstores on Paris' Left Bank. The first was opened by Sylvia Beach on 17 November 1919 at 8 rue Dupuytren before moving to larger premises at 12 rue de l'Odéon in the 6th arrondissement in 1922. During the 1920s, it was a gathering place for...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
He collaborated with Nuyorican Poets Cafe founder Miguel Algarín
Miguel Algarín
Miguel Algarín , is a Puerto Rican poet, writer, co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café, and retired Rutgers University professor of English.-Early years:...
and poet Caridad de la Luz
Caridad de la Luz
Caridad De la Luz , a.k.a. "La Bruja" , is a poet, actress and activist.-Early years:De la Luz, whose parents moved to New York City from Puerto Rico, was born and raised in the South Bronx. There she also received her primary and secondary education...
on staged readings of "The Mongo Affair" at Central Park Summerstage, Joe's Pub
Joe's Pub
Joe's Pub at Public Theater is a nightclub that hosts live performances regularly. The venue, which is a non-profit operation, is located at 425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in Manhattan, New York City...
and Aaron Davis Hall
Aaron Davis Hall
Aaron Davis Hall is a Performing Arts Center in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.Aaron Davis Hall was founded in 1981 and is located on the campus of the City College of New York, between West 133rd and 135th Streets on Convent Avenue. Convent Ave. is one block east of Amsterdam Avenue...
. He has also performed for the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC), the Association of Hispanic Arts
Association of Hispanic Arts
Association of Hispanic Arts is a New York-based non-profit organization founded in 1975 that promotes the work of Hispanic artists. It holds an annual Hispanic Arts Festival in the city, and publishes a quarterly magazine, AHA! Hispanic Arts News....
(AHA), and curated several evenings of Latino/a spoken word poetry at El Museo del Barrio
El Museo del Barrio
El Museo del Barrio, New York’s leading Latino visual arts cultural institution, is located in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City, United States, also known as El Barrio. The museum welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of the Latino, Caribbean, and...
in New York City.
He also contributed spoken word/musical collaborations to the CD, Word War I, produced by El David to benefit political prisoners in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
His work has appeared in Urban Latino, Latin Girl, Genre (magazine)
Genre (magazine)
Genre magazine was a New York city-based monthly periodical written for gay men. It was owned by gay press publisher Window Media.-History:...
, The New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, A&U, Long Shot, Drumvoices Review, James White Review, The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide
The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide
The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide is a bimonthly, nationally distributed journal of history, culture, and politics for GLBT people and their allies who are interested in the gamut of social, scientific, and cultural issues raised by same-sex sexuality...
, Assaracus and many other publications.
His work as an activist has been particularly profound as a former homeless gay youth. Aside from his work for causes like the Latino Commission on AIDS
Latino Commission on AIDS
The Latino Commission on AIDS is an advocacy and service nonprofit membership organization formed in 1990 with a mission to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Latino community in the United States of America including its territories...
, the World Trade Center Disaster Relief Fund, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, The October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, No on Prop 8, and Behind the Book, his main focus is working with queer youth organizations. He has organized benefit events for organizations such as Youth Enrichment Services, The New Neutral Zone, Fierce, Sylvia's Place, The New York Peer AIDS Education Coalition, The Hetrick Martin Institute, Live Out Loud, and many others.
Regarding his career, he has been quoted to say “I think at the beginning it was about me, about sharing my story. But as it evolved, it became more about the larger picture, hoping to inspire others not to follow that path, that it wasn’t the only way to go if you were gay, a person of color, and thrown out because you were gay. That it wasn’t the only option.”
Controversy
Emanuel Xavier dealt with censorshipCensorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
and was threatened with arrest before a major presentation at a Miami Dade high school. He apologized to the audience and proceeded to share an edited selection of his poetry while local police officers watched over his performance.
Despite all of his work as an activist and with youth organizations, in October 2005, Emanuel Xavier was brutally attacked by a group of about twenty young men in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn. Rumors swirled about the attack, some suggesting it was his affiliation to The Latin Kings (he granted them permission to publish one of his poems against police brutality, "Waiting For God", in their newsletter), while others suggested it was simply another gay bashing. Rather than join the hate crimes wagon, in an exclusive interview with fellow activist, Andrés Duque
Andrés Duque
Andrés Duque is a Colombian American gay rights activist, journalist, and award-winning blogger. He is best known for his blog Blabbleando, where he discusses LGBT politics, culture, and daily life in New York City and around the world. He is also well known for his advocacy for human rights...
, for Gay City News, and later in an editorial for The New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, Emanuel called this crime out as a random act of violence and eventually captured his experience in the poem "Writer's Block".
A silver lining to the 2005 attack was that significant hearing loss led to an MRI which resulted in the discovery of an acoustic neuroma
Acoustic neuroma
A vestibular schwannoma, often called an acoustic neuroma, is a benign primary intracranial tumor of the myelin-forming cells of the vestibulocochlear nerve . The term "vestibular schwannoma" involves the vestibular portion of the 8th cranial nerve and arises from Schwann cells, which are...
for which he was diagnosed and underwent surgery in 2006. The tumor was successfully removed but he remained permanently deaf in his right ear with minor facial nerve complications to his right eye.
In 2009, he headlined a hugely successful event at El Museo del Barrio
El Museo del Barrio
El Museo del Barrio, New York’s leading Latino visual arts cultural institution, is located in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City, United States, also known as El Barrio. The museum welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of the Latino, Caribbean, and...
controversially titled, Spic Up! Speak Out! Due to some public outcry, the event organizers changed the name to Speak Up! and issued a formal apology. Regarding his personal use of the word spic
Spic
Spic is an ethnic slur used in the United States for a person of Hispanic background.-Etymology:Some in the United States believe the word is a play on their pronunciation of the English "speak."...
as an artist, in an article for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, he stated, "For me, it's about empowerment. Look at everything we have done and accomplished. And it is a play on the word. We are speaking out our truths and identities in very perfect English. . . . spic is a word that we can re-appropriate, that was used to oppress us and box us in a negative way." He uses the word within this context in his poem, "Americano."
In 2010, a positive book review for "If Jesus Were Gay & other poems" posted on a popular Latino website during the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
observation of lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
ignited a firestorm of controversy. The response prompted coverage by FOX News Latino, a division of Fox News.
Currently
He curated El Museo del BarrioEl Museo del Barrio
El Museo del Barrio, New York’s leading Latino visual arts cultural institution, is located in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City, United States, also known as El Barrio. The museum welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of the Latino, Caribbean, and...
's Speak Up! monthly spoken word poetry program (through Spring 2011). Emanuel Xavier also edited an anthology inspired by the successful series which was published Spring 2011.
In addition, El Museo del Barrio
El Museo del Barrio
El Museo del Barrio, New York’s leading Latino visual arts cultural institution, is located in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City, United States, also known as El Barrio. The museum welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of the Latino, Caribbean, and...
staged their very first NYC Gay Pride event on June 20, 2010, The Legendary Project, a choreographed dance presentation by Ferdinand De Jesus featuring selections from the spoken word/music album, Legendary- The Spoken Word Poetry of Emanuel Xavier.
The music video for "Legendary (The E-Mix)" was filmed in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
by independent film director, Arie Ohayon. Remixes were released April 2010 by Hades Music featuring mixes by Michael Hades, Lorant Duzgun, Tim Letteer, and El David.
An exclusive dance track collaboration with producer Lorant Duzgun, "Sound X", was featured on Lorant Duzgun's The History of Love EP released on Royal Advisor Records and was released as a remixed single in the summer of 2011.
He signed a lucrative publishing deal with Rebel Satori Press to print the poetry collection, "Pier Queen", fifteen years after it was self-published, a ten year anniversary edition of his first poetry collection, "Americano", and a new poetry collection for 2012.
Personal life
He lives in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn and works for Random HouseRandom House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. His stepbrother is Dee Jay Blaze.
Awards and honors
Emanuel Xavier received the Marsha A. Gomez Cultural Heritage Award, a New York City Council Citation and is a 2008 World Pride Award recipient.In 2009, he was one of the honorary Padrinos featured at the annual Three Kings Day Parade in the Spanish Harlem
Spanish Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem and El Barrio, is a section of Harlem in the northeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. East Harlem is one of the largest predominantly Latino communities in New York City. It includes the area formerly known as Italian Harlem, in which...
district in New York City. Later that year, he was named one of the "25 Most Influential GLBT Latinos" by the Mi Apogeo (My Latino Voice) website.
In 2010, The Equality Forum announced him as a GLBT History Month Icon.
His poetry collection, "If Jesus Were Gay & other poems" was selected by the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
as one of their Over The Rainbow books for 2011.
Audio Recordings
- "Legendary (The E-Mix)" (single, 2009)
- "Legendary- The Spoken Word Poetry of Emanuel Xavier" (spoken word poetry/music album, 2009), http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/EmanuelXavier2
- "Legendary (The RE-Mixes)" (remix EP, 2010, Hades Music)
- "Sound X" (remix, 2011, Royal Advisor Records)
- "Waiting For God" (spoken word poetry/music, 2011, Voices Against Police Brutality)
Television appearances
- The Cult of Sincerity feature film (PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, 2008) - Canterbury's LawCanterbury's LawCanterbury's Law is an American legal drama, which ran from March 10, 2008 to April 18, 2008 as a mid-season replacement on Fox. The show was created by Dave Erickson and executive produced by Denis Leary, Jim Serpico, Walon Green, John Kane, and Mike Figgis, who also directed the pilot...
episode: Baggage (FoxFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, 2008) - The Return of Jezebel JamesThe Return of Jezebel JamesThe Return of Jezebel James is an American situation comedy television series, starring Parker Posey as a successful children's book editor who, unable to have children herself, asks her estranged younger sister to carry her baby...
(FoxFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, 2008) - Law & OrderLaw & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
episode: Illegal (NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, 2008) - Fort Pit (2007)
- Law & OrderLaw & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
episode: In Vino Veritas (NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, 2006) - The Ski TripThe Ski TripThe Ski Trip is a 2004 LGBT independent romantic comedy movie written and directed by openly gay entertainer Maurice Jamal. It stars Maurice Jamal, Daren Fleming, Cassandra Cruz, Haaz Sleiman, Emanuel Xavier and Nathan Hale. It was rated R by the MPAA for sexual content and language...
feature film (LOGO, 2005) - Russell SimmonsRussell Simmons-External links:** * * * * * * from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum* *...
presents Def PoetryDef PoetryDef Poetry, also known as Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry or Def Poetry Jam, which was co-founded by Bruce George, Danny Simmons and Deborah Pointer, is an HBO television series produced by hip-hop music entrepreneur Russell Simmons. The series presents performances by established spoken word...
two episodes (HBO, 2003 & 2005) - In The LifeIn The LifeIn the Life is a gay and lesbian television newsmagazine that is broadcast on PBS. It is one of public television's premiere educational programs and is nearing its 15th season on national broadcast...
episode: Family Law (PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, 2003)
See also
- List of Puerto Rican writers
- List of Famous Puerto Ricans
- Puerto Rican literature
External links
- Official Website
- Emanuel Xavier at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...