Angel Poventud

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Profile Campaigns

Doing my part

<div> <div><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=634963101">Angel Poventud is one of Atlanta’s gay icons</a>. Everyone knows who he is—some for very different reasons than others.  Some know him as “that Latin guy with the long hair that rides his roller blades while wearing a green dress and smiling a lot”.  Some know him as the guy who is making the Beltine happen.  Some even know him as the best option for the next mayor of Atlanta.</div> <div> </div> <div>Angel is a very dear friend of mine—but if you have ever met him, even only once, would be inclined to say the same thing.  He has no capacity for ignorance, hate, or ill intentions.  He is the most loving and caring creature you could meet.  He lives for Atlanta, and the bettering of many aspects of the city.  Without people like Angel, my faith in humanity would take a sore beating.</div> </div> <div> </div> <div>No matter what, people know Angel as prominent member of the gay community and the Atlanta community alike.  He is wonderfully optimistic and naturally progressive, and he lives to invoke positive change in individuals, communities, local politics, and Atlanta as a whole.</div> <div> </div> <div>As I conduct this interview, he is cooking lunch for a slew of visitors headed to his home.  This weekend is<a href="http://www.facebook.com/MondoATL?sk=wall">Mondo Homo—an annual queer arts and music festival of gigantic independent proportions</a>.  This festival draws lots of Radical Faeries from around the country—and most of them end up at Angel’s to eat at least once during their stay.  Angel is preparing a three-course meal.  Everything is entirely vegan, ridiculously healthy, and undeniably better than anything you can find in an Atlanta restaurant— R. Thomas: eat your heart out.</div> <div> </div> <div> <div>I started off the interview with the basics.</div> <div> </div> <div>How long have you lived in Atlanta?</div> <div> </div> <div><em>13 years. April of 98. Before there, Miami for 26 years.</em></div> <div> </div> <div>Why do you love Atlanta so much—what keeps you here, and makes you need to make it a better place?</div> <div> </div> <div><em>I think its got to be the trees.  HAHA.  It’s really a couple of things that most people don’t know about Atlanta.  We are the most forested urban environment in the country, and the least dense in population.  We just have a lot of space—and a lot of that space is green.</em></div> <div> </div> <div> <div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />I am sure you get this one a lot: why the green dress?</div> <div> </div> <div>Instead of answering my question, Angel linked me to a written response he gave to that question.  To sum it up:  For costume purposes, Angel developed an affinity for wearing a dress.  Only under specific weather conditions and a certain mood.  He likes to gently push the societal norms, feel the freeness of form that comes with wearing the dress, and rollerblading all day long.</div> <div> </div> <div>At this moment, his home became flooded with gay hippies, laughter, and feast.  If you ever want to know more about Angel, just ask him.  He is an open book—and a wealth of useful information, inspiration, and insight.<br /><br />Full story to the green dress from my notes on Facebook from 2007:<br /><br /><span>I have only just been asked the importance of the Green Dress this passed week, and I had a chance to really think about it for the first time. The answer I gave is pretty fresh in my head so here it goes, the back story, the middle story, the whole story.</span><br /><br /><span>It was October 1992 in South Florida. Hurricane Andrew had just hit that Summer and the Circuit City that I worked at for 3 years was closed due to the extensive damage it had suffered from the Hurricane. I was working out of the Kendall store location across from Dadeland Mall while our store was being rebuilt. There was a Halloween Party that the Kendall store was having and this would be the first time I would dress up in drag, real drag, a big blond wig, pantyhoes, high heal shoes, Lee Press On Nails and the Green Dress that I found on a sale rack at the Saw Grass Mills Outlet Mall. </span><br /><br /><span>Back further. I had done the wig, skirt, and blouse thing for Halloween my senior year in 1989 at South Dade High School. </span><br /><br /><span>Also, in 1990 I was in San Francisco at a diner and saw a group of guys with football player builds come in for a late night dinner all wearing dress. Just dresses, Camp Drag. Back to the story.</span><br /><br /><span>So I go by my Dad's house to show off my outfit. I wasn't out to him yet, but I'm sure I was sending him a huge hint. My Aunt has since told the story of my Dad asking her if she thought I might be gay and her response to him, "well, he has worn dresses twice in the pass 4 years" I love my Titi Annie.</span><br /><br /><span>I am on my way to the party and I get a flat on the highway. I'm on the side of the road with my ass out in traffic and this truck full of good olde boys that were down in South Florida fixing roofs all day pulls over. It's dark, and about 4 or 5 guys are running back towards me to come help. I don't have any pictures from that night, but I'm sure you can picture it. Dark, big blonde curly haired wig, red nail, that dress, these legs, black high heels. The first guy is like 3 feet away and I put my hands up and immediately explain that it's Halloween, I'm a guy, I've got a flat, and asked if they could help change my tire so that I wouldn't break any of my nails. </span><br /><br /><span>Without saying a word, he looks me up and down, turns slowly and runs back to the truck, all the buddies in tow and they haul ass out of there. Assholes! A cop stopped after that and upon realizing I was a guy told me that I was to close to moving traffic and quickly departed the scene. I got to the party, had a great time, had one of my straight manager hit on me, danced better than the ladies in my heels and then set off for Miami Beach. </span><br /><br /><span>I walked around on South Beach for a couple of hours and really had a blast being the focus of so many people's attention, smiles every where, compliments and just fun, fun, fun. On the drive home that night I picked up a hitchhiker, a very cute guy. I remember him opening the door and being a little hesitant, I reassured him I wasn't crazy (Halloween), he got in, we had a great conversation about life and living. I dropped him off at his house and got home just as the sun was rising on the next day. </span><br /><br /><span>I don't know, it was just so comfortable. Not the hair, or the heels, the wig or the panty hoes, but the dress. Comfortable to have on physically. From a guys point of view, it's probably like suspenders or overalls, just two straps off your shoulder and the rest just flows right off the body. I moved to Miami Beach in 1993 and had been skating about 40 hours a week, so I was known. I started wearing the dress on the 4 day weekend of Halloween, and from there, I just stated wearing it whenever it felt like a good day to go out in a dress. The weather has to be right, I have to be right, the energy has to be right. I just happens, but it's kinda magical when it does. I also didn't used to wear underwear, so there was that aspect of the green dress, easy to flash. </span><br /><br /><span>So, I have had the dress for 18 years, I now were underwear thanks to a small episode that happened in a short, sheer, orange dress here in Atlanta 3 and a half years ago, and I really enjoy the affect that it has on the people who see me in it. </span><br /><br /><span>I think back to those guys in San Francisco. It wasn't Halloween or any special day that I recall. It was just a good day to be out in dresses.</span><br /><br /><span>As time has gone on, I realize that I am an instigator, and the dress is one of the easiest ways for me to gently push on the edges of socially acceptable behavior, have a great time and skate, all at the same time. I don't think life gets any better than that. </span><br /><br /></div> <div> </div> <div><span>There is more to this interview at:<br /><br /><br /></span></div> <div><span>http://gaylanta.blogspot.com/2011/05/interview-with-angel-poventud.html</span></div> <p> </p> </div> </div>

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