Chente!

 

      I met Chente through a student forum at Boise State University.  He agreed to let me take his picture as part of a project I am working on in Idaho questioning gender, identity, and ideas of beauty and strength.  One meeting and a shared appreciation of The Cure, Antonio Lopez, and Frida Kahlo's imagery led to several sessions and a new friendship.  

     Chente (short for Vincente) is from Michoacan, Mexico.  He is an art student and works part-time in his parents' taco stand.  His drag alter-ego is named Vice Squiwly Bones, a femme fatale meets Grace Jones meets futuristic video game character, who describes herself as "looking good while being deadly."  He makes pearls out of soap and extensions out of his own hair (he showed me pictures of his various hairstyles over the years, which often go past his shoulders).

in his own words....

"I'm an art student, a gender outlaw, and a thinker, but mostly I think I'm pretty boring."

"Artist. Minority. Video Game Nerd."

all photos ©2010 MA