MIKE JEKNAVORIAN National Interviews

MOTHER JUAN AVIANCE

You may have seen Pose, the hit TV series about the ball room scene, but let’s not forget about the real house mothers please.  Ladies and gentlemen, meet one of the longest-reigning mothers of them all—Mother Juan Aviance.

PHOTOGRAPH BY FRANCO AVIANCE

By Mike Jeknavorian 

You were raised in Boston.  What do you miss about it?  It was an easier way of life when I grew up in Boston.  So, if anything, that’s what I miss.  Other than yourself, who was the fiercest voguer of all time?  Well, to be fair, we’re all fierce in our own special way!  What’s the most complex style of vogue?  In vogue, it’s all pretty complex.  For me, I tend not to vogue any particular way but my own.  What D.C. venue do you miss that’s gone?  Where it all started—Tracks.  What politician were you the most excited to meet in D.C.?  One time my house did a vogue show at a D.C. festival, and we met Mayor Marion Berry, so that was pretty exciting.  What New York Venue do you miss that’s gone?  Hands-down, the Sound Factory! 

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What’s your favorite house song?  The House of Aviance adopted theme song, “You Gotta Believe,” by Fierce Ruling Diva.  Of all the collaborations that you’ve done, which was the most special to you?  That would be an event that I vogued in starring Jennifer Hudson.  She was kind, witty, and down-to-earth.  Who would you kill to produce musically?  (laughs) I wouldn’t “kill” anybody, but whoever’s ready and willing to be produced by David Ohana Aviance of Aviance Records, hit us up!  How did you come up with your name?  It actually came to mind one day while shopping for fragrances.  The Aviance Night Musk commercial popped into my head, and I said, “That’s it…  “Aviance.”  If God were to take you tomorrow, how would you like to be remembered?  When that day comes, I’ll let the people have their say. 

PHOTOGRAPH BY BAYARDO ALVAREZ AVIANCE

What do you want to live long enough to see?  Peace on earth!  Will you ever retire?  I plan to but not sure if it will ever be a 100% retirement.  What’s the weirdest question that a fan’s asked you?  I’ve been asked, “Will you ever do drag or transition to be a women, since you’re the ‘mother’ of the house.”  FYI, the answer is, “No!”  How long have you been the “mother” of the House of Aviance?  Thirty years!  I founded the house in August 1989, so August 2019 is our 30th anniversary.  What other celebrity did you act like a “fan” around?  Hmm…  I’ve met many celebs, but I pretty much held myself together, or I’d like to think I did.  What’s the last thing that you looked at online?  All the Trump drama!

PHOTOGRAPH BY BAYARDO ALVAREZ AVIANCE

What’s the best place that you’ve visited?  Unfortunately, I don’t travel much, but the few places that I’ve been I loved…  San Francisco, Tel Aviv and Puerto Rico.  What’s something that you learned in life only when you got older?  To live each day to the fullest, cuz’ life is short.  What did you learn from your parents?  To live life with honor, compassion and integrity.  Who’s your favorite performer?  As a lover of the arts, it’s hard for me to pick a “favorite” anything.  Let’s just say that I love a good performance when I see it!  What’s your best characteristic?  My compassion for others.  How do you enjoy spending your time?  I love lazy days at home watching TV and talking on the phone.  I also love the beach, but being in New York City, there’s only a few months of summer, which sucks. 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ARTURO GUCCI GUEVARA

What celebrity do you have a crush on?  Well he’s not a celebrity per-se, but I love me some Prince Harry!  Who do you admire? Billy Porter.  If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be?  My Mom.  Where would you go in a time machine?  To the beginning of time.  What would your last meal be?  Tons of seafood…  Please!  What do you worry about?  The state of the world today.  What are you afraid of?  Not being able to provide for myself.  If you were a musical instrument, what would you be?  A harp.  Are you more like a sheep or a wolf?  A wolf for sure! 

PHOTOGRAPH BY BAYARDO ALVAREZ AVIANCE

Other than your house children, who depends on you, and for what?  My friends and fans outside of the house depend on my guidance, advice, or just for me to sit and listen.  Who are you closest with?  God.  What would your autobiography be called?  Who Said Gay Men Don’t Have Children.  What’s on your bucket list?  To travel the world and teach vogue.  What’s your greatest regret in life?  I have no regrets!  What’s something secretive about you that people don’t know?  I’m a cry baby and a sucker for love stories.  Where can we see you?  Currently, I’m hosting a party at Christina Visca’s “Birdcage” every Sunday at Le Bain in the Standard Hotel.  You can also see me on my website or at my pride party in New York City on Monday July 1!

MIKE JEKNAVORIAN National Interviews

PENNY ARCADE

Penny Arcade, one of New York’s preeminent nightlife queens, and a Warhol alumni, stops by Miami on her 40-city international tour to perform her New York-centric one-woman show, Longing Lasts Longer

PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN MENENDEZ

By Mike Jeknavorian

Where did you grow up?  In New Britain, Connecticut, in the 1950s, when it was known as the hardware capitol of the world.  When’s the last time you went back there?  On September 29th, 2018, for the 50th high school reunion, for high school years that I didn’t attend!  Do you miss anything about the town?  I miss what New Britain was before Paul Manafort Sr. destroyed the town with so-called “urban renewal.”  Of all the venues that are gone in NYC, which one do you miss the most?  The Bottom Line.  Who’s your favorite Warhol superstar?  It’s a tie between Taylor Mead and Ondine.  Since you’ve toured extensively in Europe, what’s your favorite place there?  The island of Formentera, Baleraric Islands, Spain.

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This is a faithful reprint of Taylor Mead On Amphetamine and In Europe: Excerpts from the Anonymous Diary of a New York Youth. Volume Three. Last printed in 1968. Taylor Mead Beat poet, Andy Warhol Superstar, artist and star of film and stage. This volume contains Taylor’s poetry, rantings and musings from the 1960’s.

What will you do with your down time when you’re in South Florida?  I intend to show my collaborator’s wife, Marina, all the sights.  It’s her first visit here.  Other than your own plays, what’s your favorite play?  Anything by Tennessee Williams.  Which one of your old jobs least prepared you for what you do now?  Being a social worker in back-woods Maine.  How did you come up with your name?  I named myself Penny Arcade coming down from LSD at age 17.  It stuck.  If God were to take you tomorrow, how would you like to be remembered?  For my kindness and action in compassion.  What do you want to live long enough to see?  For my 11 and 13-year-old friends, Gandan and Diesel, to grow up to be 21!

Will you ever retire?  Actresses like me never retire.  What’s the weirdest question that a fan’s asked you?  “What are you really like?”  What celebrity did you act like a “fan” around?  Liza Minnelli.  I was completely tongue-tied.  What’s the last thing that you looked at online?  An “enlarged heart portal.”  It came up on my chest x-ray.  What’s the best place that you’ve visited?  The best…?  Every place has something ‘best’ about it.  There is no best place.  What’s something that you learned in life only when you got older?  That the only approval that really matters is my own approval of myself.  What did you learn from your parents?  How to work hard.  What’s your current state-of-mind?  Enlightened.

What were you doing before we spoke?  Thinking of getting out of bed.  What’s your idea of perfect happiness?  Swimming in the clean, clear, beautiful ocean.  What’s your greatest fear?  Pain, sickness and immobility.  Living or dead, who’s the greatest political figure in America?  Vito Marcantonio, the first-born Italian-American representative from New York’s 18thdistrict, who put the word ‘service’ into public service.  Who’s your favorite performer?  Tammy Faye Starlight and Bina Sharif.  What’s your best characteristic?  Enthusiasm.  How do you enjoy spending your time?  Walking around.  I’m a flaneuse.  What celebrity do you have a crush on?  Hmm…?  I don’t have crushes on people that I do not personally know.

PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN MENENDEZ

Who do you admire?  Noam Chomski.  If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be?  James Baldwin.  Where would you go in a time machine?  To 1910.  I’d go to New York City and around the world.  What would your last meal be?  Sushi and an ice cream sundae with hot fudge.  What do you worry about?  Money, for old age, and for arthritis.  What are you afraid of?  Serial blood-lust murderers.  If you were a musical instrument, what would you be?  A viola.  Are you more like a sheep or a wolf?  A wolf.  Who depends on you?  People who no one else will help.  Who are you closest with?  Steve Zehentner, my best friend and collaborator of 26 years.  What would your autobiography be called?  The Broken Genius Girl Must Be Sacrificed.

What music do you listen to when you’re upset?  Old R&B, like Solomon Burke, old blues, and doo-wop.  What’s on your bucket list?  Singing a concert of my original songs and my favorite covers.  What’s your greatest regret in life?  That I didn’t honor my heart’s desires in my teens and 20s and 30s.  I thought that I needed ‘proof’ to follow them.  What’s something secretive about you that people don’t know?  Pretty much everything!  I only share what makes me the same as others, not what makes me different.  But, ok.  One thing is, I’m very timid.  Where can we see you?  My website has my schedule, and my Facebook page is totally open—I run it like a magazine or a diary.  You can also see me at the Live Arts Lab at Miami Dade College this Thursday to Saturday!