Poet Profiles: Vato Lovers and Down Low Uptown

By Charlie Vázquez

One of the joys of networking in the queer people-of-color writer’s world is unearthing new talents from the fringe—whether they be from the Bronx (where I grew up) or the Southwest. I discovered two talented queer poets recently; Aaron Powell from the Boogie Down, and Joe Jimenez, who was included in the queer Latino poetry anthology Mariposas: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry (Floricanto Press, 2009), edited by my queer Latino warlord brother Emanuel Xavier.

Joe Jimenez, who is an educator currently living in San Antonio, teamed up with Los Angeles-based filmmaker Dino Dinco to produce a short film based on his poem “El Abuelo” (The Grandfather), a lusciously sensual look into the eroticism inherent in t-shirts and bandanas—and in this case, Jimenez’s boxer shorts, torso, and tattoos. This lovely masterpiece weaves through Latino identity, family history and loving his first “vato.”

Take a look.




Entertainment publicist Aaron Powell’s new poetry collection Behind Concrete Doors (Karen Hunter Media, 2010) touches upon the sex scandals rocking the world of Hollywood, but its “real meat” explores the fireworks residing within the homoerotic “down-low” sex culture of uptown New York. Fantasizing about barbers and getting down with hot-thug dudes, this collection reveals the intersecting and often clashing politics of “Blatino” sexual identity and more. Developed from over ten years of journals, these poems shine a light on true desire and conflict.



More info here.