ÁNGEL JACINTO ESCALANTE
ABOUT
◆ ángel is a published bilingual writer, portrait & nature photographer, self-taught musician, music producer, and documentary filmmaker. Currently, a CRNY artist in collaboration with Mil Mundos En Común and a member of the Bushwick Archive.
PORTRAIT BY DESTINY MATA 2023
◆ raised between el Bajío in Central Mexico and the Nuevo León/Texas border and encouraged by an extended family of visual artists, crafters, and musicians, it was through a handful of disciplines that self-expression became ángel's primary coping mechanism for the cultural alienation that came with constant migration.
FILMMAKING
ángel's debut as a film director and producer with the short doc En Común: Bookloving y Organizing was made possible with the support of the Third World Newsreel Filmmaking Production Fellowship in 2023, and funding provided by Creatives Rebuild New York
This documentary tells the story of how Mil Mundos, the first bilingual bookstore of East Bushwick, became a mutual aid hub and a safe space for their neighbors during the early days of the pandemic, changing the course of its operations. We follow the day-to-day activities of this Bushwick coop and their members' personal relationships to the space that informs the core of their community-making.
To get updates on where to watch this film -> encomunfilm.info
PHOTOGRAPHY
ángel's portrait photography seeks to bear witness to people's complexity. although primarily having worked with the Queer and SW community, they will work with anyone who identifies as an outsider, is a closet freak, or lives a life of creativity beyond the norms.
their most recent nature photography project Goths in Nature is a visual documentation of the intersection between goth culture and love for nature.
ángel is available for postproduction fun <editing and sound mix> and would love to work with more independent creatives with community-building values. they will soon be also offering color grading and sound design.
MUSIC
ángel has been a songwriter, guitar and bass guitar player, lyricist, singer, and performer for over two decades. Between founding and managing the old Mexican netlabel Nene Records, they have released multiple singles, EPs, and LPs on digital, tape, and vinyl formats with different acts from the MTYMX scene of the early 2000s in Mexico and the US.
links :
6D (seis días en clona) : instrumental retro waves for cats who read PKD
Flamenco Rosado : queer flamenco ensemble (composer, singer); 2022-current.
Night Mirror : apocalyptic transexual dream (keys, vocals); 2020-current.
Las Urracas : haunted house vintage folk (uke, vocals); 2015.
XYX : melting punk (bass guitar, vocals); 2008-2012.
Penetración Cósmica : stoner electronic experiment (synths, vocals); 2010.
Mamá Burger : nostalgia for the 90s all-girl indie punk (guitar, vocals); 2005-2008.
Help Me I Lost My Body : makes 3 songs in 7 days punk (guitar, bass guitar, drums, vocals); 2008.
WRITING
◆ ángel's writing has been included in the Austin Public Library's Aural Literature publication in Texas and El Paso's Río Grande Review, a bilingual journal of contemporary literature and art.
◆ they've self-published numerous personal zines available at multiple Public Library Zine collections in the United States, with some titles available at the Sherwood Forest Zine Library in ATX.