SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 27, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Don’t even try to pigeonhole performer Migguel Anggelo, who is bringing his show, “LatinXoxo,” to Kingsbury Hall on Friday.
“I always describe myself like a multi-disciplinary artist,” the Venezuela-born New York City resident told Gephardt Daily during a playful interview.
“I can sing. I can dance. I’m a songwriter and musician,” Anggelo said seriously, after joking earlier that he would keep the Zoom call simple, then briefly donning a gold, bedazzled top hat.
“I design furniture and paintings. I do costumes,” he continued. “So everything involves art, and this is what I am. I’m an artist.”
So which of those artistic gifts will he be sharing with fans at Kingsbury Hall? Probably not furniture design.
Anggelo said he will be singing, dancing and interacting with the audience. And he hopes his show will make audience members laugh, cry, and leave with a message of love and acceptance.
“It’s basically my conversation with my father, but through three characters,” he said. “The Virgin Mary represents my childhood. Carmen from the opera represents my teenage years, and Don Jose from that opera represents my mature age. Basically, it’s a big, deep conversation with my father.”
Anggelo’s father died in an accident when his son was 13. The artist describes his father as a lover of opera and as man who was traditional and “very, very homophobic.”
So what would Anggelo — now out and an advocate for LGBTQ+ communities and humans in general — tell his father if he could?
Anggelo laughed out loud.
“I would say ‘Come on,’” the artist said, sarcasm in his voice. “‘You might die, so get over it‘ (referring to homophobia). I grew up in Venezuela, you know. It’s different now. Not that much, but you know, it’s a different generation.
“I grew up on the farm, next to cows, chickens, nature. And I always loved it. I was like a free spirit. I always said I was Julie Andrews from ‘The Sound of Music.’ I was Maria because I always wanted to sing, and then my mom always said ‘Migguel, please can you go to the high mountains?’ I say why? And she say ‘because you are very noisy.'”
Anggelo laughed out loud at the memory. But his mother always supported his creative endeavors and still does, he said. She has seen and loves his performances, which also address his childhood culture, family and societal expectations, and the stereotype of the “Latin lover.”
This interactive show features several operatic songs Anggelo wrote for it, along with dramatic costumes he designed. One of his characters dresses in a scarlet skirt and headdress. His chest is bare.
“Another journalist asked me about that, and I said ‘What do you mean? If tickets are $40, I need to give you something,'” Anggelo said, laughing. “And I work out so much, I’d like to show what I’ve been doing for a year.”
But really, what would Anggelo like audiences to get from the show?
“This is a spectacular country,” he said, suddenly serious. “The United States of America is wonderful. And one of my reasons why I moved here is because I believe in the law here. We are all free to talk without hurting anybody. So if you’re straight or you’re gay, or you’re trans or you’re black, it doesn’t matter. We are all the same. We are humans. We just need to be together.”
“We need to learn how to live together and respect each other. We want to build an amazing world for a better future for the next generations. Because what are we teaching the young people now? Like, hate each other, kill each other? No.
“Everybody needs to love and care for each other. That is the most important part of the show. When other people turn the lights out, you can turn them on. So leave the lights on all the time, and share your brightness with them.
“We need to love each other. I think this is a big message.”
Anggelo said he has had people troubled by a wide variety of circumstances approach him after shows, and tell him the message of love and appreciation has moved them to take positive steps in their own relationships and lives.
The show may not be appropriate for young children due to a song with a four-letter word sung multiple times, Anggelo said. And the overall content may be better understood by teens and adults.
Anggelo said he’s excited about the Salt Lake City show at Kingsbury Hall and finds the historic venue breathtaking.
For ticket information, click here.
So, anything we didn’t talk about that Anggelo would like to get into the story?
He paused for a millisecond, then smiled broadly and laughed.
“You could tell them I have a beautiful body.”
