Antonio was born and raised in a large family in Mexico City, where he developed a love for music, fashion and literature at a young age. He eventually received his Bachelor of Arts in Latin American arts and literature from the University Hispano America, and a Bachelor of Arts in fashion design from the Institute of Arts and Fashion in Mexico City.
His house looks like a movie set from the 1950s. There are Santeria gods by the door, and plenty of objects, books and flowers here and there.
He is wearing his usual sweatpants and T-shirt, and offers us strong Cuban coffee.
In a room he’s painted red, he has a shelf full of books and Santeria gods and goddesses, two couches and some of his paintings. One of the walls is covered with posters from the movies of Pedro Almodovar, his favorite director. The floor is covered with a colorful linoleum from the 1920s that is beautifully falling apart. And there’s the closet, filled with shoe boxes and designer clothes.
Antonio is a capoeira instructor at Abada Capoeira on 22nd and Mission streets. He practices yoga and likes to paint.
He says his influences are fashion icons like designers Elsa Schiaparelli and Jean-Paul Gaultier, the movies of Maria Felix and Pedro Almodovar and the literature of Arthur Rimbaud and Oscar Wilde, as well as classical mythology and Latin American Catholicism.
To find out more about Antonio, you can visit his website here.