sustaining pride in dos culturas: a conversation with felix Iii

interviewed by sg huerta

I am video chatting with musician and designer Felix III, a time zone apart. A dress form draped in green fabric stands in the right of his Zoom square while we talk about creative process and sustainability.

SG Huerta: So on your site, you say “The MXA / The Original Mexican-American Poncho . . . was created as a tribute to [your] upbringing straddling two cultures”—which I definitely relate to as a Chicano person myself—and that “Each poncho tells an anecdote of some of [your] own experiences growing up Mexican-American.” Could you talk a little more on how the MXA line came to be?

Felix III: Yeah! So I was playing shows, I did a small tour in California, with a friend of mine, Enrique Jesus Hernandez. He asked me to come to LA and I needed something to wear because the temperature kept fluctuating so much. I had this bomber that didn’t fit, and then I had this serape. I’d already been making costumes for myself for a long time, so I was like, “hmm, let me see if I can merge these two.”

So I made this poncho, which became a prototype, except, at the moment, I didn't realize it was a prototype. I just thought I was going to wear it. And everywhere I went, I mean, especially in LA, that’s where a lot of my customers are, people kept asking me, “Oh, where did you get that poncho?” and I was like, “Oh, it’s my line.” And they're like, “Oh, where can I get one?” and I was like, “It’ll be out in two months, just give me your email and I’ll hit you up whenever it’s out.”

I came back after the tour, and I was like, well, I might as well turn this into a line. I already told enough people. So, that’s really how it came about. Part of it was also why I chose the fabrics because you see so many Mexican falsas and serapes and things like that used very flippantly in people’s houses and whatnot. And you know, especially if you grew up in a Mexican American or Mexican household, they’re just kind of everywhere, right? And then you go to Americans’ houses and that’ll be like their token if they’ve gone to Mexico. That’ll be their little thing, you know? Which is really cool, fine, but I wanted to kind of make it a little edgier. And then I started thinking about the process of how do I . . . sorry, I'm going on a tangent.

SGH: No, I love it! Keep going.

F: But I’ll get there, I promise!

You know, when you grow up here and you’re a little bit there and a little bit here, you’re like neither, right? I grew up in a town where there were some people who are from Mexico and their whole families and that part of their identity. They came from there and they only lived half the year in the United States, and they would go back and forth, et cetera. And then there were white people, and I’m half of both, and so I kind of always felt like I wasn’t really one or the other, and I think, as a kid, I never felt like I was fully accepted.

So this was kind of my way of saying, “Oh well, there’s actually a middle ground, there’s a bunch of people like me out there.” And it doesn’t have to be Mexican American, it can be Indian American, it can be all the different nationalities. And you’re just kind of adjusting as you go along and mixing the cultures. It just happens naturally, right? So I wanted the jackets to kind of represent that. And strangely enough, not just Mexican American people are buying them. I’m getting a lot of these like cross culture people who are coming in and really identifying with them. Whether they’re recognizing it or not, they’re like, “Oh, you know, I’m this and this, and this [line] is so cool. I love that you’re playing with two different things that are both very bold.”

Like the bombers. When people think of the American bomber jacket, they think of very white 1950s, you know, classic blond hair, blue-eyed athletes with the cheerleaders. I never looked like that. I didn’t play sports or any of those things. And I also didn’t grow up in desert areas wearing the traditional Mexican textiles either, but they both are a part of the lineage of me, and a lot of people. So in a very long, roundabout way, that’s kind of how it happened.

SGH: That’s fantastic, I love that story so much. I mentioned this earlier, but I specifically wanted to ask about the Britney Poncho because I’m kind of in a Britney phase right now.

F: Oh, Britney, that poncho tee!

SGH: Yeah, could you talk about that? Or like, ‘cause I know you have some other poncho tees and on your site as well, how those came about, or anything you want to say about those?

F: There’s a lot of people who love the brand and they’re not ready yet to get a piece themselves. But they want to support, and I was just trying to think of what would be a really nice fun summer way to incorporate the poncho in something that’s less of a commitment for people and something a little bit more casual. Because the thing is, when you wear the ponchos, you’re gonna get attention everywhere you go. Like, that’s the thing, you have to be ready for that. And I think a lot of people who buy it often like that attention, so it goes hand in hand.

So I wanted to do some sort of t-shirt but I wanted it to make sense for me, so I was like, “Oh, well, let me do a divas section.” Band tees and divas. And I was thinking of all the best queer icons, and how do we make this traditional t-shirt a little bit more frilly. So I have tons of fabric, and I just kind of made this little poncho tee so that you can wear it out and you get that breeze on either side of you, but then you can cover up parts if you want, and then you got the draping. I just like the way it feels and I have always loved flowy clothes. So this was my way of creating something a little bit more accessible.

SGH: Oh that’s great. I’m glad I asked. That’s awesome. So to think about the theme of sustainability, could you talk on the creation process? Like, is it materials that you had, like the bomber jacket and the tees and all of that?

F: Yeah, so I try to use all parts of everything. It’s basically a version of upcycling, and when I’m deconstructing everything, I save all the leftovers, because they can be turned into bags. I turn the sleeve of jackets into waist ties. And with, for example, the beach ones for the summer, I’ve converted old hammocks into the beach ones, because they’re lighter fabric. And I take all the old rope and turn them into belts. So I try to use pretty much everything I can from it. And even for the poncho tees, I use the bottoms of some of the tees to turn into the sleeves of other ones. So that way there’s not much that really gets tossed, to be honest.

SGH: That’s fantastic, thanks! So, to take sustain into a more . . . I’m a poet, so in a more not-literal sense, how does your work sustain you? And this can be your other art as well, not just the ponchos, but music, and I know you said you got started with poetry, which is awesome. It’s a broad question.

F: I think that anytime you’re creating, whatever medium that is, you’re letting pieces of yourself into the world, which is a very vulnerable thing to do, but ultimately it’s very healing. Because, as artists, we have the privilege of knowing how to funnel our emotions and trauma into an outlet. Whether we understand that or not, that’s generally what most artists are doing. And it doesn’t have to be trauma, it can be just the mundane things, it can be anything. But for me that’s really where it comes out. Through the ponchos, I think I really tapped into a little bit more of the identity side because the music is very . . . like you said, I was a poet. I started with poetry really young and I used that as a way to kind of tell my stories, and then you add the music to it and it becomes narratives, you know? And I write music visually, so I don’t necessarily hear music in my head, but I see pictures. So I’ll think of a moment or a shore or a grassy field or whatever it is, and that’s where the music starts in my head, so then I accompany the pictures to it. So, how does it stay to sustain me? I guess it just keeps me sane.

SGH: Yeah, I definitely feel that.

F: It’s the creation of it that’s the lovely part. That’s the best part, when you’re in your moment and it’s coming out of you and you’re editing it and tweaking it—it’s just all the other stuff afterwards that’s the hard part. How do you get people to listen to it, how do you get people to see it. But I would say that I feel very lucky to have been . . . I think you’re born an artist. And maybe some people learn from other people, but, for me, I was just born knowing that performing and creating was just a part of myself. And you can’t really explain where it comes from. It just is. So I’ve just been lucky to try to find people that helped me navigate that, you know, because it’s a community process.

SGH: Thanks so much, these are beautiful answers. I think I only have one question left. So, what is your favorite piece you’ve created? I know it’s probably hard to choose one, but if there’s one you want to talk about.

F: My favorite piece. Okay, actually, I do have a favorite piece. Let me see if it’s on my website.

SGH: I love looking at them. I think my favorite on the site, I love the Britney one, but I'm Going Through the Other Side. Absolutely gorgeous.

F: Thank you. Oh yeah I love that one! I also really love the ancient warrior poncho, too. Right above it. I love that one.

F: I guess they’re kind of all my favorite. Because the thing is, it’s not like I intentionally set out to make one. It’s more like, the jackets come to me, so I go find them. And there’s no rhyme or reason. And then I look at my fabrics and see what I have or what I need to get. But a lot of times, it just really happens out of the blue. I schedule time in for sourcing and that sort of thing, but you really don’t know what you’re going to find because I’m only looking for secondhand stuff. Because I want to give something that already had probably multiple lives, a new life. So I guess each one becomes my favorite as I’m putting it together. But I also really love Felix and the Technicolor Poncho. I really love that one just because there’s these bold 70s acid colors with the avocado and the neon orange. And that’s obviously a reference to Joseph. I love all these bold colors. It has this very Jesus-like quality to it. I imagine if like, you know, if back then they could find these colors, they’d be totally dolled out.

SGH: Totally. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about or be sure to mention? I think everything you said was beautiful.

F: I’m going to be releasing new music at the end of May and early June, so I’m really excited. I’m just cutting the video right now, so that it’ll be ready. For anybody following music, a great way to engage with artists is to follow them on the different platforms, because social media really limits reach. You build this audience and then you can access them. And they’re there to support you and vice versa, so I’m really trying to do something a little bit more. I just did some shows like South By [Southwest] and I did the OUTsider Fest in Texas, and I really love having people come up after the shows and talking to them face to face and really getting to know who’s out there. It’s really nice to share back and forth. I think for a lot of people, artistry is a one way street. But I think, for me, I really want to open that up to hear about what people have to say and engage with them in a totally different way.

about the author

SG Huerta is a Chicane writer from Dallas. They are  the author of the chapbook The Things We Bring with Us: Travel Poems (Headmistress Press, 2021), and their work has appeared in Split Lip Magazine, Infrarrealista Review, Variant Lit, and elsewhere. They live in Texas with their partner and two cats. Find them at sghuertawriting.com or on Twitter @sg_poetry.