The culture of the gay Harlem houses -- the birthplace of “voguing” -- goes back as far as the 19th century. In the beginning, the gatherings that took place there were a matter of survival; by the late 1970s, they were established sanctuaries, providing family -- and safety in numbers -- to homeless street hustlers, pier queens, addicts and other lost souls. The houses took names like LaBeija, Chanel and St. Laurent, imitating the fashion houses they idolized. And they threw elaborate balls -- flamboyant 10-hour affairs, where voguing was pioneered, with the houses competing for prestige (and sometimes cash).

Jose Xtravaganza

Among the most famous and enduring is the House of Xtravaganza, which hosts its massive “Moda” ball this November in New York. Its members take names that are also inherited titles: Hector, Carmen, Jose, Q, Davari. “The original Hector Xtravaganza came up with the house name,” says the current Hector and house grandfather. “It’s very us -- extravagant kids in the streets, trying to make it.”

Hector Xtravaganza (Grandfather of the House of Xtravaganza)

Voguing broke into pop culture in 1990 with the debut of Madonna’s black-and-white “Vogue” video, which was choreographed by Jose Xtravaganza. When he was introduced to the pop princess at an audition he saw “this woman sitting on top of a speaker, with a long trench coat and all of her hair under a newspaper boy’s hat. Very stylish. She said to me, ‘I heard you’re the shit. I heard you’re the one who can do this vogue thing, and I wanna see.’” And thus the House of Xtravaganza inspired the first of the Material Girl’s manly reinventions.

Carmen Xtravaganza

House mother Carmen Xtravaganza (who I personally watched grow from a precocious brat into a beacon of responsibility) helps new members find themselves and make the transition into the transgender lifestyle. “I see them as they are, and how I was at their age, and how I struggled to become the person that I am -- though they have it so much easier now.”

Q Xtravaganza

So what’s the philosophy of the House of Xtravaganza? According to Jose it’s a simple command for perpetual readiness: “To come done.”

Photography by Victoria Will. Special thanks to Greg Brier and Amalia.