San Antonio’s own, Antonio Padron, aka Askasha Luxe of the House of Luxe, is featured on Season 2 of Legendary on HBO Max this spring. Legendary is a fierce creative competition which provides an inside look to the world of Ballroom Culture where Houses compete for a grand prize. The Ballroom scene, rumored to have started in the 1920s, is now on a national platform for all to learn from and be inspired by the muse of creativity and performing vogue dance styles. With different categories to compete in, such as performance, runway, face, etc…House members rely on each other’s strengths to dominate the competition.
In 2009, Padron was introduced to Ballroom and learned from his mentor, Karma Stylz who is also featured in the show this season with the House of Oricci . In 2018-2020, Padron was a member of the House of Mizrahi. His journey has brought him to the House of Luxe, which is a new house, but the members are far from new to the scene. Padron, now known as Akasha Luxe, shares his main strength is the performance category, and if you have watched the show, you will understand how strong his light shines on stage. He’s learned great lessons in growth and discipline through this surreal experience, finding himself to be his biggest competition, stating he was, “Kinda melting through my own barriers, my own mental blockages, if you will. So I was my own competition.”
Akasha speaks about the powerful platform provided by the show Legendary,“We’re basically presenting our creativity to a new audience, and with that you know, this can spark a creativity in somebody in another country, in somebody who doesn’t have the resources that some of us do have…It’s an awakening for people.”
Akasha Luxe is not only an incredible dancer, but a role model as well. “People have reached out, They’ve connected with me through my performance, thanking me for representing the LGBTQIA community.” This is more of what we need in our city. We thank you, as well.
Our star leaves us with these consejos: “Be consistent about it. Don’t give up. Don’t focus on the criticism of people because their criticism is subjective…when it comes to your art, take it seriously for yourself. Don’t really care for the haters. You’re always going to have more support than people who look down on you.”
So be inspired, gente, take that dance class you’ve always wanted, and create a thing of beauty.
Where to watch: HBO Max
You can also find clips of the performances on YouTube.
You can follow Akasha Luxe on instagram
@gotmy10z
