Meet Hadrian Shawn Miguel | Artist, Designer & Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hadrian Shawn Miguel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hadrian Shawn, why did you pursue a creative career?
As a child, and a Queer boy, I had always been drawn to the Arts since I can remember, at age 5. My family encouraged this by letting me be whomever I wanted to be, and to pursue all my ideas & dreams, so as an adult it was an easy choice. For me, it’s all about expression, passion, inclusion, representation and community that informs and shapes my career & choices, and is reflected in my writing, art, and designs.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

I am a motivated writer, artist, and designer. I never want to stop dreaming, learning, making and doing. This year I directed the play, I Am A STAR, by Cinnamon Rivera about Queer & Trans Rights pioneer Sylvia Rivera. I directed two incarnations of the play here in Los Angeles, the first for the Frida Kahlo Theater’s 10 Minute Play Festival, and the second for Chicanas, Cholas Y Chisme’s Womxn In Herstory production at Casa 0101 Theater in Boyle Heights. We filmed on stage, and presented it via streaming online. My play, Meet Me At The Bodega produced by Eastside Queer Stories & Q Youth Foundation debuted over Memorial Weekend as a radio play on Soundcloud, Spotify, and Youtube and is still available to hear. I hope to bring this play into the theaters so it can be seen and enjoyed by a live audience.

Earlier in my career, I was obsessed with my differences from everyone else and highlighting that, but today I am more excited about the story I can tell, a way I can make something funny, or a design I can show that weaves a multicultural & multigenerational aesthetic & perspective, that advocates for the underdog, and currently I focus & showcase more of my journey & influences, and the people & community I meet along the way, and to express a message of hope, diversity, inclusion, and representation. Perhaps that is my story, and what makes me standout or show out, and in a perfect, magical world I want to live in, what makes me the same hopefully.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
So L.A. is truly a fantastic place for a creative, artist, and visitor. If you love the outdoors or just being the in the best weather year round, pre-, and post-pandemic, and during especially, the City of Angels will always be the city with many iconic & off the beaten path places to see and just be, a constant step & repeat backdrop to promote on all your social media. The consummate metropolis for imagination & reinvention and for a visitor on a week long trip, a great f’ing vacation!

Let’s start with the Hollywood Reservoir, the best little place for a picturesque view of the Hollywood sign and a stroll without having to hike and climb up to the actual sign and break a sweat and be with a ton of tourists. By far one of my favorite places in L.A., But if hiking is your thing to do on vacation then there is no shortage of places here, from the Westside to the San Gabriel Valley & beyond. Runyon Canyon Park a popular hiking trail & workout in Hollywood, and Ocean and Canyon View Trail near Malibu offers ocean views and 3 seasonal waterfalls including the 40 ft Newton Falls and the lovely lower Zuma Falls. And we have beaches for days, a coastal drive along PCH and Hwy 1 or sunning at Will Rogers Beach, Santa Monica or Venice Beach (which is the best to people watch or gawk in amazement). But, if you must get up close & personal to the Hollywood sign, I recommend going horseback riding through Griffith Park at Sunset Ranch. It offers a close-up look at the Hollywood Sign along with sweeping views of the hills and L.A. cityscape below with even the basic one-hour ride.

If you’re hungry, L,A. is the best place for Vegan cuisine and tasty options from Thai to Burgers to Mexican food. A few of my fave vegan joints are Sage Plant-Based Bistro (all locations but especially Echo Park & Culver City), Crossroads Kitchen on Melrose, Flore Vegan in Silverlake, and The Grain Cafe in Mid-City, Wild Living Foods in Downtown L.A. and True Food Kitchen (all locations).

For nightlife, dancing, and hanging out poolside then the Standard Hotel is a really cool spot to do all three: hangout poolside on the roof with a spectacular view of Downtown and if there is a club going on too, a perfect night to dance the night away. My favorite monthly party is SummerTramp from June through September. Over the years, the party has changed venues, but has stayed primarily in Downtown. It is the place to see and be seen/scene.

For shopping, vintage & otherwise, then we have some of the greatest flea & open-air markets: Los Feliz Flea, a great place for style setters and good vibes, the weekly foodie powerhouse Smorgasburg LA, and Melrose Trading Post – the best places in town for shopping, eating, and being seen. Honorable mention goes out to Long Beach Vintage Market, and PCC Flea Market in Pasadena.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Wow, let’s Shoutout in no particular order those amazing beings, places, and things that helped shine a bright light, positive vibration, and had the greatest influences on me:

To my amazing partner Clyde, who lifts me up, holds me down, and loves me and my crazy, to San Francisco & Los Angeles, Seattle, Miami and New York, the best 4 corners of this country that really shaped me and my hustle and the pursuit of dreams and learning, to Dad & Mom, my Aunts & Uncles, brothers, sisters, cousins, nieces & nephews for all the LOVE! it made all the difference in the world.

To David Bowie, Prince, Madonna, Kate Bush, Stevie Nicks, Sylvester, Pat Benatar and Grace Jones, punk rock, goth, new wave, disco, house, and rock n roll music that made me boogie & create while I burned the midnight oil, to Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Oscar Wilde, Halston, Frida Kahlo, Andy Warhol, Antonio Lopez, Stephen Sprouse, Keith Haring, and John Waters for inspirations and paving the way, and to the Mission Cultural Center & CYO Camp in San Francisco, and The Center, the Audre Lorde Project, Gay Mens Health Crisis in New York, the Center for Cultural Innovation, Q Youth Foundation, Los Angeles LGBTQ Center, Latino Equality Alliance, The Frida Kahlo Theater, Casa 0101 Theater in Los Angeles, and California Arts Council that all provide much needed support, workshops, information, events and services for the community to which I have benefitted from, and to Eastside Queer Stories in L.A. that reignited my love for storytelling and writing. Lastly, to all my fellow artists, writers, creators, poets, designers and makers that I have worked with and shared space with, thank you.

Website: www.americanhecho.com

Instagram: instagram.com/hadrianistic , instagram.com/americanhecho