Hello,

We’re Goddess Mami Diva Queen, a New York-based four-piece transsexual noise punk band. You may also know us as Xio, Adonis, Levi, and Lucy, respectively.

Adonis Huff is a 25-year-old Black trans man, poet, artist and musician who performs harsh noise under the stage name of Mercury Symbol, in addition to many other collaborative projects including Goddess Mami Diva Queen.

Xiomara is a 28 year old trans-latina artist who was also born and raised in New York. She’s a visual artist, performer, and archivist. She’s known as Psicoputa in the club scene and Ñaña Sucia in the noise scene.

Levi is a 26-year-old disabled Nuyorican-Brazilian artist and trained nightlife EMT who performs under the stage name Perrito Maldito in the club scene or Diabolus Invitro in the noise scene.

Lucy York is a 42-year old disabled white trans woman from the south and an accomplished experimental guitarist and longtime nightlife worker.

We are all poor, trans, disabled artists and musicians, trying to survive under an administration that is waging war on anyone within this country falling into any of the former categories. Xio, Levi, and Adonis are also native New Yorkers who, like many, struggle to keep up with the continually rising cost of living in the city that we and our families still call home.

As of writing, the four of us now live together (with a very sweet and also formerly homeless puppy named Papito) in Harlem, in an apartment that has been in Adonis’ family for generations. In light of the ongoing rapaciousness of gentrification and resulting displacement throughout historically Black and Brown New York neighborhoods like Harlem, being able to reside in a generational home is an immense gift, and a rare one at that. Unfortunately, we still live under the looming threat of eviction via outstanding maintenance fees due to past tenants failing to pay rent for several months. These outstanding fees have already resulted in a rent-demand letter from our property management, with the threat of eviction and loss of ownership of the apartment for Adonis’s family.

In addition to this, Adonis has extricated himself from an emotionally abusive living situation with a racist ex-roommate whom he had considered a close friend for six years. Upon moving out she cut the electricity to our apartment with no notice, leaving our home unlivable and unsanitary for three weeks during a peak heat wave, and costing us around $3K in cleanup costs / takeout for all the time that we were unable to cook for ourselves in the sweltering heat.

Xio, Levi and Lucy have all faced years of housing instability and homelessness, so one can imagine our frustration when finally having a safe place to live with people that we love and genuinely enjoy living with, but it then rendered uninhabitable due to the actions of Adonis’ former roommate. While things are now considerably more stable for all of us housing-wise, we still have to contend with the overwhelming financial burden of battling acute food-insecurity for a four-person (and one pup) household, assisting Adonis’s family in the remaining balance owed on the apartment, as well as staying on top of bills and other day-to-day expenses. If you have the means, we are now asking for monetary help with protecting the security, legacy and longevity of our home.

Thank you for reading.

Sincerely,

Goddess Mami Diva Queen.