[1] His personal experiences with the impact of rejection due to sexual orientation would deeply shape his adult views of the concepts of chosen family and self-created identity.
Angie Xtravaganza, a transgender woman of Puerto Rican heritage, took on the role of House Mother and became a close friend and confidant to Hector.
In ballroom competition, Hector represented the House of Xtravaganza in various categories including “Face” and “Model's Effect,” where he quickly developed a reputation as a worthy runway competitor.
First with the song by Malcolm McLaren and the Bootzilla Orchestra called "Deep in Vogue" which sampled audio from the still unreleased film "Paris is Burning."
The mainstream attention provided Hector the opportunity to work as a fashion stylist and designer for various popular music artists, including Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown.
[4] He also developed a reputation as an advisor to other houses and younger members of the growing ballroom scene, which had begun to network to cities across the United States.
In 1990, along with other members of the New York City's ballroom community, he founded the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) House of Latex project.
The GMHC Latex Ball is one of the largest annual events in the NYC LGBTQ+ community and a central activity in the organization's outreach programs serving young LGBTQ+ people of color.
In 1994, Hector, along with other members of the House of Xtravaganza, appeared as part of an HIV/AIDS awareness public service campaign sponsored by GMHC targeted to the LGBTQ+ people of color ballroom community of NYC.
The campaign appeared in NYC subway stations throughout the city and helped to breakdown the stigma associated with HIV at a time before there were effective treatments.
On World AIDS Day 2018, Xtravaganza was presented with an award of recognition by City of New York Health Acting Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot.