Milton Garcia Ninja

Milton Garcia Ninja (b. 1970, New York, NY)—also known as Milton Garcia Jr. and M.G. Latex—is an artist, voguer, dancer, and choreographer whose cartoons combine poetry and figural illustration in a pictorial diary of quotidian inspirations. A member of the Legendary House of Ninja in NYC’s House/Ballroom scene & deemed an icon within this creative community, Milton continues to inspire LGBTQ youth, young adults & other communities with his takes on beauty in the simplicity of life. 

As an adolescent, Garcia Ninja attended classes in photography and the visual arts at the Hetrick-Martin Institute—an organization dedicated to supporting the medical and intellectual wellbeing of LGBTQIA+ youth—where he met Nelson Rodriguez and Luna Luis Ortiz, also represented in the Visual AIDS Archive. Over time, Garcia Ninja developed as a cartoonist, cultivating a style that incorporates drawing alongside dimensional collage. After the fashion of trading cards, Garcia Ninja’s compositions pair textual homage with portraiture, expressively celebrating other members of his Ballroom community, the Legendary House of Ninja. Other compositions take phenomenological and abstract concepts as their subject matter, from the color red and the taste of strawberries to complex issues such as infidelity in relationships. A prolific artist, Garcia Ninja often sells or gifts his works within the House of Ninja, cultivating a community expressive of mutual support and admiration. A survivor of drug addiction who was diagnosed as HIV-positive in August 2002, Garcia Ninja has focused on living with vitality and intention, rejoicing in every moment as if it were his last.

A prolific artist, Garcia Ninja often sells or gifts his works within the House of Ninja, cultivating a community expressive of mutual support and admiration. A survivor of drug addiction who was diagnosed as HIV-positive in August 2002, Garcia Ninja has focused on living with vitality and intention, rejoicing in every moment as if it were his last.