Angie Gomez: Passion for fashion, music

By Ruben Hernandez

Sunday night, a day of rest for most, Angie Gomez jets in to Phoenix from a weekend jaunt in Vegas, where she caught Rhianna’s show at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, and motors off to her gig with Power Drive band at the Scottsdale Culinary Festival.

Don’t you ever rest? is a constant question Angie gets from her friends who know her frantic  pace and boundless energy that makes the Energizer Bunny look like an old, slow hare.

Angie laughs over the telephone when she describes her hyper-fast pace lifestyle. “My life is always crazy. I need to clone myself. That’s how crazy it is. I need to be three different places at once,” she says.

Diana Prieto-Bernal, the founder/organizer of Latino Fashion Live 2013 on April 20, is among those who are so glad Angie Gomez has non-stop energy and unlimited talent. Angie will be the main headliner at the Ovations Showroom stage at LFL, singing her original songs, performing routines with two star dancers, and being accompanied by her rapper buddy on one tune.

“Angie and her talents are going to make April 20^th a fabulous night,” Diana says. “She’s a talented singer, songwriter and avid fashionista. This electrifying Latina promises to light up the night with her stellar act.”

Angie also is the consummate entertainer known as the “Midday Diva” at Phoenix’s Old School radio station MEGA 104.3 FM.  She also sings regularly with Power Drive band at Arizona Casino, Wild Horse Pass casino, and at El Zocalo in Chandler on Friday nights.

But there was a time, believe it or not, when this sophisticated, cosmopolitan mujer was a small town girl. She was raised in the mining town of Superior, Arizona, and is a graduate of Ray High School in nearby Kearney.

Angie grew up listening to the sounds of Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, Gloria Estefan and Mariah Carey. She loved the highly danceable tunes of these recording stars, and later, when she started writing her own original songs, they became big influences on her own music.

“I recently started writing my own songs two years ago,” she says “I’d never written a song before, but I was encouraged by my music producer (at DnG Music studio) to try. Since then I’ve written and co-written 20-25 songs. I would call my musical style Lady Gaga meets Jennifer Lopez.”

Her Latino Fashion Live performance will feature three of her original songs, composed especially for this show. “One song I’ll be doing that night, Mannequin, lets me talk about the designers affiliated with this fashion show.” Another song she will be debuting on Saturday is Wishes and Dreams, which also features rapper J Rydah, who co-wrote the song.

She and her high energy dancer friends, Monica Saldana and Shanice Lowney, have worked up some dizzying dance numbers that will dazzle the crowd, Angie adds.

Angie herself will be styling with three different looks for the night that will complement her songs.

“I think that whenever you mix fashion with music that’s always an awesome combination,” Angie says.  “The music creates excitement for the models and the fashion designers.”

She was a young girl back in the ‘80s when the fashion bug bit her, Angie explains.

“I think for any young girl, they are influenced first by fashion magazines. Then it was stars like Madonna and Cindy Lauper, with their big, crazy clothes and eyeliner. My fashion sense was certainly influenced by them, but then I added my own personal style to it.”

So you’d think with all this going on AND the April 20 multimedia production, afterward Angie would retire to a Mexican beach, lay beneath the warm sun, sip a cocktail and quietly read a novel. NOT!

She remains very active in her community, from hosting her own women’s expo to motivating and empowering other women to a successful path in careers and life, to helping with organizations like Kaity’s Way to fight teen dating violence.  Angie also is working with DnG Music studio to record her debut solo album.

On April 27, Angie will be hosting and performing at the 2013 Mesa Super Custom Car Show at the Mesa Amphitheatre and appearing with Power Drive at the Cinco de Mayo celebration at Fuego Bar & Grill in Tolleson.

“Like I said, I need to clone myself,” she laughs.