Edgar David Nazario
I was born in South Carolina, raised in Puerto Rico, and currently live in Maryland. From childhood, I gravitated toward drawing and storytelling - an impulse that would eventually show up across everything I do. I won awards for poetry and short fiction in high school, already chasing that narrative thread that would end up defining my creative work.
I'm self-taught as a musician. Picked up piano at 13, guitar at 15, and started writing songs shortly after. Over two decades, I performed as frontman, guitarist, and bassist across Baltimore's Fells Point music scene with bands including Heads Up, Total Distraction, Time Apart, Mark Bray Band, Close Call, and Bad Hombres. I released two full-length albums and an EP with Dossis, The Purge Effect, and Poé.
My visual work started with filmmaking - I directed over 25 music videos for Baltimore artists, along with two short films and a web series. During COVID lockdown, I taught myself to paint, producing over 400 works in soft pastels, gouache, and oils. My paintings focus on memory, identity, and place, particularly exploring my relationship to Puerto Rico and Baltimore. My "Baila!" series - oil paintings celebrating dance in Latinx culture - was displayed at the Chesapeake Arts Center for Latinx Heritage in September 2024. I recently started working in sculpture, continuing my practice of learning by doing.
Storytelling is the thread connecting everything I make - whether through music, film, or visual art, I'm consistently drawn to capturing moments, places, and experiences that resist easy preservation.