René Calvo, composer, writer and director came to New York City as a dancer working with Yoshiko Chuma and The School of Hard knocks. After some years performing in the downtown post modern scene he turned his talents to the theater. There he created the off off Broadway serial Ailanthus Grove. The show ran for 72 episodes. While artist in residence at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center on The Lower East Side hke created a 55 minute experimental film called Let Me Be Frank in collaboration with artist Dawn Clements. In 2011 he started the band Goddess Lakshmi and has made 4 music videos with them. As one of founding members of Carbon County Democrats for Change he made 5 shorts including the award winning Tea Party Chickens. Concurrently he bought a dilapidated townhouse in Harlem in 2001and transformed it into The Harlem Flophouse. Internationally recognized for its unique beauty it has been the featured location in numerous fashion shoots, films and videos.