Phoenix Navarro | Bellport
Stories Worth Telling
quiet ✧ loyal ✧ strong
Phoenix Navarro is a 26-year-old visual artist and owner of Bellies' Books, an independent bookstore that doubles as a community gathering space in Bellport, Maine. He grew up in rural Texas as the painfully shy kid who sat alone at lunch until Jules Basso befriended him freshman year—a friendship that would eventually lead them both to Bellport's more accepting shores. Transitioning in college helped Phoenix finally find his voice, transforming him from withdrawn observer to someone with quiet confidence and a grounding presence that anchors his more chaotic friends. He's thoughtful and deeply empathetic, the kind of person who notices everything but only speaks when he has something meaningful to say, though when he does talk, his dry humor catches people off guard.
❝There's something about the coast in winter—the way everything gets stripped down to what matters. That's what Bellport gave me. A place to stop performing and just... exist.
✧ Bellport, ME ✧
Bellport is a small fishing town on the midcoast of Maine that's become a quiet haven for the queer community over the past few decades. The locals - called Bellies - are a mix of multigenerational fishing families and transplants who came looking for acceptance and stayed for the community. Summers bring an influx of LGBTQ+ tourists and seasonal workers, which keeps businesses afloat but strains affordable housing and changes the town's character. Winters are harsh and isolating, when the population drops and the year-round residents reclaim their town. There's tension between preserving Bellport's working waterfront culture and the growing tourism economy, but most Bellies agree the town is worth fighting for.
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