Destra Garcia
Charged and Ready for the Big Stage

In a career spanning a little more than a decade, Destra Garcia has cemented her reputation  as a soca diva; her  trademark - sassy and energetic performances delivered with a strong, throaty voice.  That voice was missed during Trinidad and Tobago’s 2010 Carnival celebrations but Destra, now a mother, is charged and ready for the big stage this year. Caribbean Belle spoke to the soca star about her daughter, Xaiya, her own childhood, and her plans for this year’s Carnival.

“We didn’t grow up very privileged,” Destra says of her childhood in Laventille, Trinidad. “I’m the eldest of four and very often the role of parent would fall on my shoulders...when my parents were absent, I was mommy and daddy and disciplinarian.”

Her family life, she says, was rooted in spirituality. “I grew up in a spiritual home...we didn’t have much money but we had other things...we learned to share at an early age because there wasn’t that much.” She claims, though, that no one ever went hungry: “My parents went out of their way to ensure that we always had something to eat. And when things got rough the extended family would pitch in ... That’s why I loved Christmas, we’d get presents from everybody...all the uncles. Even if it wasn’t big, you knew you were getting something.”

Music was an integral part of Destra’s upbringing. Her father, Lloyd Garcia, was an accomplished guitarist; and her grandfather, a saxophonist, had been a member of a prominent jazz band. “By three, I was singing while they accompanied me,” Destra remembers, laughing. “You know, friends would come over and they would say, ‘Sing for them.’”

By the time she was ten, the young singer was composing her own songs, with which she won her school’s Calypso Monarch title for five consecutive years. Her family, aware of her innate talent, supported her musical development: “My uncles used to take me to sing in Calypso competitions in City Hall and my mom used to make all my outfits and costumes.” There was, however, one condition: she had to do well academically. “They always told me that and it was like twisting a knife in my gut...I loved singing so much,” she remembers.

Destra’s soca career started in earnest when she joined the Roy Cape All Stars band as a lead vocalist. After pursuing a  brief solo career, she joined the band Atlantik in 2002. There, she joined forces with songwriter, Kernel Roberts, to produce hits like Wha Yuh Want and Bonnie and Clyde.

Her first album, Red, White, Black, produced in 2003, contained a duet with Machel Montano. The song It’s Carnival soon became a local and regional hit. Since then, she has collaborated with a number of artistes, including veteran calypsonian David Rudder, and has produced five albums. She is currently working on her seventh.

No one can question Destra’s determination and talent but the advent of motherhood can present a challenge to even the most focused artistes. When asked how she would balance her new role as mother with her career in entertainment, Destra laughed: “That is yet to be seen. I’ve faced some challenges with recording and writing...The usual stuff that was so effortless is now a task.” She noted, however, that her parents’ support, particularly her mother’s, will help her through the Carnival season.

Her daughter, Xaiya, is now a precocious one-year old. Admitting that she wanted a son, Destra explained: “I knew that if I had a girl and she was anything like me it would be a headache. I wasn’t bad as a child. I’m just very strong-willed and independent...and I see that in her already.” She gave an example: “She stopped breastfeeding at six weeks.  I was so disappointed; I was geared up for it. But I made the mistake of giving her the bottle once and that was it. She decided that the bottle was easier and refused to breastfeed...she knows what she wants.”

Destra, it seems, is also in touch with her own physical and emotional needs. “I needed the break,” she said of last year’s hiatus from Carnival. “I needed to take that time to come to terms with becoming a mother.” During her pregnancy, she read voraciously, exercised and bonded with her unborn child. “I was spiritually connected to myself and to my child. I was talking to her from the womb,” she said.

She believes that the break has also benefitted her as a performer. “I was running hard since 2000. And I needed to reflect on my music and my style...to revamp me.” The result, she claims, is a ‘more mature Destra, in terms of quality and sound’. “Expect a lot of energy...a lot of rage, not in a negative way, but I need to explode onstage,” she said. “I’ve done seventeen shows overseas since giving birth to Xaiya, but I can’t wait to return to Carnival in TT.”

According to Destra, her career has been a good one. “I think I’ve done a good job in terms of representing me and becoming a global name in soca,” she said. She is grateful for the collaborations and successes and looks forward to many more. But one thing will be the highlight of her life: “My daughter is the best thing that happened to me...everything that I do now is for her. She must look back at my life, at what I’ve accomplished, and be proud.”

- Ruth Osman