Destra Garcia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Destra Garcia | |
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| Origin | Laventille, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Years active | 1998 - present |
| Genres | Soca |
Destra Garcia (born November 10, 1977) is a Trinidadian singer and songwriter. She specializes in the soca genre of music. Destra is noted for her high energy performances, harmonious vocal talent and eccentric fashion style.
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[edit] Childhood and early career
The oldest of four siblings, Destra was raised in the community of Desperlie Crescent, Laventille in eastern Port of Spain, and attended the St. James Secondary School where she discovered her passion for singing and music. She not only won the Calypso Monarch title for five consecutive years at her school, she composed every one of her songs.
At the age of 18 she joined a quartet called PSYKE which lasted for a year. Upon the demise of the group, Destra attended the School of Business and Management earning a diploma in selling and sales management.
[edit] Music and recording career
In 1999 Roy Cape took notice of her single album titled - “Ah Have A Man Already” with the group Third Base and invited her to join the Roy Cape All Stars Band as one of the lead vocalists.
She went solo briefly, but eventually joined the band Atlantik in late 2002. She remains the frontline singer for Atlantik and has forged a successful songwriting partnership with Kernal Roberts (until 2005 inclusive), churning out hits such as "Wha Yuh Want", "Negative Vibes" and "Bonnie & Clyde".
In 2003 Destra released her first album “Red, White, Black” which included her hit duet “It's Carnival” with Machel Montano. The song became the virtual anthem of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival and its popularity has not fallen.
[edit] Image
Destra is famous for her style. From short shorts, to the "rockstar" look, she has captivated audiences during her soca performances. On stage, Destra is perky and girlish, a Trinidadian version of an American pop princess. Destra has expressed her music and fashion style as a merger betweeen American punk rock and soca. This mix is evident in the instruments used in Destra's music.
Her 2006 look "soca fabulous" has been created by local designers such as Meiling and Peter Elias. From a new "glam" hairstyle, to her bold, risqué wardrobe, Destra's new look has been described as one which "is going to rock the town and will be a fashion force to reckon with."
[edit] Soca superstar
Destra won the Road March title in 2003 at the Labour Day Carnival in Brooklyn and also placed third in the Trinidad and Tobago Soca Monarch competition.
She is yet to win either the Road March or Soca Monarch title in her native land. Despite this, she has become an icon in the local music industry, specializing in pop-sounding soca compositions as well as fusion music encompassing aspects of East Indian culture.
In 2006, Caribbean Beat magazine described Destra's music as "the kind of sound that a young person, living at the crossroads of cultures and technologies that is Trinidad and Tobago today, is likely to produce, and the breeziness of her music may well act as an antidote to the hard edge which often characterises life not only in Trinidad and Tobago, but in many other corners of the globe."
Also in 2006, the Digicel mobile telecommunications group named Destra as its spokesperson in a two-year partnership agreement..
[edit] Albums and hits
Destra's released her first CD in 2003, entitled Red White & Black. Her second CD, Laventille was released in 2005.
Destra is well known for hits such as "Come Beta" (featuring Shurwayne Winchester) and "Bonnie & Clyde", released for the 2004 carnival season, and 2005 megahits "Fly" and "We Say So". She also paid tribute to her home town in 2005 with a track entitled "The hammer Revisited", a duet with calypso veteran David Rudder.
In 2006, Destra applied her unique flavour to the song "Aur Chale" in conjunction with the band Dil E Nadan, and released popular hits such as "Max It Up" and "Independent Ladies".
In 2006, Destra Garcia's song, "Bonnie and Clyde", was featured in a Parrot Bay commercial.
In 2006 she also released a song called "Jumpin'" that hit the musical ears of listeners with it's jumpy vibe(as the title of the song suggests). With her energy and her hook, and amazing voice, this indomitable songstress is able to attract listeners and make them fall victim to her spellbounding music and performances, which even negativity cannot quell. For that reason or another, she has also previously released a song entitled "Negative Vibes" which satirically belts out positivity as she sings: "Bread an' butter dun so hard to get, everyting in life you have to sweat". She is trying to communicate to her listeners that there are already so many problems to deal with, that negativity shouldn't add to the load. Destra Garcia is obviously not superficial, as she has ideas and concepts about life that can be useful to everyone in their own way. Many of Destra's personal friends remarked that she is an affable and positive person who is just "fun to be around". Destra Garcia is among the best female performers in Soca Music, and on a wider spectrum, in the world.
