Mayte Garcia

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Mayte Garcia, 2013

Mayte Jannell Garcia (born November 12, 1973 in Enterprise , Alabama ) is an American dancer , choreographer , actress and singer . She worked with Prince , among others , and was a member of his backing band The New Power Generation from 1992 to 1996 . She was also married to him from 1996 to 2000. After separating from Prince, Garcia devoted himself mostly to acting.

Life

Childhood and youth

Mayte Jannell Garcia's parents are from Puerto Rico . Her father John Garcia (born December 4, 1946) was an employee of the US military , her mother Janelle (born May 10, 1948), nicknamed "Nelly", was a language teacher. The two married in August 1973. John Garcia was training in Alabama in November 1973 when Mayte Jannell Garcia was born. Her first name "Mayte" is the Spanish short form of "Maria Theresa", her middle name "Jannell" is a combination of John and Nelly, the first names of her parents. They got divorced over the years and remarried in 1985. Garcia has an older sister named Janice Mayte (born June 3, 1969), who has been married to a woman since 2008.

Prince during the Nude Tour in 1990

As a baby, Garcia had hip dysplasia that required 18 months of treatment. At the age of three she attended a ballet school for the first time and learned belly dancing . Together with her mother, she performed in restaurants and at parties, her father supported the performances musically with tambourine and tabla games . In 1981, as a 7-year-old, Garcia took part in the US television show That's Incredible! (1980–1984) and performed as the world's youngest professional belly dancer at the time; In addition, lying on her back, she placed three 25-cent coins at the level of her belly button and let them roll back and forth using her abdominal muscles.

From 1985 Garcia lived in Germany for six years, namely in Hainerberg near Wiesbaden , because her father was transferred to the local military base. Garcia attended the General H. H. Arnold School in Wiesbaden, which belongs to the so-called Department of Defense Dependents Schools .

During the school holidays, Garcia and her family attended a Prince concert for the first time on July 25, 1990 , which the musician performed as part of his nude tour in Barcelona at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys . Before the concert on August 8, 1990 in Mannheim in the Maimarkthalle, Garcia's mother gave a video cassette to Kirk Johnson, who was a dancer in Prince's band at the time. On the three-minute long video cassette Garcia had cut together belly dance scenes of herself. Johnson passed the video directly on to Prince, who watched it immediately and thanked her personally backstage , which happened in agreement with her parents and before the concert started. The meeting lasted only about 40 seconds. After Garcia had left Prince's dressing room again, the two stayed in touch by telephone and post; Garcia sent Prince more videotapes. In late December 1990, Prince invited her to his Paisley Park studio in Chanhassen , Minnesota for the first time .

In May 1991, Garcia graduated from high school and Prince was officially granted guardianship for the following six months up to her 18th birthday. When Garcia came of age in November 1991, she moved to Minneapolis, but did not live with Prince at the time.

family

Mayte Garcia, then 22, and Prince, then 37, were married on February 14, 1996 in Minneapolis , Minnesota. Only family members and close friends of the bride and groom were invited to the wedding, such as Mavis Staples , the two former members of The New Power Generation Michael Bland and Morris Hayes, and Bernadette Anderson (1932-2003), in whose family Prince from 1973 to 1976 as 15 to 18 year olds lived. Prince refused a prenuptial agreement .

Tommy Lee, 2005

On October 16, 1996, Garcia and Prince's son, Amiir, was born in Minneapolis. The child suffered from the rare genetic defect Pfeiffer syndrome type 2 and was born with severe physical and mental disabilities. It died a week later on October 23rd and was cremated that same day. In her autobiography of 2017 Garcia stressed that the Internet rumored name her son "Boy Gregory" was wrong offend and reporting on and hurt them.

In August 1997, Garcia was pregnant again but suffered a miscarriage in November . In mid-July 1998, Garcia and Prince separated physically and she moved to Marbella to a mansion that Prince had bought her. Public appearances by the couple rarely took place and only served to prevent speculation about a possible marriage separation. Eventually the marriage ended in divorce in mid-May 2000. Garcia was allowed to keep the mansion in Marbella, but sold it and moved to Harlem , New York City, to live with her sister. Looking back in 2015, Garcia said, "Losing two babies is really scary" and it took her "at least 15 years to get over it". About her marriage, she said that some “couples are brought closer together after the loss of a child, others are driven apart”, in her case “the latter happened”. Prince said of this marriage in a later interview, "Like many things in life that I don't like, I pretend it's not there and it goes away."

From 2001 to 2003 Garcia was in a relationship with Tommy Lee , who in 2004 was again the drummer of the band Mötley Crüe . Garcia and Lee were engaged to each other after his marriage proposal, but ultimately their wedding plans were discarded again. But they are still "good friends".

In 2010 Garcia was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis , although muscular problems have so far not been noticeable (as of 2019). In December 2012 Garcia adopted a girl (* 2011) who, like herself, was born on November 12th. Garcia is a single mother and has lived with her daughter in Las Vegas , Nevada, since 2019 .

Career

At the age of 15, Mayte Garcia recorded a cover version of the song Broken Wings in 1989 , with which the band Mr. Mister had a commercial success in 1985. As the B-side she played the piece Too Dramatic, which she composed herself . Garcia recorded both songs in a recording studio of a small Frankfurt record company; one of the music producers had seen her dance and wanted to bring her out as a singer. Ultimately, however, the label decided not to sign Garcia. In 1992 Too Dramatic was released as a single after all, after Garcia's popularity had risen continuously through her collaboration with Prince. However, it was not officially informed about the publication, nor was it involved in the turnover generated by the sale. However, the single could not place in the international charts.

The Paisley Park Studio

Collaboration with Prince (1991–1999)

In early December 1991, shortly after her 18th birthday, Garcia flew to Chanhassen , Minnesota to see Prince at his Paisley Park studio. She recorded the song However Much U Want with him , but Prince only released it on her album Child of the Sun in November 1995 .

From 1992 to 1996 Garcia was a dancer in Prince's backing band The New Power Generation and took part in, for example, the Diamonds and Pearls Tour (1992) and the Act I Tour and Act II Tour (1993). She also embodies a 16-year-old princess from Cairo who falls in love with Prince on the album Love Symbol , released in October 1992 . She can also be seen in various music videos that Prince produced between 1992 and 1996.

On January 16, 1994, Garcia made her debut as a solo artist in Minneapolis in the glam slam club owned by Prince. The slogan of their appearances was "Welcome 2 Erotic City" and contained dance performances to the then unreleased Prince song Pheromone from his album Come . In addition, Garcia presented belly dancing to appropriate instrumental music . Overall, she appeared until March 11, 1994 five times as a solo artist in the Glam Slam club of Minneapolis, which Prince sold a few years later.

Rita Moreno, 2000

In October and November 1995 Garcia was traveling in Europe and made music promotion for her upcoming album release Child of the Sun . The mass media , however, was less interested in the music, but was primarily interested in her current relationship status with Prince. Among other things, Garcia also appeared on German television with Thomas Koschwitz in his late night show at the time and sang the song If Eye Love U 2 Night in the playback . The Prince-produced album Child of the Sun was released on November 27, 1995 and was commercially unsuccessful.

In 1997 Garcia directed the project The NPG Dance Company, an ensemble consisting of 21 dancers. The NPG Dance Company performed 90-minute shows under the slogan “Around the World in a Day”, in which people danced to Prince music based on a choreography and light show designed by Garcia . The NPG Company's debut took place on October 17, 1997 in Detroit , Michigan, comprised a total of only five shows that were performed exclusively in the USA, and ended on November 1, 1997 in San Diego , California. Garcia received mostly positive reviews with The NPG Dance Company, but ticket sales were sluggish; the last show took place in a hall that was only half filled with spectators. After a break of three months, further shows should have originally followed in February 1998, but the project was canceled.

In June 1998 Garcia was the director of the music video produced by The One for the album Newpower Soul , in which Prince and actress Rita Moreno , among others, star. She also directed the video for the song U Move Me from Larry Graham's album GCS 2000 . This music video was shot on July 8, 1998 in Lake Calhoun , Minnesota, but has not yet been released (as of 2020).

On November 24, 1999, Garcia performed with Prince for the last time, at a live concert by the musician in Madrid at the Sala Aqualung.

The time after (since 2000)

After separating from Prince Garcia devoted himself to new projects. Through an agent hired by her, she directed the music video for I'm a Slave 4 U by Britney Spears , released in September 2001 , which was asked for by Australian choreographer Wade Robson .

Garcia also took acting lessons and appeared in guest roles on various US TV series, such as Nip / Tuck - Beauty Has Its Prize (2004), The Closer (2005), Las Vegas (2005), Psych (2007), Big Shots (2007), in six episodes of Army Wives as "Jennifer Connor" (2008-2009), CSI: NY (2009), The Whole Truth (2011) and in 2 Broke Girls (2016). She also plays a small supporting role in the two films Dus (2005) and Firehouse Dog (German: Rexx, the fire engine ) (2007). From 2012 to 2014 Garcia was seen in 32 episodes of the US reality show Hollywood Exes , which portrayed the lives of seven ex-wives of prominent men.

After Prince's death in April 2016, Garcia took part in a number of tribute concerts, such as the BET Awards with Sheila E. in June 2016 and a benefit concert organized by Prince's family in October 2016 at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul in Minnesota. In 2017, Garcia published her autobiography The Most Beautiful Girl: My Life with Prince .

Other projects

In 2013 Garcia founded the non-profit organization “Mayte's Rescue”, which is dedicated to “abandoned, abused or neglected” animals, especially dogs. On October 16, 2019, on this day her son would have turned 23, Garcia started the reopening of the non-profit organization “Love 4 One Another” (German: “Love for one another”). Originally, this charity was founded by Prince and her in 1996. The aim of this organization then as now is "to achieve better results for humanity by funding charitable causes". Garcia is supported by her sister Janice, Prince 's biological sister Tyka Nelson and Prince' s former employees Gilbert Davison and Kirk Johnson. Both “Mayte's Rescue” and “Love 4 One Another” are classified as type 501 (c) (3) in the US system .

Discography

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
If Eye Love U 2 Night
  UK 67 11/18/1995 (2 weeks)

Mayte Garcia released a studio album and six singles. In 1992 her cover version of the song Broken Wings by the band Mr. Mister was released and in 1993 the piece Too Dramatic was released by her.

On November 27, 1995, her album Child of the Sun was released on Prince's label NPG Records . The album, composed and produced by Prince, was only released in Europe. Four singles were released from the album; As a pre-release, their cover version of The Most Beautiful Girl in the World was released in July 1994, called The Most Beautiful Boy in the World , which describes the lyrics from a woman's perspective. On November 6, 1995 If Eye Love U 2 Night was released and in 1996 the piece House of Brick (Brick House) was released exclusively in Germany as a promo CD ; The song is a cover version of Brick House by the band The Commodores from 1977. It was not until October 2007 that Garcia released the song Rhythm of Your ♥ , which can only be purchased through their website . Apart from the single If Eye Love U 2 Night , all records were commercially unsuccessful and did not make it into the international charts.

Since 2013 Garcia has published DVDs in which she gives instructions on belly dancing.

Guest singer on Prince albums

On the following Prince albums Garcia worked as an accompanist :

literature

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ Garcia (2018), pp. 23-24.
  2. ^ Uptown (2004), p. 224.
  3. ↑ Garcia (2018), p. 346.
  4. ↑ Garcia (2018), pp. 24-25.
  5. ↑ Garcia (2018), pp. 27-28.
  6. ↑ Garcia (2018), pp. 30–32.
  7. ^ Uptown (2004), p. 115.
  8. ↑ Garcia (2018), p. 40.
  9. ↑ Garcia (2018), pp. 55-60.
  10. ↑ Garcia (2018), pp. 93–96.
  11. ↑ Uptown (2004), p. 116.
  12. ↑ Garcia (2018), p. 130.
  13. ↑ Garcia (2018), pp. 147–148.
  14. ↑ Garcia (2018), p. 159.
  15. ↑ Garcia (2018), p. 376.
  16. ^ Uptown (2004), pp. 196-197.
  17. ↑ Garcia (2018), p. 263.
  18. ^ Uptown (2004), p. 225.
  19. ^ Uptown (2004), p. 250.
  20. ↑ Clemmie Moodie: Prince's ex-wife Mayte Garcia: It was the most bizarre relationship ever but I will always love him. In: mirror.co.uk. June 12, 2015, accessed November 26, 2019 .
  21. ^ Uptown (2004), p. 232.
  22. ↑ Garcia (2018), pp. 355-360.
  23. ↑ Lauren Paige Kennedy: How Performer Mayte Garcia Is Managing MS with Confidence. In: brainandlife.org. 2019, accessed on November 26, 2019 .
  24. ↑ Garcia (2018), pp. 368–374.
  25. ↑ Mayte Garcia's official Facebook account
  26. ↑ Garcia (2018), pp. 67-68.
  27. ↑ Garcia (2018), p. 175.
  28. ↑ Uptown (2004), p. 127.
  29. ↑ Uptown (2004), p. 130.
  30. ^ Uptown (2004), p. 156.
  31. ↑ a b Uptown (2004), p. 190.
  32. ^ Uptown (2004), p. 214.
  33. ↑ Uptown (2004), pp. 224-225.
  34. ^ Uptown (2004), p. 246.
  35. ↑ Garcia (2018), pp. 354–355.
  36. ↑ Garcia (2018), pp. 364–365.
  37. ↑ Mayte Garcia in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  38. ↑ Garcia (2018), p. 381.
  39. ↑ Garcia (2018), p. 389.
  40. ↑ Marla Khan-Schwartz: 'He was loved and I still think about him': Mayte Garcia reflects on child loss, relaunches charity she founded with Prince. In: thecurrent.org. October 16, 2019, accessed January 8, 2020 .
  41. ^ Official website of Love4OneAnother
  42. ↑ officialcharts.com: Mayte in the UK charts
personal data
SURNAME Garcia, Mayte
ALTERNATIVE NAMES García, Mayte Jannell
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American singer, dancer, actress
DATE OF BIRTH November 12, 1973
PLACE OF BIRTH Enterprise , Alabama