Xclusive interview with author, actor, dancer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Mayte Garcia, Prince's first wife and band member in the New Power Generation. "My measurements were the code to the Vault," she tells Sam.
How can U just leave me standing? ...in search of Prince Rogers Nelson.Show Notes
Mayte Garcia was born in Alabama to parents of Puerto Rican descent, growing up in various part of the United States, and in Germany (due to her father’s career in the military), and spent her summers in Puerto Rico with her extended family.
A dancer from when she was basically out of the womb, Mayte began classical ballet and belly dancing at the age of just three years old. Inspired by her mother who was a professional, she became the world’s youngest professional belly dancer at the age of 8. She was even featured on the popular TV show, “That’s Incredible.”
While still in Germany, Mayte went to a Prince concert with her family. Her mother told her to send Prince a tape of her belly dancing to his song, "Thieves in the Temple" to show him her talents. The tape eventually made it into Prince's hands via a band member from The New Power Generation.
They kept in touch for 2 years, before she joined the NPG. In the 1990s as a featured dancer and background singer, she appeared in several music videos, as well as performing on tours, award shows, national and international television shows.
In 2017 as the world was mourning the loss of Prince, Mayte released her memoirs of that time in her life - “The Most Beautiful: My Life With Prince.” The heartfelt and touching autobiography which soared to the top of several best seller lists and has been translated into several languages.
Since then she has become well known for her charity work, both with Mayte's Rescue and Live4LoveCharities, and recently took part in a TEDx talk on YouTube explaining how her many life experiences have shaped her.
And we were delighted to have her on the show.
More from How can U just leave me standing? ...in search of Prince Rogers Nelson.
Born in Jackson Heights, New York, Alan Leeds is an American music industry legend, as a tour manager and production manager, he is best known for his work organising performances and concert tours for artists such as James Brown, Prince, KISS, Cameo, D'Angelo and Chris Rock.
Born in Jackson Heights, New York, Alan Leeds is an American music industry legend, as a tour manager and production manager, he is best known for his work organising performances and concert tours for artists such as James Brown, Prince, KISS, Cameo, D'Angelo and Chris Rock.
Born in Jackson Heights, New York, Alan Leeds is an American music industry legend, as a tour manager and production manager, he is best known for his work organising performances and concert tours for artists such as James Brown, Prince, KISS, Cameo, D'Angelo and Chris Rock.
Welcome to this very special 5th Anniversary episode of 'How Can U Just Leave Me Standing?' - the podcast where we go in search, of Prince. By talking to band members, artists influenced by the purple one, academics and fans, we shed further light on a unique musical legacy.
Jason Draper is a brand consultant and long-standing music journalist. As former Head of Curation at Universal Music Group and Reviews Editor of Record Collector magazine from 2006 to 2015, he now straddles both sides of the music industry, advising on content strategy and brand development for everyone from Warner Music Group to the audio-visual app jazzed. Author of the books Prince: Life and Times (2008; revised and updated in 2016) and A Brief History of Album Covers (2008), his work has also appeared in NME and Uncut, and as part of Royal Mail's prestigious stamp collections. He lives in London with his wife and Jack Russell terrier.