Destra launches Festival of Bacchanal

Marketing manager of the Pandemic Squad, John-Michael Alibocas pledged his allegiance and support to Garcia and revealed that the marketing strategy for her brand this year was to show off her “amazing talent and versatility” by “exploring different markets simultaneously”.

Speaking at the launch he said: “We started off with the Bashy riddim and a song called ‘Waistline Killer’ which is bashment soca. Then we released the ‘Technically’ with Farmer Nappy which is more groovy and what her fans are accustomed to hearing from her. Then we went into afro-soca with the song, ‘Closer’ – that’s also inviting her fans to get closer to her and following that we have ‘Run Road’ which is more dancehall soca and we just released her power soca, ‘Destra vs Lucy’… At the end of the day, Destra is the queen of the genre and therefore the best person to explore all these different markets.” Radio personality, Whitney Husbands served as the master of ceremonies, as director and co-founder of the fan support group known as “BakaNation – Team Destra”, Allister Ross expressed confidence in Garcia’s musical releases this season and volunteered full support for the promotion of her grand event as well.

“We have members located in different countries all over the world who are Destra fans,” he explained, “so we keep track of her music, appearances, outfits, etc and promote her songs and videos. I would like her to thank her for embracing us and for inviting me here to represent on behalf of all of her fans and supporters – it is indeed an honour and a pleasure for me.” Dressed in a curve-hugging black dress, Garcia was introduced as both a mother and a businesswoman, in addition to being one of the foremost female performers in the land.

She explained the reasons behind and apologised for the last-minute cancellation of last year’s concert and promised that the upcoming festival would make up for the lost opportunity.

“The whole idea behind this event is for me to have a place in Carnival where my fans from around the world can be sure to see me and experience my style and of course my music. I think I was a bit over-zealous last year and didn’t realise how bad a state our economy was in at the time, so I was forced to cancel it in the end but we learn from our mistakes and I have grown and now realise that as much as I may be good at multi-tasking, when it comes to this kind of enterprise, I can’t try to be the star and be the promoter and be the sales manager and graphic designer and everything else. I have a very good team around me now, so I have to trust in them to do their parts and focus on executing my role to the best of my ability.” Garcia also launched her latest investment on the night, the “House of Bacchanal”, which is a complex complete with offices, a recording studio, a loft for herself and band members to relax when compelled to overnight in Port-of- Spain and even a mini-venue/performance space at the back.

“This was really Brian’s work,” she gushed as she gave credit to her long-time partner and producer, “and I’m so amazed and proud of him for designing and managing this project from start to finish. We bought the property a few years ago, but it was Brian who had the vision of what it could become and he made sure to oversee it personally in order to create what you see here tonight.” For Garcia, who once battled with the tremendous and life-changing decision of leaving her day job to focus on music full-time, the last 16 years have justified her initial choice and she has been blessed with numerous hit singles, awards, endorsements and a family of people that support her and keep her grounded, while lifting her to new heights whenever she is faced with life’s challenges.

“I’m really thankful and I feel really blessed to be in this position now,” she revealed. “I remember I entered my first singing competition when I was just nine-years-old and I loved it and instantly became addicted to the stage. I had my doubt about the soca industry at first because it was difficult for women to succeed in this market, but 16 years later, I can say for sure that I persevered and I made my mark and I made it work! It definitely wasn’t easy at all and I faced many ups and downs along the way, but I’m still standing here today and I have my whole family with me and we continue to grow together in love and in music