Destra Garcia takes the bacchanal to her own TV show

With no official Carnival 2021, soca star Destra Garcia has moved the bacchanal from the stage to the screen with her talk show, The Destra Garcia Show.

Covering pop culture, social issues, and trending topics, the self-styled Queen of Bacchanal is giving the public a peek at her personality. Putting on no airs, she chats with music colleagues, celebrities, and professionals in other fields in a very organic and entertaining way.

Garcia told WMN she was approached by TT’s newest TV station, WESN – Content Capital, to host a talk show with a panel of other women. However, that fell through and she was asked if she would be interested in doing her own show.

“I was hesitant because I wasn’t sure it was something I could carry on my own especially since the initial idea planted in my head was one where I would have a shared responsibility for content, visuals and so forth. I had to think about it because it’s was not a capacity that I saw myself being in.”

She used to say jokingly that she could do what talk show hosts do but was never serious about it. She was also unsure if she would have the time to do a live show as she was still recording and had commitments for virtual events, but she decided to try it.

The first show aired on November 14 and she was extremely nervous. Not only was it something new to her, but she did not want to make a mistake on live TV where she could not stop and ask for another take. That day, the only time she relaxed a little was during commercial breaks.

Since then, with more shows under her belt and mostly positive feedback, she has been breathing a bit easier.

She was pleasantly surprised by people’s positive reception of the show. She was waiting for someone to tell her to stick to singing but instead, people told her she was a natural. And she finds it to be a great way to connect with fans during the covid19 pandemic since she can not tour and interact with them physically.

Destra said she, the channel and the show’s producers, including the creative producer, her sister Kalifa Garcia, just wanted to produce good television – something worth watching while people were home during covid19.

“We wanted it to be something that people could go back and watch, talk about, be inspired, find out something they didn’t know or just laugh. And it’s called The Destra Garcia Show so I get to be me. I get to be really over-the-top if I want to without any judgement and I get excited about the stuff I’m talking about.

“I think it’s popular because people are seeing a totally different side of me. People who know Destra the entertainer know I’m a good vocalist, that I’m a mash-up-de-place kind of female, the queen of bacchanal. But people don’t know I’m quite fun, funny, I joke a lot, I talk a lot of crap. From the time the show starts until it ends, you see my personality in the rawest, truest form.”

She thanked the show’s makeup artist Shaniece Pillai, The Flawless Look by Ackie for doing her hair, and Epic Clothing for her wardrobe as they make her feel confident that she is well put together which allows her to focus on being herself.

She hopes to inspire, advise, empower, educate, and entertain with the diverse show.

On Mondays she focusses on men’s issues and usually has a male guest. Wednesday’s focus is beauty and usually has a segment called BUtiful. And Fridays are feel-good or flashback Fridays which is reflected in the music and guests.

Her guests have included former Miss Universe Wendy Fitzwilliam, Barbados soca star Alison Hinds, cricketer Dwayne Bravo, music producer Kernal Roberts, Yuma's Tanya Gomes, designer Anya Ayoung Chee, and more.

She said she could see herself continuing with the show even when people are more free to move around and interact with each other and she is once again on tour. Some episodes of the show may have to be recorded instead of live when she has to be out of the country, or she may have to film on location but she would like to keep it going.

Let the music play

Despite the show, Destra continues to do her music. She has performed at several virtual events both locally and overseas, and is working on a project that is scheduled to be aired on the week of Carnival.

“Performing virtually is not the same. I’m not a fan of it but I understand the fans want to see the artistes so sometimes we have to adjust and give the people what they want.”

She has also been recording and has released three songs so far for the 2021 Carnival season. Stress Reliever with Kerwin Du Bois was released in November. The song is on the Candy Shack Riddim and was produced by Stadic and Jonny Blaze.

“Kerwin checked me with that song. He said, ‘I have a song for you yuh know.’ I was like, ‘I not feeling to sing nothing right now. With covid I just feeling to watch TV and Netflix.’ He said, ‘Girl! Get up out of that chair eh! We have work to do!’ Previous to that, the encouragement was lacking but with that song I started to get back that confidence to record more music."

Her second song, Gyal Bubble on the Bounce It Riddim has a dancehall feel. She said she tries to stay current, and with a lot of dancehall styles being produced by Trinidadians, she was excited to record it. Written by Dnyce and produced by NyceNation, the track went viral on TicTok and Instagram.

Her most recent release, Meh Business on the Jooking Board Riddim, was written by Seumas Keelan “Azaryah” Callender and Anthony Chow Lin On, and produced by Kernal Roberts and Azikiwe “ZZ” Kellar.

In this song she again took on the Lucy persona of her 2015 hit of the same name. She described the song as the “Trini vibe, culture and energy embodied in song.”

Despite there being no official Carnival and limited events, she said she would continue recording soca and releasing music throughout the year. She was also contemplating releasing an album.

“For some people soca is like air. Not just for the people who receive the soca, but also the people that make it and perform it. After literally being pulled off the couch and doing the first two songs, I realise the difference in me. It made a difference in my heart, energy, spirit, soul and vibe. I started to feel the joy trickling back into my bloodstream – hearing the music, dancing to it, and now hearing the reaction of people. It’s like they were thirsty and they get a bottle of fresh water.”

She wants to give the fans music to listen to and contribute to keeping Carnival alive.

“Even if we can’t go on the road and enjoy it, we could still hold a vibe at home. The spirit of Carnival is something you can not see. It’s bigger than the parade. It’s bigger than the competitions. The spirit of Carnival is this period that happens in TT before Ash Wednesday comes.”

Destra, 42, entered her first calypso competition when she was ten years old. Since then, she has sung calypso, soca, which she has done for 21 years, dancehall, and most recently, parang with Jerome “Rome” Precilla who "twisted her arm" until she agreed to try it with the song Lie Lie Lie.

“I’ve done it all. I’ve dabbled in many genres. Here I am thinking, ‘What’s next?’ Which is why I think I’m so excited about my show, because it’s something new.”

The Destra Garcia Show can be viewed on WESN – Content Capital on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 pm to 2 pm.