Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Calista Garcia of Brooklyn

We recently had the chance to connect with Calista Garcia and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Calista, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: When was the last time you felt true joy?
Dressing up to go to the movies. I went to see the new Guillermo del Toro Frankenstein and did full Bride of Frankenstein makeup, with stitches and the white streak in my hair. I listened to Oingo Boingo’s ‘Dead Man’s Party’ the whole time, and walking to the theatre, listening to music, feeling the chill in the air and seeing decorations, knowing I was going to see some really great art – that was an insane high.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi everybody, my name’s Calista Garcia, I’m a “whimsy-rock” singer/songwriter, dramatic composer/librettist, multi-instrumentalist, actress and educator based in Brooklyn. I’ve been playing music live since I was 11, and releasing music since 2019. Last June, I put out my second album “Animal Magnifique!” – an ambitious concept art rock/pop record, that’s probably the creation I’m most proud of ever.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I was really into Barbie dolls, specifically because I liked creating stories. I would create pretend music festivals based on XM radio and create pretend stage shows. I have this memory of casting like a makeshift Black Eyed Peas and Leona Lewis. I’d also use Spirit Halloween catalogs for inspiration for plots + characters. All to say, as a little girl in America, the world largely began telling me I had to BE a Barbie, but I think in purest form I just wanted to make stories. I think that’s probably a familiar story to a lot of young female creatives.

Is there something you miss that no one else knows about?
I miss dancing a lot. I was a ballet and modern dancer for about 10 years, before having a hip surgery that was a precursor to chronic conditions that would come down the line. When I lived in Corpus Christi, TX, I went to Munro Ballet Studio. It was this little purple house like building, with Degas paintings all over the walls, and we’d train to impressionist music and it was completely magical. I’m beginning to dance again, and feeling in tune with my body is so healing in all ways. But it’s small steps.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
I think, increasingly, yes. With this new album, as well as just brain development and increasingly self-knowledge, I feel like I generally present who I am and what I’m about. I would say, if someone is interested in knowing my deal from what I present, the most accurate picture is probably the new music, particularly the more confessional ones, “Animal Magnifique”, “Ghost” and “Spookshow”.

But I think it’s really important to differentiate that there are aspects that are personal, and aspects that are not. In the age of AI, it’s important to understand what we’re seeing online, and what intentions are behind it. There can be incredibly blurry lines of separation as a public-facing artist between the calling and the job, the essence/identity and the performance. In my day to day life, I don’t go around telling people to stream my music or buy my merch, certainly not as Calista, the person. Social media’s a highlight reel, and a lot of what I share is to show venues and co-bills my commitment to drawing a crowd.

I pretty much share that and activism, which does take up a big part of my heart, but also just so often feels like the only important thing to share with a public platform. So I’m probably less self-serious offline, but some of those sides are preserved for my friends and loved ones to know.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
I am a Latinx woman in rock music, so any and everything? These are interesting times. There’s a lot of internalized policing going on, as well as misogyny, xenophobia, the list goes on. So many of my favorite female artists have been absolutely torn to shreds by media, only to down the line be told they were ahead of their time. I’m thinking of Sinead o’Connor, Amy Winehouse, Fiona Apple, etc.

I find the archetype of misunderstood women to be fairly fascinating and attractive. Joan of Arc, Cassandra, Morgan le Fay, they all kinda rock. Not to say I want to go out of my way to feel ostracized, but I think it helps embolden me to know that if folks don’t get it, I’m not alone and it’s good company. Any subculture that’s ever been cool started underground, and was usually rejected at first.

There will always be people to whom I represent something that super cedes who I actually am. I don’t want to spend my life over explaining – if I got hit by a bus tomorrow I’d wanna know I spent my time creating or loving on my people. And that’s what whimsy’s about anyway, kinda not giving an eff.

Image Credits
Michaela Bootz
Henry Ryeder