palabras NICOLE CHIPI

Vibing with home-grown Miami girls in the so-called "industry" is few and far between. This rare breed of woman is usually so jaded by the time she's reached 25, they've either fled town or locked themselves indoors to start saving for their time at Century Village. Thus is not the case for fiery Afrobeta front-woman Cristy Garcia.

After years of working with the best in music, theater, nightlife and culture - this girl still hits the dance floor like a firecracker all week long and is considered by friends and fans alike a scene staple.

Developing a reputation for both her outlandish stage costumes and high energy performances, this local girl and her band are poised for a big time musical take over.

Name: Cristy Garcia a.k.a Cuci Amador.

Age: I am Forever 21, no (laughs) 28.

Occupation: I am a freelance actor and a full-time musician.

Where do you come from? Well, my family is from Cuba. I come from Miami.

What's your favorite place in Miami? I don't know, anywhere that I'm comfortable, you know? Where the ladies talk to you in Spanish at the counter. Like at the counter at La Carreta and they're like 'Mijita'. That's definitely my favorite. Or my Mom's house.

What do you wish Miami had more of? Good restaurants.

Less of? VIP lines.

Where do you run away to? It's weird, it doesn't feel like running away because it's here but I guess I run away to festivals.

What's your favorite party or night in Miami? I love the backyard barbecue at PS-14 on Wednesdays.

What party do you miss? I miss that rollerskating party that Lolo used to do.

What is musically exciting to you right now? I saw Santogold at Coachella and I really liked her. I was into that.

Name a goal of yours you've achieved recently Recently we (Afrobeta) were named as one of the bands that are being selected in Miami on MySpace for a competition that they'll be doing. The voting starts on May 16th and if we get the most votes then we'll go to a competition that's a four-way battle of the bands and representatives of iTunes and Gibson and MySpace will be there and if we win then we'll get sponsorship.

What has been your favorite on stage costume? I love everything that I've ever worn that Krel has let me use and I can't think of one thing. OH! Fuck yeah, when we played on Lincoln Road, I wore roller skates and I had this hat that she made for this exhibition that was all Trucker Hats. She made a trucker hat that was all wrapped in her fabric and then had a little poof on the top and it had a mask that covered everything but the eyes. So, I was wearing that on my face and a shirt of hers and little short shorts and skates. Then someone lent me a wireless Mic so I was able to skate far from where we were playing. It was really trippy, very cool.

Who do you love to perform with? Other than Afrobeta, I had the opportunity to jam with some of the members of Locos Por Juana. We had a freestyle type of thing for the Monkey Village and that was awesome as far as on-stage chemistry. Also, Amin (deJesus) from Sueñalo.

What CDs never leave your car? I don't listen to CDs, I listen to Sirius. I listen to Left of the Center. Seriously though if I have to say obsessed it would be Howard Stern, because I listen to Howard Stern more than I listen to music. I love Howard Stern, he never leaves my dial. And I bought him OnDemand, it's like one-hundred-something dollars a year and I watch it when I get home. It's crazy. I'm into him, he's awesome.

If you were going to cheat on Tony musically who would it be with? Oh My God! Well, it wouldn't be cheating because we have an open relationship. He's touring with Pitbull, not that he's collaborating with him or anything. I would cheat on him with Otto for sure. I think I already sort of have, because we recorded a song together, it was me and Jose (el Rey) covering "Two of Hearts" and he's asked me to be in the Miami Bass Warriors, so we're in that crew. So, I guess it would be them technically. That's the answer really - I'm already cheating on him.

Where did you get your Quinceañera dress from for the Vagabond party? Oh, Goodwill! The Goodwill Superstore on 67th and Bird. I was trying to eat somewhere and I was on my way to a restaurant in that area and I drove by and I said 'Wait a minute, they're open'. It was 8:45, 15 minutes left and I walked in there and I saw it and I said 'This is it. This is the one'.

Who's your favorite DJ in Miami? Luis, DS363 from Deuce Crew. I always tell him he's my favorite DJ in Miami. He consistently keeps me dancing. And of course- fricking Induce. Anytime I go hear him and Matt Cash, anytime I hear them play it's amazing. They hold it down.

What's on the horizon for Cuci Amador? We're very excited for the competition and we're very excited to be back together so as far as my summer goes, that's what I'm looking forward to. I'm excited to be able to hunker down with Tony and I think we're gonna re-record everything that we have. I just want to keep writing, I feel like I can write on my own and doing things on my own and he's been writing things on his own. So when we get back together we're gonna join forces like He-Man and She-Ra.

Chequéa Afrobeta's MySpace