MUSIQREIV

Musiq Cultura RVA was founded, and is currently home, to one of Richmond's local LGTBQIA+ musicians and multi-media artists, First Generation Immigrant, and Human Resources Strategist, MusiqReiV.

 

MusiqReiV is short for musiq loving Reina Violeta. Among some of MusiqReiV's most notable performances are: opening up for Uruguayan Artist Juan Wauters' North American Tour 2022, Rhythm on the River 2021 at VMFA, and playing the bass for Stayathomedad's Album Live Video Performance, Sweet. Among her favorite places to play are lounge-y, quiet bars none knows about. 

Growing up, ReiV was known as "Violeta" by her Latin-American friends and family who spoke Spanish, while her English-speaking friends called her "Reina." As a grown up today, Reina decided to combine her names together while onstage, because it's where all of her worlds and cultures collide, making beautiful music in the process at times.

MusiqReiV grew up in Guatemala, and then in the Southside of Richmond, where the minority communities became her second family in a foreign land.
 

ReiV's immigrant parents never stopped telling tales of her bursting out loudly in song during their public bus commute as a child in the city. She was later thrown into the local Church Choir by fate (and by "fate," we mean mostly her dad, who was the local preacher at the time and needed a choir director and audio engineer for the service, lol), and embraced music as a passionate coping mechanism to life's problems.

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She soon discovered her love for the guitar and violin by accident, piano, bass, drums and any other instrument that seems to catch her ADD brain and heart along the way. (All except for the eluding saxophone! Grrr...) They have also used multi-media art as a means of self-expression for years before putting their artwork out for others to enjoy more recently.

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Her music sounds range from English/Spanish/French funky, Latin, soulful renditions and fusions of classic rock sounds, to her own queer love lullabies & nostalgic sounds that seek to tenderly transcend listeners to a different time when everything was alright, or more nostalgic. There's also loop pedals! Eeek!

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MusiqReIV is also a professional producer of five (5)years, an audio engineer of ten (10) years, a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter of eighteen (18) years, and for almost 8 years now, a certified Human Resources & Payroll professional as well.

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The foundation for Musiq Cultura RVA came out of need and passion to bring together a community of "regular" people who happen to be creatives and whom you and I may not have known about otherwise; professionals and regular persons who are creative in their entrepreneurship and life, and folks who didn't always have the best resources or support within reach to rise to the next level of their story.

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This organization is dedicated by MusiqReiV, to her family and all the good they taught: Jose, David, Ma, & Daddy, MamaMoga, Tia Vicki, and la Tia Chenta, and her cousins.

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In her words: "Grab a seat; stay a little."