At the beginning of the week, Mayte Garcia was still trying to decide on the winners of the 10 $10,000 donations from her Live 4 Love Charities, an outgrowth of the organization she started more than 25 years ago with her then-husband Prince.
"Helping people up, and helping people out," said Garcia, who will present the awards Sunday at the Capri Theater in north Minneapolis.
The event will feature DJ Willie Adams from the Academy of Prince and Twin Cities singers Kathleen Johnson, Cornisha Garmon and LaMont Keten, among others.
Garcia and Prince launched the Love 4 One Another foundation on her birthday on Nov. 12, 1996 shortly after their week-old son died of a genetic disorder.
"We got married and we were expecting," Garcia recalled this week. "He walked into my office and said, 'I think we need to start a foundation, a charity to help others.' Absolutely. We didn't know what we were going to do; we just wanted to help in anyway we could. This was before the internet.
"The first one was at Paisley Park and we had kids come in and get free parkas and a free concert. It was really really beautiful."
After Prince died in 2016, Garcia discovered that someone had claimed the trademark for Love 4 One Another so she thought: "What would he do? He'd change it. So we changed it."
She transitioned to a charity to raise money as opposed to Prince funding it with tour receipts.
Live 4 Love has made donations to dozens of organizations including the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center in Chicago and Grammy in the Schools in Los Angeles and such Minnesota places as the Hazelden Foundation, Free Guitars 4 Kids, Joyce Preschool, Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, Sabathani Community Center and Givens Foundation for African American Literature.
This year, Garcia and her board of directors evaluated 150 nominations. Winners will be notified midweek so they can possibly attend Sunday's event in person or via Zoom.
"We're choosing some for children, some for homeless, we're trying to be as diverse as possible in picking," she said. "Basically it's the ones that grab at your heart."
Garcia, 50, lives in Las Vegas with her daughter Gia, 12.
"She's getting bigger and bigger and having opinions and taste. 'I need to express myself' 'Do you really have to wear this '90s rock shirt?' Twelve going on 17. She's amazing."
On Prince's vault, Paisley Park
Garcia still keeps in touch with what's happening in Purple, as she calls the Prince world. In a half-hour conversation, she never once said his name.
She had mixed reaction to the October release of the boxed set of "Diamonds and Pearls," Prince's 1991 album with the New Power Generation.
"It's nice to hear some of the stuff but some of it, 'Ow, why did they release that?' I know fans are enjoying [Prince's] process. That's how it was. You hear a demo from one song and it turns into another song. I'm happy it's released."
The boxed set includes a Blu-ray of a 1992 concert at Glam Slam, Prince's club in the Minneapolis Warehouse District.
"That was the first concert I ever performed with him," she recalled. "Glam Slam? That small little stage. I remember being so nervous."
She doesn't have a Blu-ray player but she wants her mother to see the concert. Garcia revisited the concert when she joined NPG members to re-enact the show with Prince's recorded vocals for Celebration 2022 at Paisley Park.
"I was like 'I could do it.' My body was like 'I don't know about that.' That show was just so energetic. I'm so happy people are getting to see that."
If Garcia were in charge of the Prince estate, she'd release more material from the vault, though not necessarily studio outtakes.
"Live, live, live. The recordings are great. I've heard everything. I've been in the vault many many times. [Studio material are] works in progress, which is fun. but the performances were always rehearsed and energetic. There was never one show that was 'eh' — ever. I feel sorry for those who never got to see him live.
"More needs to be released now. It's that balance to keep the hardcore fans happy and also being able to introduce his music, his legacy to young people. It can't be lost."
Prince memorabilia — from guitars to clothes — seems to find its way to posthumous auction regularly. Garcia sold some mementos, including jewelry and dishes, to raise money for her animal rescue. Last month, a collector from France auctioned the infamous yellow lace suit with its exposed backside that Prince wore to the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards.
"Everybody has their journey. I try not to judge," Garcia said. "I wonder how they got it. Mine was legit. It was our settlement. It was my property."
Garcia's life parallels that of Priscilla Presley, whom Elvis met in Germany when she was teen and became her legal guardian before wedding her. Prince did the same with Garcia, The Alabama-born dancer who was dancing in Spain while her father was in the service in Germany. Garcia has yet to see "Priscilla," a fall movie told from the point of view of Elvis' ex.
"I need to see it," Garcia said. "I saw 'Elvis and Me' [miniseries] years ago."
Garcia has her own movie in the works based on her 2017 memoir "The Most Beautiful: My Life with Prince." Last month, she signed a deal with Crazy Legs Productions; Gilbert Davison, Prince's former bodyguard-turned-manager, has reportedly signed on as associate producer.
This fall, Garcia was in Twin Cities, looking at houses for a possible part-time move to Minnesota.
She has ideas for Prince's old house, Paisley Park.
"I'm surprised I haven't been asked to give a tour," she volunteered. "Because I was there for so many amazing moments. I could tell you a whole bunch of stuff."
And use those tours to raise money for Live 4 Love Charities.
Live 4 Love Charities' Holiday Celebration
When: 5 p.m. Sun.
Where: Capri Theater, 2027 W. Broadway, Mpls.
Admission: Free with food donation, $20 donation, reservations at thecapri.org
