Today we’d like to introduce you to Glenda Benevides.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Well, I jumped right into life with music from the beginning. I’ve been a professional singer, songwriter and entertainer since I was 16 and had the fortune to tour all around the world while singing with amazingly talented artists like Toto, Steve Smith from Dirty Vegas and more.
I am at the place now where the most important thing is stepping into and embracing what I consider is my deeper purpose. Being a more consciously intentional human and musician, which I believe is the key of excellence and to share my heart bravely.
For me this is service. To write music and tell a story that touches someone’s soul, to have them say, Hey, that’s my story! I believe this awakens the heart in a more profound way and has us step into all becoming a healthy human being.
I consider all music is connected to spirit and is transformative in some way. I’ll take my song and vocal ideas and dive into the musical colors. For example, the earth, sky, fire and add some water this can give not only visual ideas on where the song wants to lead but an earthy sacredness. This can be a bit abstract but I feel it can feed my soul and the soul of the song too. It’s a lot like painting in some ways.
I had different stages of life and now I have created a hybrid of music mixing, Blues, Soul, Roots to express who I am at this stage of life. It has a depth of trails that one can struggle with. The soul of blues is the inner cry of longing, something that speaks to the road you’re on. That’s powerfully transformative. It has been teaching me a lot.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life isn’t smooth. Life and what you create in art take a deep dive into ones self to understand and dig out the jewels and lessons. I feel if you can really look at one struggles or perceptions you can use that in your work and to shift things in your life… Obstacles and Challenges are not so much what is happening it’s what you are gonna do with it. How are you gonna perceive it and then what needs to shift? Ultimately your choice.
Those are the questions when coming up against trials and most of them are not equal or easy. I would say my biggest issue eventually becomes something I’ve shifted, that I took the lesson and moved on after it was complete.
So, thinking back it’s usually a question of what is next and how can I get there. Sometimes this comes with sharks and they use your desire, innocence and love for what you do to con you. Yes, I have been ripped off many times with people in positions that ask you to pay for something and do not deliver. Their emptiness and false promises in the long run hurt them.
There was a time that it was a huge painful lesson. It was when my father had passed away and left me a nice sum of money and I choose to use it for a musical project that was going to move my career forward but it didn’t. I ended up funding the project with no real results or at least the ones I intended. I felt the loss and pain of being lied to but when I looked I saw that I was not paying attention to my own inner voice. It told me to stop and I ignored it… Sound familiar?
At that point, I truly felt I had just lost all my dad’s money for nothing. It was horrible and painful. So, I picked myself up and got my lesson. I took that as a warning but not an angry shutdown to never trust or try again. I just ask better questions and follow my intuition on my next opportunity. Welcome to LIFE!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am an artisan. I write, record and perform music that connects you to an emotional response blending the light and the dark. Stepping into my own vulnerability, authenticity, and bad-assery gives people permission to do the same. I go deep so that I can lift the veil and bring love and transformation to the surface — thus creating an inclusive experience in all that I do for all who hear my music, experience my performance, read my book or do my workshops (Own The Goddess Within)
I am also an author. My book offers a look at what it takes to have clarity, courage, confidence and commitment in life and in all areas of life and the things we desire. I used my journey to share the insights and a map on how I did what I did to get me through my trials and triumphs.
I am most proud of being a contributing partner to a nonprofit called “One Tree Planted.” We plant trees all over the world. Every time someone buys my song or book I plant a tree for them. I’ve planted over 100 trees since we started. I also contribute the Recording Academy as a Grammy voting member.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Being a contribution to the people around me, to my community and most of all being a contribution to the greater whole through my music, lyrics and the heart. Being a mentor for Grammy University, planting Trees with One Tree Planted and rising awareness for environmental issues thus, inspiring people to see what inspires them to serve their community, planet and more. Just knowing we are all here together for a greater purpose and to live into our own dreams is a gift. To Unify!
Contact Info:
- Website: glendabenevides.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glendabenevidesmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glendabenevides
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glendabenevides
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHq2Z3HtKXKsFzCFJSPsXeQ
- SoundCloud: https://bit.ly/LuluWhiteStream
- Other: https://bit.ly/GBGCourage
Image Credits
Gene Williams, Michael Van Auken photography
