[For Legal Reasons: NO POSTING OF IMAGES OR PICTURES OR CONTENTS FROM THE BOOK, posting the front cover of the book is okay. THE ORG DOES NOT HAVE PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THE BOOK OR ANY OF ITS CONTENTS - anyone caught doing so shall be dealt with accordingly - luv4u]

[No flaming, baiting, flinging poo of any sort. Discussion to be held in a civil manner. Remember all rules of the org apply. - luv4u]

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Ok here we go...Chapter 1, Pages 11-29

Talking Points

1. Both sets of Parents

2. The Sister

3. Leg Braces

4. Family Friend

5. The Parents Relationship

6. The Grandparents

7. That's Incredible

.

Ok... GO

NOTE: Here are some rules to follow

Chapter by chapter and hopefully Michelle will create a timeline for each chapter.

Civil discussion, if trolls or flamers enter into the discussion, do not respond and just move on.

We will start the next chapter discussion when the previous one is finished. No skipping ahead.

.

And last but not least:

.

The Most Beautiful: My Life with Prince Book Club

1st thread - http://prince.org/msg/5/440423

PennyPurple said:

revolution75 said:

The parents had a very strange relationship. I wasn't expecting it to take the turn that it did. Her ability to accept certain things were shaped from that.

Maybe this is why she always thought her and Prince would get back together.

.

I was surprised that the mom didn't realize she was pregnant until she was 6 months along.

I can't listen to the book anymore right now so I guess I'll give my thoughts on Chapter 1.

I agree. Mayte's family disfunction matches P's and it's easy to see where she got the personality to sorta not wanna rock the boat.

That family freind assh*le will get what he deserves. Karma's a b*tch.

I had no idea about Mayte's level of professional dancing. I just thought she was a pretty girl who seemed to make P happy.

PennyPurple said:

Ok here we go...Chapter 1, Pages 11-29

Talking Points

1. Both sets of Parents

Prince's parents:

Hardly discussed in this chapter. Mayte says he hardly talked about his early childhood. Perhaps because it was too painful or perhaps because he had already worked a lot of those issues out to a point where he didn't need to talk about it too much and had really moved on with the life he had created for himself. This is the first time I'd heard that he'd been locked in a closet--not cool.

Mayte's parents:

Weird situation but such is life. It is strange about Janell (Nelly?) not knowing she was pregnant until she was 6 months along. I know it can happen--there are stories of women not knowing until they actually give birth--but probably not very common. My instinct tells me she probably knew before then but waited for whatever reason. Maybe fear or perhaps this woman who Mayte sort of portrays as a planner waited so long so that there were less options available.

edit: I always thought Mayte's mother's name was Janell and she went by the nickname Nelly. The book seems to indicate her given name is Nelly--anyone else have input on that?

LBrent said:

What is sad was when she said that the man stopped coming around the house when her mom moved out. Leads me to believe that he was one of her mother's flings. The Dad seemed pretty protective, wonder why he didn't do anything, when she said the adults didn't listen to them. ?

Timeline for Chapter 1

June 7, 1958 – Prince Rogers Nelson is born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

..

1969 – Janice Garcia, Mayte’s sister, is born.

1969 - The Garcia family starts living a typical military family life of movind from base to base.

..

November 12, 1973 – Mayte Garcia is born on a military base in Enterprise, Alabama, USA.

..

Mid-1970s – Belly dancing is a popular activity at the Garcia family's local YMCA.

..

Around 1976-1977 – Mayte starts dancing at age 3.

..

Around 1978-1979 – Matye starts taking dancing lessons in North Carolina at age 5.

..

Around 1980 – Video cameras are available for everyday people.

1980 – Prince tours with Rick James.

1980 – Mayte and Nellie (Mama) have a busy schedule of dance performances and seminars.

..

Around 1980-1981 – Mayte appearsn on a syndicated show called PM Magazine.

Around 1980-1981 – John Garcia goes to Korea. The relationship between John and Nellie becomes strained.

Around 1980-1981 – A family friend molests Mayte and Janice.

..

Around 1981-1982 – When Mayte is 8 years old, the Garcia family travels to Atlanta, Georgia, USA in order to take dance classes from belly dancing stars Ibrahim “Bobby” Farrah and Amir.

Around 1981-1982 – Amir and George Abdo watch Mayte dance with a sword. George Abdo calls Mayte the “Eighth Wonder of the World.”

..

Early 1980s – Mayte appears on the show That’s Incredible.

Early 1980s – Mayte and Jan spend summers with their grandmothers in Puerto Rico.

Early 1980s – Mayte and Jan’s paternal granmother, Grandmother Nelly, records VHS tapes of MTV, and sends the tapes to Myte and Jan.

..

1983 – Just before she turns 10 years old, Mayte and Jan see Flashdance at a movie theatre in North Carolina, USA.

..

1984 – Jan, Nellie (Mama), and Mayte go to see the movie Purple Rain.

Thank you Michelle! That is awesome!!

SweetKathleen said:

PennyPurple said:

Ok here we go...Chapter 1, Pages 11-29

Talking Points

1. Both sets of Parents

Prince's parents:

Hardly discussed in this chapter. Mayte says he hardly talked about his early childhood. Perhaps because it was too painful or perhaps because he had already worked a lot of those issues out to a point where he didn't need to talk about it too much and had really moved on with the life he had created for himself. This is the first time I'd heard that he'd been locked in a closet--not cool.

Mayte's parents:

Weird situation but such is life. It is strange about Janell not knowing she was pregnant until she was 6 months along. I know it can happen--there are stories of women not knowing until they actually give birth--but probably not very common. My instinct tells me she probably knew before then but waited for whatever reason. Maybe fear or perhaps this woman who Mayte sort of portrays as a planner waited so long so that there were less options available.

i dont know how old her mum is ,but maybe she was really young with the 1st pregnancy and couldn't acknowledge it....The mum seems really controlling and like a dance mum

SweetKathleen said:

PennyPurple said:

Ok here we go...Chapter 1, Pages 11-29

Talking Points

1. Both sets of Parents

Prince's parents:

Hardly discussed in this chapter. Mayte says he hardly talked about his early childhood. Perhaps because it was too painful or perhaps because he had already worked a lot of those issues out to a point where he didn't need to talk about it too much and had really moved on with the life he had created for himself. This is the first time I'd heard that he'd been locked in a closet--not cool.

Mayte's parents:

Weird situation but such is life. It is strange about Janell not knowing she was pregnant until she was 6 months along. I know it can happen--there are stories of women not knowing until they actually give birth--but probably not very common. My instinct tells me she probably knew before then but waited for whatever reason. Maybe fear or perhaps this woman who Mayte sort of portrays as a planner waited so long so that there were less options available.

Probably scared. Janelle's mother seemed really strict. Her fathers mother seemed more relaxed.

My thoughts on chapter 1:

- Mayte had a lot of dysfunction in her childhood, just like Prince did. (For the record, it's kind of hard for me to relate to that kind of dysfunction because I had a very stable childhood. My parents had a good marriage, I lived in the same house for my entire childhood, and I was never abused or neglected. )

- I can relate to being teased in school, although I was not teased for the same reasons (racial) as Mayte.

- I like Mayte's explanation of the origin of her name. Mayte is not a common first name, so I was wondering how her name came to be.

- I thought it was interesting that Grandma Nelly sent tapes of MTV videos to Mayte and Jan. I never asked my grandparents to let me watch MTV, and even if I did so, I don't think that my grandparents would have encouraged me to watch MTV.

- I knew that Mayte started bellydancing when she was a child and that she appeared on some TV shows, but I had no idea how much of her childhood was spent bellydancing. I also had no idea that she was making money as a bellydancer at such a young age.

PennyPurple said:

SweetKathleen said:

Prince's parents:

Hardly discussed in this chapter. Mayte says he hardly talked about his early childhood. Perhaps because it was too painful or perhaps because he had already worked a lot of those issues out to a point where he didn't need to talk about it too much and had really moved on with the life he had created for himself. This is the first time I'd heard that he'd been locked in a closet--not cool.

Mayte's parents:

Weird situation but such is life. It is strange about Janell not knowing she was pregnant until she was 6 months along. I know it can happen--there are stories of women not knowing until they actually give birth--but probably not very common. My instinct tells me she probably knew before then but waited for whatever reason. Maybe fear or perhaps this woman who Mayte sort of portrays as a planner waited so long so that there were less options available.

Probably scared. Janelle's mother seemed really strict. Her fathers mother seemed more relaxed.

I agree she was probably scared. Not only did Mayte's grandmother seem strict--but very judgmental. I'd be planning a route out of that household too.

Yeah, reading how her life was explains a lot, doesn't it? She's a tough chick, definitely. Tough in her her own way.

-I thought it was funny how Mayte described her mother only dating men from the ROTC so she could get away from Puerto Rico lol

-I would say the "family friend" story surprised me but it didn't. It's such a shame that a young girl's innocents can be taken in the blink of an eye. So many young girls share the same story & it affects the rest of their lives

-The description of her grandmothers mentality didn't surprise AT ALL lol I'm glad she mentioned it though. I've heard this 1000x over about MANY (NOT ALL) Puerto Rican grandparents not wanting ANYONE in their family to associate with darker skinned black people. I'd bet they'd have a heartattack if they found out what's in their dna mixture.

She said her parents names were John and Nelly and her middle name Jannell came from a combo of her parents names.

SweetKathleen said:

PennyPurple said:

Ok here we go...Chapter 1, Pages 11-29

Talking Points

1. Both sets of Parents

Prince's parents:

Hardly discussed in this chapter. Mayte says he hardly talked about his early childhood. Perhaps because it was too painful or perhaps because he had already worked a lot of those issues out to a point where he didn't need to talk about it too much and had really moved on with the life he had created for himself. This is the first time I'd heard that he'd been locked in a closet--not cool.

Mayte's parents:

Weird situation but such is life. It is strange about Janell (Nelly?) not knowing she was pregnant until she was 6 months along. I know it can happen--there are stories of women not knowing until they actually give birth--but probably not very common. My instinct tells me she probably knew before then but waited for whatever reason. Maybe fear or perhaps this woman who Mayte sort of portrays as a planner waited so long so that there were less options available.

edit: I always thought Mayte's mother's name was Janell and she went by the nickname Nelly. The book seems to indicate her given name is Nelly--anyone else have input on that?

[Edited 4/5/17 16:55pm]

What about when Prince wanted to change her name & if she did she knew she would get the wrath of her Mama.

lotusflower0000 said:

-I thought it was funny how Mayte described her mother only dating men from the ROTC so she could get away from Puerto Rico lol

-I would say the "family friend" story surprised me but it didn't. It's such a shame that a young girl's innocents can be taken in the blink of an eye. So many young girls share the same story & it affects the rest of their lives

-The description of her grandmothers mentality didn't surprise AT ALL lol I'm glad she mentioned it though. I've heard this 1000x over about MANY (NOT ALL) Puerto Rican grandparents not wanting ANYONE in their family to associate with darker skinned black people. I'd bet they'd have a heartattack if they found out what's in their dna mixture.

The kicker being that the grandmother is half black.

PennyPurple said:

Thank you Michelle! That is awesome!!

You are welcome. I'm happy to contribute. It actually helps my comprehension of the text.

lotusflower0000 said:

-I thought it was funny how Mayte described her mother only dating men from the ROTC so she could get away from Puerto Rico lol

-I would say the "family friend" story surprised me but it didn't. It's such a shame that a young girl's innocents can be taken in the blink of an eye. So many young girls share the same story & it affects the rest of their lives

-The description of her grandmothers mentality didn't surprise AT ALL lol I'm glad she mentioned it though. I've heard this 1000x over about MANY (NOT ALL) Puerto Rican grandparents not wanting ANYONE in their family to associate with darker skinned black people. I'd bet they'd have a heartattack if they found out what's in their dna mixture.

Interesting points about racial dynamics. I happen to be 1/4 Afro-Colombian by heritage (via mother's biological father). My mom was adopted, and I've never met her biological father, so Colombian cultural traditions have not been passed down to me. But I wonder if when Mayte says that her grandmother was half black, the blackness was Afro-Puerto Rican or African American.

LBrent said:

lotusflower0000 said:

-I thought it was funny how Mayte described her mother only dating men from the ROTC so she could get away from Puerto Rico lol

-I would say the "family friend" story surprised me but it didn't. It's such a shame that a young girl's innocents can be taken in the blink of an eye. So many young girls share the same story & it affects the rest of their lives

-The description of her grandmothers mentality didn't surprise AT ALL lol I'm glad she mentioned it though. I've heard this 1000x over about MANY (NOT ALL) Puerto Rican grandparents not wanting ANYONE in their family to associate with darker skinned black people. I'd bet they'd have a heartattack if they found out what's in their dna mixture.

The kicker being that the grandmother is half black.

Lol I just don't get it.

lotusflower0000 said:

PennyPurple said:

What about when Prince wanted to change her name & if she did she knew she would get the wrath of her Mama.

I died laughing at that. "Wouldn't it be cool... "

"Dafuq? NO."

206Michelle said:

lotusflower0000 said:

-I thought it was funny how Mayte described her mother only dating men from the ROTC so she could get away from Puerto Rico lol

-I would say the "family friend" story surprised me but it didn't. It's such a shame that a young girl's innocents can be taken in the blink of an eye. So many young girls share the same story & it affects the rest of their lives

-The description of her grandmothers mentality didn't surprise AT ALL lol I'm glad she mentioned it though. I've heard this 1000x over about MANY (NOT ALL) Puerto Rican grandparents not wanting ANYONE in their family to associate with darker skinned black people. I'd bet they'd have a heartattack if they found out what's in their dna mixture.

Interesting points about racial dynamics. I happen to be 1/4 Afro-Colombian by heritage (via mother's biological father). My mom was adopted, and I've never met her biological father, so Colombian cultural traditions have not been passed down to me. But I wonder if when Mayte says that her grandmother was half black, the blackness was Afro-Puerto Rican or African American.

That's good question! I'm willing to bet that it was Afro-Puerto Rican.

[Edited 4/5/17 18:02pm]

Regarding the tumultuous nature of Mayte's parents's marriage, I wonder if some of the instability comes from the marriage basically being a "shotgun" marriage done as a result of a pregnancy. Getting married because of a pregnancy was definitely more common in the 1960s and 1970s than it is now.

PennyPurple said:

LBrent said:

Chapter I Parents & Family -

I focused on Mayte being an Army Brat with a military family. I don't know how many other org members come from those roots, but it hit home to this Brat.

Some, probably way too much, generalizations about military families:

1 - the family itself is as tight as tight can be. Functional or not. Your parents & sibs are the only consistents.

2 - you make friends fast, and prepare to leave them behind almost as fast FAMILY IS YOUR LIFE

3 - your behavior can impact your parents social and career status - not kidding.

you learn early to sit nice and smile.

4- Nellie being an officer wife is no joke. Its an important thing!

5 - Most military kids can spot another one a mile away. They grow up early

Thanks Mayte for bringing 'standby' travel memories back to me