Today we’d like to introduce you to Juanita Bompart.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Juanita. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My name is Juanita Bompart. I am a wife, a mom, a recording artist, author and entrepreneur. I was born in Louisiana and I am the second oldest of eight children. When I was about seven, my family moved to Miami Shores in South Florida. I was the middle child of three kids at that time and both my parents taught school at North Miami Elementary. For as long as I can remember, I have always enjoyed singing and performing.
I was three years old when I told my mom and dad that I wanted to do what Janet Jackson was doing when I saw her performing her hit song Control on the NAACP awards. My parents were very supportive and they took the time to nurture my gift and create opportunities for me to share my talent. I grew up singing and performing all over South Florida. I would write songs and jump at opportunities to record and travel. Creativity was largely welcomed in our household.
Growing up, my mom had a very healthy imagination and she would tell us stories all the time. My dad was also a writer and he would write poetry mostly. I would say that my love for writing could have been born out of their example. My siblings all had creative skills and we would put on plays and concerts in the living room. At family reunions, we would get up on my grandma’s porch and sing. We would perform and carry on all night long. When I was fifteen, I recorded my first single that was released with my first music video. The song was entitled Choices and it played pretty regularly on BET.
I was eighteen when I graduated high school at North Miami Beach Senior High. From there, I got a full scholarship to Miami Dade Community College North Campus in order to pursue a degree in Music and Performance. It was here that I learned so much more about the technicalities of music. I fell in love with my craft all over again. I also had a new love, and I married him one year into school. I had met this Trinidadian guy at a music workshop on South Beach a few years prior and we would later perform together. My father even managed his career for a while but creative differences would separate them. Unfortunately, we did not remain connected and so we never saw Clinton again until some time had passed.
Shortly after reuniting, we fell in love and got engaged. After a year-long engagement, we were married. We became expectant parents soon after we tied the knot and we knew life was about to change. As excited as we were, I would be lying if I said I didn’t have any fears about having to say goodbye to singing and performing and living my dream. But, we took things one step at a time and ultimately just decided to continue on our path and include our child in the life that we had already begun to create.
When Elizabeth was born, I knew this tiny princess had a natural propensity to sing. She would always start singing when I would sing. When she was about four weeks old in fact, I noticed that she would babble until she met the note that I was singing to her. I can remember standing over her bassinet and listening to her do this and I knew that this was extraordinary! As she grew, I decided to stay at home with her and I would spend a lot of time telling her stories that I had made up and I also enjoyed writing music and recording with her by my side. Three years later, Savanah, my second daughter, was born and we discovered that she was also a singer. While Elizabeth had more of a rich, raspy quality to her voice, Savanah had a range that was profoundly delightful.
Elizabeth took an interest in writing music as well. When she was nine years old, she had written and recorded her first song entitled “God Really Loves You”. Just like that, she was doing exactly what her parents were doing. A few years later, she had completed a whole album written and co-produced by her. Savanah was more into putting on events and organizing shows. My husband and I encouraged our children to create and dream. And very many times my children saw their “dreams” turn into reality.
When Lexy was small, she was equally as musical and unique. This child would walk around the house, humming like an old church lady. She would hum while she did everything. But, when she opened her mouth, she had such a powerful voice. The girls were about 11, 8, and 4 when we learned a Christmas song and performed it for our church together. It was more impactful than we could have ever imagined! I would say that this was a turning point in our lives because it was here that we recognized that we had something really special when we sang together.
It was around this time that my husband pointed out that some of the stories I had been making up and telling the kids should be written down. So I released my first children’s book entitled Anna Pinelope Poolah. I had a small book tour and was traveling to libraries and then to bookstores and then to yogurt shops sharing my book and encouraging children and families to read together. All the while, my family was by my side, much like they were for the release of my debut album Sweet Lyric. The same for the BIO Women’s Conference, which was first planned in 2013 and closely alongside my Jita Gives Back benefit concerts that were hosted by the Non Profit organization Open Hands Inc. which is now our Non-Profit. It was first founded by my mother in law Bernice Bompart who would later also pass away from illness.
Fast forward to 2017. We had been sharing singing clips on social media and one day, a video clip went viral and all of the worlds were enjoying our rendition of Roger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella song Impossible which had previously been performed by Brandy and Whitney Houston.
A few years later, I had published another children‘s book called Pajama Jones. Shortly after that, I was contacted by someone who had seen our videos on Instagram and wanted to know if we would be interested in participating in Nickelodeon’s new show, America’s Most Musical Family. This was a resounding ‘Yes’ for us because this was truly who we were, a musical family! So off to LA, we went and enjoyed this amazing experience. Through this experience, we realized that our sound together as a family had such a positive impact on so many people. This was both humbling and encouraging. So I continue to create music with my family.
I continue to write children’s books and encourage other women to boldly create the life they desire by pursuing their ”Dreams”. I do this at my Beautiful Inside & Out annual women’s conferences and workshops. Much like my experience, I want women to know the joy of living their dream no matter how young or old they are. Family was and is a beautiful support to me and I believe that no one can age out of pursuing dreams. We all were brought here for a purpose and I happen to believe that no one can deliver your life’s gift to the world better than you can.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
One of the hardest things I had to go through was losing my mother to cancer ten years ago at the age of 53. She had kept her sickness a secret until it was pretty advanced. While releasing my second single ‘Lean On’ on my album Sweet Lyric, I had flown out to spend time with her and enjoy her company, conversation and presence for what then would be my last time. Needless to say, I and my siblings and the whole world mourned this incredible woman.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I own several companies. I am first a recording artist. My passion for singing and writing music has always been my joy over the years. I founded JSL Publishing for my works as a songwriter and children’s book author. I founded Beautiful Inside & Out, or what we lovingly call the BIO Women’s Conference when I saw an opportunity to educate women in the area of health and wellness both physically, spiritually and financially so that women could pursue their dreams fearlessly and strategically.
I am a founding member of the all-girl family band The Bomparts. The Bomparts are an all-female family vocal group heralding from Plantation Florida. The group consists of myself Juanita Bompart, also known as Jita, and daughters Elizabeth Kathryn 18, Savanah 15 and Lexy 11. Our vocal group’s sound has been called Powerful, Transcendent, Seamless, filling the room with amazing melodies, excellent harmonies and impeccable blend.
People can expect to hear new music from the Bomparts as we are in the studio now! We will be touring in the second half of 2020, so stay tuned for those dates. The BIO conference has been invited abroad so check out our website to see when and where this conference will be happening. Also, Pajama Jones is available on Amazon! You can order your digital copy there or get your digital and hardback copy from our website!
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I feel success can be measure by attaining one’s goal. Why did you set out to do XYZ in the first place? And this is for everything in life. If you set out to lose fat and fit in a smaller size pant, you would take the steps that are required in order to meet that goal so that you are “successful” in attaining this. Now you can fit into a smaller pant size. The same for me is in business. If you set out to be the answer to a particular problem in the world and you achieve that, I would call that a success.
Now, there are different degrees of success for sure. But large or small, I believe success is measured by being able to look at what you’ve done in an objective manor and see if it has accomplished its purpose. I would call that a success.
Contact Info:
- Website: thebomparts.com,biowomensconference.com,mypajamajones.com
- Phone: 9544710475
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Nickelodeon, Torrey Roberts Photography
Suggest a story: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
