Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Crespo.
Laura, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My name is Laura. I was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, since I was a kid music was a part of my life. I remember that in my house we were always listening to music, especially salsa. Since I was very little I remember I wanted to do music, I used to dance, I used to sing and I played drums in the marching band of my high school.
The dream of every girl that turns up 15 years old is having a party with a beautiful dress, dance chayane (Tiempo de vals) with a handsome boy but I told my parents that for my quinces I wanted to get a drum set because I wanted to be a drummer, they were very confused but they got it for me thinking that it would be a hobby that would ends before college. I used to play no doubt, limp Bizkit, System of a Down, bossa nova and R&B (my poor neighbors). Obviously, I wanted to go to college to study music but for some parents being a musician is not a real or serious profession. So I had to choose another career.
I went to college in Venezuela and I completed a degree in accounting, I also worked at the central bank of Venezuela, an important and recognized entity at that time. While I was working at the bank, a percussionist friend invited me to audition for a new musical band. I did not even ask what kind of band it was, without hesitation, I went! When I got to the audition, they put a Pambiche or Tambora Dominicana in front of me and to be honest, I didn’t know what to do but with the time I learned until my fingers bled, it was a merengue orchestra like Chicas del Can. I was in love with the idea of doing music no matter if it was merengue, salsa, rock, pop.
Before the first show with this orchestra, I talked to my family to explain to them that I really wanted to do music in any way, singing or playing any instrument. If you grow up as a Latino, you perfectly know that it doesn’t matter how old are you, even if you are 50 years old, your parents will say “tú no te mandas sola” they didn’t like it too much but I started playing at nights and working at the office during the day. At the same time the country was going through many problems and that affected us, it was more difficult for some people to hire 15 musicians and after two years together we couldn’t continue anymore.
In 2008 I went to a reggae bar, I don’t even know how I became friends with the owner but when we were hanging out one night, he asked me if I wanted to be a DJ, I said, no way! But he insisted and again I didn’t know what to do but I learned, he taught me all he knew about djing, we started practicing on Wednesdays because that was a slow night at the bar. I remember he asked, “what kind of music would you like to play” and I said Hip hop.
People in Maracaibo used to go to that magic place to eat but they were hearing what we were playing and every Wednesday, we started seeing more and more people. I’m very proud to say that our party became one of the most important parties in the country, the famous “Miércoles de Rasta” we had people from all over the country. Again I was playing at night and working in an office during the day.
My time at the bank ended and suddenly I was working as a musician full time, I couldn’t be happier. People liked more and more the music that I was playing. I earned respect and lots of love from the Maracuchos. My DJ name was DJ Law and my social media (Twitter in that time) was Negra Fabulosa, for some reason I wasn’t Laura anymore, I was Negra fabulosa for everybody, I thought about that name because it was easy to remember and because It was the way I felt. Fabulous!
Over time I became a pioneer as a Female DJ and had the honor of playing in front of thousands of people, at important festivals in my city and all over the country. But nothing like playing in that small bar in Maracaibo with my people. Sadly Venezuela became a dangerous place for everybody throughout the years. This was new for all of us, no water, no power, no gas, no food, police brutality, nothing was the same, a dictator ruled everything we knew.
In 2015 I decided to come to The United States by myself and I started a process to get an O1 visa (Individuals With Extraordinary Ability Or Achievement). I’m not gonna lie. Even when I was in love with Miami from the day one, it was very tough for me to be in a new country without my family, without knowing the language, without friends and in that moment with everything against me.
I had to start from the bottom, l have so many stories, I used to live in Doral and I was working in Miami Beach, to get there I used to take two busses to play for 7 hours (10 pm to 5 am). I used to get 100 dollars and at the end I had to take two busses to go back home, To practice my English I used to talk to everybody, with the time I started making new friends from all over the world. no matter what, I decided that I would survive, that I would learn and adapt to my new life. And I did, today I can say that I work only with wonderful people. I work in places that I love. I can play the music that I want. Again I got respect and a lot of love in my new city.
As a proud immigrant, I feel grateful for being in this country, I feel blessed to have earned every opportunity I’ve had, I feel thankful because the most beautiful moments of my life are related to music. It has been a wonderful journey and even when I would not change anything because that makes me who I am today, I wish that one day Venezuela will be free.
PD: My parents now respect music as a serious and important career, they are my number one fan, especially if they see me on TV working with Daddy Yankee.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I was struggling a lot with the language, I still do, it’s difficult but it’s not impossible. I was struggling with the money too. I spent everything I had to pay for my visa I wanted to be legal, I wanted to do everything right.
Some people used to take advantage of me, paying me less money, sometimes nothing, I remember the first year, one bar hired me and they didn’t pay me because I didn’t have a company to get the payment (I didn’t have the money to open a company neither), a colleague offered to get my payment and charged me a very high percentage, I agreed because I waited for months to get that payment, I had nothing to eat, no money at all, it was tough because my family depended on me too. I always try to share these experiences with others immigrants so they can be aware. Nothing in this life will comes easy. The struggle makes me appreciate everything I have, I turned the negative into positive.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I have been a DJ for 12 years. I spend a lot of time looking for the right music to play, I have been working with very important people, I really enjoy working in award shows, I love every time I watch myself on TV. But during these times, people forget about what’s inside of you, not everything is about how you look, or how many followers you have on social media.
That’s why I am proud of being a genuine person when you do what you really love, people feel it and you don’t have to do much, music will speak by itself. I try to have a positive attitude. I am so happy every time I play and I’m sure people can feel my vibe. My purpose is to make you feel good.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Personally. Being able to take care of my family. Professionally. In 2014 I opened the concert of Nicki jam in Caracas Venezuela. I was very excited for being the only female DJ in that event, seeing my name in big billboards was awesome too.
This year I had the pleasure to work with Daddy Yankee and Nicky Jam while they were promoting a song from the movie bad boyz for life (muévelo). It was something unforgettable (even when production made me use a mask lol) there are so many DJs and they chose me. I felt very good and I loved working with them, they inspired me a lot because even when they are very successful, they are still working hard, they were very humble too.
I work in an important bar in Wynwood, and now I have my own party “Las Fabulosas” we only have female DJs every Tuesday and I love it, I love to meet new DJs, I love to create opportunities for everybody. We are such a good team and I hope we can inspire more female musicians.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.negrafabulosa.com
- Instagram: Negrafabulosa
Image Credit:
Edward Perdomo
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