Meet Neyva: Artist/producer/musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Neyva and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Neyva, we’d love to start by asking you about lessons learned. Is there a lesson you can share with us?
That comparison truly is the thief of joy. Every time I’ve compared myself to an artist or xyz person with a perceived accomplishment never ended well. That self deprecating thought only hindered me at the end of the day.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I got to where I am today with a lot of failure and resilience. As well as the help of my friends and therapy. I’m still not where I want to ideally be, but it’s where I need to be in this moment. No matter how much I feel like everything is completely falling apart in my life and in the pandemic, it’s really opening my eyes to the areas that need nurturing within me. My music is extremely eclectic and based around my personal experiences and emotions, which I know people who have experienced struggles such as my own can relate to. My path of music has been the furthest from easy but at the end of the day, I know it’s what I was born to do so that’s what keeps me going. I want people to know that I work extremely hard and pour my heart into everything that I do. I want each and everything that I do to be substantial and innovative. Each release or venture I embark on is nurtured to the best of my ability. Any failure I’ve achieved only made me wiser. I am perfectly imperfect. As much as I’d want to revisit my past and “make things different,” I am thankful for it all. Even if the circumstances weren’t ideal and traumatic, they shaped the ambitious and kind individual that I am today. I wish thats what people take away when they meet me and listen to my music.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would first take them to descanso gardens. That’s my favorite place to find peace and tranquility. Then we’d get an amazing açaí bowl from roots and rye. Afterwards, we’d probably go to little Tokyo and have some good food. We’d walk around and kiki for a bit. Then we would probably just go home and chill. Order some more food and sleep. If concerts were safe to go to, I’d probably take them to a concert to see a friend perform. I’d also take them to a Queer as punk show. Queer as punk is so cool (please support them)! They give space for mariginalized performers both in drag and music. They have been nothing but kind and welcoming to me.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My friends: Allán aka the makeup mariachi, Lost Ángeles, the groans, Nathan Díaz, Baby, everyone at Queer as Punk, my not so little brother Hugo Jr, and my romantic partner Nathan Duran have all been so supportive in my journey of music and emotional self fulfillment.

Website: https://linktr.ee/neyvamusic

Instagram: @neyvathealien

Twitter: @neyvathealien

Other: My link tree has all my music and social media links!

Image Credits
Angel Aura and Tom’s one hour photo lab