Prince and Mayte Garcia.
Mayte Garciais finding new ways to honor her andPrince’s only child Amiir.
Her son, who was born in 1996 and died six days after his birth, had been diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder calledPfeiffer syndrome, in which certain bones of the skull fuse prematurely.
“It’s always painful,” the former dancer, 49, tells PEOPLE, of remembering their child’s short life.
“He would have been 27 this year,” she continues. “But I’m on the board [for] Pfeiffer syndrome, and it makes me happy to see that children are surviving it now. There’s so much more research being poured into it. When Amiir died, I couldn’t find anything on it. So yes, it’s painful, but it makes me happy in knowing that I’m helping someone else.”
Garcia — now mom to 11-year-old daughter Gia, whom she adopted in 2013 — is reviving the charity she and Prince first launched in 1996, under the name L4OA, which originally stood for “Love for Our Amiir.”
The revamped version will be calledLive 4 Love Charities, which Garcia says was always Prince’s message.
“The mission statement for the original charity was about helping people in need,” she continues. “Back then we didn’t need fundraising because he was able to donate the money. Live 4 Love will be a public 501C, and we’ll be doing fundraising, and the money raised will go towards all sorts of charitable programs, like music education for children.”
Mayte Garcia in Las Vegas in August 2019.Gabe Ginsberg/Getty
Gabe Ginsberg/Getty
Garcia notes that Prince wasalways a generous man, though he didn’t make a fuss about his endless philanthropy, preferring instead to donate in private to all manners of foundations — including teaching tech jobs to youth and donating to Trayvon Martin’s family.
“When we divorced, he kept the L4OA foundation going. He was always very secretive about that stuff. I would hear about school and people he would help out when we were together,” Garcia says.
“One time we flew to Hawaii and helped at children’t hospital. Another time I flew to Puerto Rico and helped at a children’s cancer center, and animal rescue. But he’d keep it quiet.”
Garcia, who also runs the animal rescue foundationMayte Rescue, says that after Amiir’s death, she and Prince had a hard time staying together in their shared grief — especially after she also experienced a miscarriage two years later.
Thecouple divorced in 2000, though she says they remained cordial up until his death.
In April of 2016, the iconic singer wasfound deadat his Paisley Park home in Minnesota at age 57. Thecause was later determinedto be anaccidental overdose of fentanyl.
Mayte Garcia and Prince in New York City in April 1998.Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Garcia says she’d heard Prince wasn’t doing well and considered visiting him with her daughter, but ultimately decided not to.
“I kind of felt like he needed somebody, and I regret not going,” she tells PEOPLE. “But then I also accept that it was just his time. It sucks. You never want to be ready for anybody to go, but I’ve come to a place where I can smile and think of him with love.”
“I believe his spirit is still around,” Garcia continues. “There was definitely a soul connection. He was a very special person and will always be a special person in my life.”
source: people.com
