Christian Review Magazine Issue 3 - March 2015 | Page 71

E

veryone has a story. Behind
every shared smile, hidden
tear, battle won or defeat
endured, there are characters, plot
turns and, hopefully, lessons learned.
Some people allow their entire lives
to be defined and confined by their
story. Others live their lives in
defiance of their story. And there are
others who choose to use it. For
better or worse, they determine that
the past is in the past and while we
can’t change it, we can learn from it
and share those lessons with others
around us.
Blanca is one of those people. She
knows where she’s been. She knows
where she is. But most importantly
she knows who she is.
“I am a girl who’s been through a lot
in life but is using her story and
everything that she has to bring hope
to others who may have gone
through similar things,” she says. “I
want to inspire and encourage others
to be who they are.”
Those aren’t empty words, nor are
they easy ones. The last year has
seen Blanca make many major
decisions and difficult transitions in
order to be true to who she is. For
over ten years, she was a vocalist for
the award-winning, and in many
ways, ground-breaking hip-hop
group, Group 1 Crew.
“I was 17 when I met the rest of
Group 1 Crew,” she recalls. “They
weren’t signed. We just became a
group of local musicians from
Orlando who all went to the same

church. I was a new Christian and
those new friends became family
quickly.”
But after ten years of singing and
touring and ministering, God brought
along a new chapter with new family
members and, at the end of the day,
a lot of hard decisions to make.
“When I got pregnant,” she recalls,
“everything began to change.”
As Blanca and her husband of nearly
five years looked ahead at their
future as parents, the longing within
Blanca that had been present for
some time...to be a solo artist and
pursue ministry opportunities beyond
the veil of Group 1 Crew… became
palpable and too real to be ignored.
But was nonetheless terrifying.

“The thought of dropping something
that’s working was so scary,” she
says. “But beyond that, there was
this fear that he (Manwell, the other
half of Group 1 Crew), wouldn’t
accept it. There were a lot of tears,
but he really trusted me and
understood and supported the
direction I felt God was leading me in.
We both respect each other and I’m
grateful I was able to find the
strength to speak out.”
With that conversation, a new
chapter had begun. Not long after,
plus 42 hours of labor, Blanca’s story
became one of music, ministry and
motherhood.
“He came three weeks early,” she
says. “It was such an amazing time

CHRISTIANREVIEW.COM > 71