Daily Inspiration: Meet Christina Navarro

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Navarro.

Hi Christina, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
As an artist, I started as a dancer. Dance was and is my first love. I was also fortunate enough to grow up in a house that taught me a lot about music. Art, for me, has always been about transmuting my pain in order to survive it. I had a unique childhood. One that left me with a lot of broken pieces I didn’t quite know how to put back together again. Art became my church.

Later in life, I took up painting. At first, I didn’t think I was any good. I didn’t think painting was for me. Until I found abstract expressionism. That was where I loved to play. It also opened the door to curation. After moving to Columbus in 2020, I was fortunate enough to curate a couple of art shows. The experience was invaluable. I learned so much.

But painting still felt limiting. It was something I was doing because I thought I couldn’t do anything else. It felt safe. I didn’t have to be truly seen in the way I think my soul has always ached to be seen.

Then came music. Sound. I started playing with my voice again at the end of 2023. (I used to sing constantly whenever I was alone as a child. Which was often.) Singing became a love again. It felt like a channel that allowed my body to finally release the weight it had been carrying since childhood. I sang, and I felt like I was inside my own body again. I sang, and dreams started to feel possible again. I sang, and it scared the hell out of me.

So I kept singing.

I had never written or produced a song before January 2024. Now, in June 2025, I’ve written over 50 and released 16. I have no plans to slow down. Music feels like home and I can’t wait to keep growing into it.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been anything but smooth. I’ve lost myself many times in my 31 years. I’ve had to crack myself open completely again and again just to save myself. Just to not disappear.

I’ve struggled with depression since I was young. I internalized everything. I felt like I didn’t have a safe space to set those big feelings down. No real outlet.

I survived a relationship that I truly believe stole some monumental years from me. It left me confused, in the dark. But I emerged. Wiser, bruised, traumatized, but more aware.

Coming back to my own heart has been an epic journey. One I still feel in the midst of. And that feels exciting.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a poet, singer-songwriter, and painter. I’m currently working on a collection of poems, and I’m constantly releasing new music. Most recently, I put out a two-track EP titled “Stray Lower (I. The Daggar / II. The Ritual).” It tells the story of a mermaid’s desire. An allegory of hunger and repression.

In it, a mermaid emerges on Malibu Beach under a full moon, searching for satisfaction. Feral, sensual, and unapologetic in her wanting. The title was inspired by a line from Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis: “Graze on my lips, and if those hills be dry, stray lower, where the pleasant fountains lie.”

I’m a Shakespeare lover to my core. His work weaves itself through everything I create. He’s my biggest muse. I think that’s one of the things that sets me apart: I’m always building grand stories that blend mythology, ancient energy, and modern pains. Everything I make is deeply intentional. I think it sometimes makes people’s head spin when I try to explain my world to them. But the ones who get it, they really get it. That’s my audience.

I’m proud of the work I’m doing. I’m fumbling in public a lot, and I think that’s what makes music so raw and beautiful. It’s embarrassing sometimes. Like reading your diary to the world. But the ones who truly listen… I’m so grateful for them. I’m slowly finding my people through this soul-bearing.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My favorite childhood memories are all tied to the ocean. I was born and raised on the coast of Southern California, and the sea felt like my best friend. I would swim in the open water for hours. I remember swimming around Catalina Island through the kelp when I was just twelve, and swimming with sea turtles to hidden coves in clear, warm waters. Cave diving. Shell hunting. Floating. Letting the waves carry me. It was the most magical part of my upbringing. It’s where I felt the most peace. The most wonder. The most brave.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://etherealartist444.com/home
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ethe.real.444/
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Zn6XHvHAndMify8MVnBYq?si=EpLruuY6RUCEQVGjItBFmg