Maria Bustos grew up incredibly shy and lost in her own world.
Now, having come to terms with her mental illness, she transforms her past experiences into inspiration for her whimsical musical persona, Miarlequin.
Early life
Born in Colombia, Bustos spent most of her early childhood in Quebec, where she and her sister, Juanita, attended Enfants-de-la-Terre, a unique school that encouraged artistic creativity.
“That’s when Maria really started to get into fantasy,” says Juanita.
Bustos’ family moved to Calgary in 2008, where she attended Bishop Carroll High School. She struggled to focus during school since her mind was always occupied with fantasy worlds outside of Calgary.
“I’m a very distracted person, so I was daydreaming a lot and procrastinating a lot, but we got through it,” says Bustos.
She found time to nurture her artistic side, spending her time doing extracurricular activities, such as an all-women’s vocal group called Sassy Jazz.
“It was good, too, for my ears and for the musicianship and, like, learning how to work together with other people with music,” says Bustos.
Music degree
After Bustos graduated from high school, she pursued a music degree at the University of Calgary. She focused hard on getting her degree, and her fondness for music flourished.
“It was a lot of me ignoring every aspect of my life, other than music.”
At a university vocal workshop, Bustos met her friend, Julie Olive—the frontwoman of the Calgary-based band, Shy Friend.
Bustos connected with Olive instantly, and their friendship has continued to evolve around their musical collaboration. Olive admires Bustos for her kindness and openness.
“Maria saw me hanging back by myself and decided to sit next to me, and we basically chatted throughout the whole thing. And she really calmed my nerves about the whole freaky concept of being a vocalist,” says Olive.
Though Bustos has come out of her shell since her childhood, she had to come to terms with her mental illnesses, which include a psychotic disorder.
Though it made functioning in society more difficult, she has found light in her situation and noted how her experiences have helped her creatively.
A mental health advocate, Bustos believes it’s better to talk about her experiences instead of hiding them from society.
“All those things that I experience, I spin them in a sort of magical, fantastical perspective. And they communicate my truth and the truth of [mental illness], which has a ton of stigma in society.”
An independent artist
Since completing her degree, Bustos has developed her persona as an independent artist. Though navigating the music industry independently can be a struggle at times, she is thankful for the opportunity to be unapologetically herself and to have total creative freedom over her art.
“Everything is up to you, and you can just chew the heck out of it,” says Bustos.
Bustos joins Olive’s band as a keyboardist and backup vocalist in her free time. This experience has allowed Bustos to branch out in the music industry, a task she previously struggled to navigate during her solo career.
Bustos combines influences from ballet-style music, predominantly Tchaikovsky, with modern alternative icons, including Mitski and Metric, to describe the journey of Miarlequin—an interdimensional traveller.
The story of Miarlequin is used as an allegory to Maria’s own experiences with psychosis and dissociation, which often make her feel as though she’s travelling through different dimensions.
“I take a lot of inspiration from magic realism as a way to describe my experiences—because magic realism is about presenting these supernatural things, but the person who’s experienced them is like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s true,’” says Bustos.
The latest chapter in Miarlequin’s story revolves around meeting other Miarlequins from other dimensions to form a band. Bustos is hoping to explore this in her upcoming EP later this year.
Bustos is still working hard on her persona as an independent artist. Over the years, she has developed a sense of style based on Japanese Harajuku fashion and Commedia dell’arte—both niche styles that rely on creativity and boldness to express oneself. She values self-expression and believes that judgment from others should never hold people back.
“There’s people that are gonna love you for it because what you’re doing is based on love, you know? And it’s just gonna attract more joy and the more exuberant you can be, like, of a version of yourself, the brighter everything shines,” says Bustos.