Owana Salazar - Singer, Slack Key & Steel Guitarist

Salazar reflects all that makes Hawai`i special in her musics

Ka Wai Ola o OHA - The Living Waters of OHA
Iulai (July) 2003

By Manu Boyd

Singer/guitarist Owana Salazar has a lot going on. She resides on Maui where she performs at numerous functions and spends a good deal of time sharing and celebrating Hawaiian history, something her family has done for generations. Of royal descent herself, Owana Ka`ohelelani Mahealani-rose Salazar commits time and energy to The Friends of Moku`ula, a Lahaina-based organization seeking to preserve the now-covered-up royal residence of Kamehameha III, originally established in the 1600s during the reign of paramount Maui ali`i Pi`ilani.

"Working with the Friends group is awesome. The Moku`ula royal compound was in the middle of a large pond, Mokuhinia. National Geographic calls it the archaeological find of the century. Everything is intact," said Salazar. "Aside from giving the historical walking tours which can take up to two hours, I also help with fund raising," she said.

But history aside, Salazar is hailed as a slack-key master, and she has the distinction of being the only recognized female steel guitar player in Hawai`i. her latest CD, "Wahine Slack 'N Steel," earned her the coveted Na Hoku Hanohano Award for island contemporary album of the year in May. That honor, long overdue, acknowledges not only her diverse guitar savvy, but her outstanding vocals as one of the top Hawaiian sopranos of all time. her pitch and tone are impeccable, and her love of music as nurtured by her family is always apparent. Her great-grandmother, Princess Theresa Owana La`anui Wilcox, is credited as the composer of the classic "Uluhua Wale Au" which Salazar recorded on an earlier project.

Salazar makes her haku mele debut with "Kapalua," a Hawaiian language song with `umeke (Tahitian `ukulele) accompaniment. "I was playing at a hotel one night, and it was really quietÑalmost boring. But I couldn't allow myself to be bored with all that natural beauty around, so I looked out to the ocean and started singing phrases. I repeated them over and over, and before I know it, I had a verse. Brother Frank Hewett helped me later with the Hawaiian. I'm not a native speaker, but I love our language," she said.

"Nani Hala`ula" by John Ka`imikaua is a tribute in waltz time to the North Kohala district named for the red hala (pandanus). Kanama`e and Paliakamoa are sites memorialized in the mele which pays honor to Kohala as the birth place of Kamehameha. "Kohala Moon," another Ka`imikaua composition, features a romantic steel guitar Ñ a sprinkle of nostalgia albeit a recent composition.

"Ali`ipoe" by Rev. William Maka`ehu salutes Kaua`i and is classic in poetic form and performance. "A he waiwai no e ke aloha, he ui`i, he nohea i ku`u maka, E kilohi iho ai ka waiho kahela o Ha`upu i ka maka o ka `opua" (You are truly a treasure, my beloved, young and beautiful to my eyes; gazing at the view spread before me of Ha`upu in the eye of the clouds).

'My hope is that Waikiki and other visitor destinations depend more heavily on good local musicians to create an image that is Hawai`i. So many talented performers who have dedicated years to their craft are treated less than respectably. Let's encourage quality Hawaiian entertainment throughout our Hawai`i," she concluded.

For additional information, visit online at www.owanasalazar.com