Cachi Cachi music, also spelled Kachi Kachi, Kachi-Kachi and Katchi-Katchi, is a term that was coined to refer to music played by Puerto Ricans in Hawaii, after they migrated to Hawaii in 1901. It is a "variation of dance music found in Hawaii" which is, at times, played very fast. The "influence on Hawai'i endures to this day in the musical form known as ''cachi cachi'' played on the

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

icand derivative of the Puerto Rican jibaro style." ''Jibaro'' means farmer in Spanish. The Puerto Ricans in Hawaii "worked hard and played hard" and lightened the load for other plantation workers with their music. In Hawaii, the Puerto Ricans played their music with

six-string guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

güiro The güiro () is a Puerto Rican percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines (see photo) along the notches to produce a ratchet (instrument), ratc ...

, and the Puerto Rican cuatro. Maracas and "palitos" sticks could be heard in the music around the 1930s. More modern versions of the music may include the accordion and electric and percussion instruments such as

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...

drums.

Etymology

Cachi cachi music is what the people in Hawaii, who heard the Puerto Ricans playing their own music, called it. It needed a name and the people of Hawaii, specifically the Japanese plantation workers called it cachi cachi according to oral tradition- video recordings by Onetake2012 and research done by Ted Solis, an

ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

. The Puerto Ricans, who only spoke Spanish and no English, worked alongside immigrants from the Philippines, China, but in one location their "camp" was next to the Japanese camp. and when the Japanese heard their music, they said it sounded "scratchy". The relationships between the Japanese and Puerto Ricans working on the plantations, didn't use to be good. They lived near one another and the Puerto Ricans felt disrespected when the Japanese walked around naked or almost naked for their baths. Sometimes fights would break out.

Current status

In 1989, the

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was foun ...

, a nonprofit established for recording music by small communities from around the world, made available an album called ''Puerto Rican music in Hawai'i'' containing 16 tracks. The Library of Congress included the recording in its 1990 list of "outstanding recordings" of US

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

for meeting specific criteria including that the music emphasizes "root traditions over popular adaptations of traditional materials." Phoenix-Musical Instrument Museum-Puerto Rican Güiro

Phoenix-Musical Instrument Museum-Puerto Rican Güiro

William Cumpiano, a master guitarmaker and his colleagues Wilfredo Echevarría and Juan Sotomayor researched, wrote, directed and produced a short documentary about the Hawaiian Puerto Ricans and their music which includes genres such as slack-key,

décima A décima is a ten-line stanza of poetry. The most popular form is called décima espinela after Vicente Espinel (1550–1624), a Spanish writer, poet, and musician from the Siglo de Oro who used it extensively throughout his compositions. The d� ...

, seís and aguinaldos. It was titled ''Un Canto en Otra Montaña'' or ''A Song From Another Mountain''. Sonny Morales, a resident of the Big Island of Hawaii, was "famous for making cuatros". The young

Auliʻi Cravalho Chloe Auliʻi Cravalho (; born November 22, 2000) is an American actress and singer who made her acting debut as the voice of the titular character in the 2016 Disney 3D computer-animated musical feature film '' Moana''. She went on to star in ...

, the voice of the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

character, Moana, in the 2016 movie by the same name, talks about growing up with cachi cachi music. She was raised on the Big Island of Hawaii. Willie K., an award-winning, Hawaiian musician from the island of Maui, sings about it with lyrics "Cachi cachi music

Makawao Makawao is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 7,297 at the 2020 census. Located on the rural northwest slope of Haleakala on East Maui, the community is known for being the hub of the "Up ...

...play the

drum down in

Lahaina Lahaina ( haw, Lāhainā) is the largest census-designated place (CDP) in West Maui, Maui County, Hawaii, United States and includes the Kaanapali and Kapalua beach resorts. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a resident population of 12,702. Lah ...

Artists

Some of the artists who played or play a variety of Puerto Rican (cach cachi) music in Hawaii: * Bobby Rodriguez * Danny Rivera * Darren Benitez * Eddie Rivera * Ernest Rivera * Eva Lopez * Glenn Ferreira * Juan Rodriguez * Luciano Alvarez * Natalio Santiago * Peter Rivera * Raymond Rodriguez * Silva Rivera * Tiny * Virginia Rodrigues *

Willie K William Awihilima Kahaialiʻi (October 17, 1960 – May 18, 2020), known as Willie K, was a Hawaiian musician who performed in a variety of styles, including blues, rock, opera and Hawaiian music. Early life Born and raised in a family of mus ...

The following musicians are featured in the ''Puerto Rican Music of Hawaii'' CD by the Smithsonian Folkways. * August M. Rodrigues * Bobby Castillo * Bonaventura Torres * Charles Figueroa * El Leo * George Ayala * Johnny Lopez * Jorge Burgos * Juan Cabrera * Julio Rodrigues * Leroy Joseph Pinero * Los Caminantes * Los Guepos * Mi Gente * Quique Rosario * The Latin Five * The Latin Gentlemen * Tommy Valentine

References

{{reflist

External links

Rodney Pimental on YouTube
is the third generation (in Hawaii) playing cachi cachi music
Charles Figueroa on YouTube

One Take Kachi Kachi Documentary trailer
Latin American styles of music Hawaiian Styles of Music Puerto Rican styles of music American folk music Hispanic and Latino American culture in Hawaii

Etymology

Current status

Artists

See also

References

External links