Owana Kaōhelelani Mahealani-Rose Salazar (born October 30, 1953) is a Hawaiian noble and musician. She is thought to be the only female

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

player in Hawaii trained by

Jerry Byrd Gerald Lester Byrd (March 9, 1920 – April 11, 2005) was an American musician who played the lap steel guitar in country and Hawaiian music, as well as a singer-songwriter and the head of a music publishing firm. He appeared on numerous radio p ...

. A descendant of

Robert William Wilcox Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox (February 15, 1855 – October 23, 1903), nicknamed the Iron Duke of Hawaii, was a Native Hawaiian whose father was an American and whose mother was Hawaiian. A revolutionary soldier and politician, he led uprisi ...

and Theresa Laʻanui, Salazar has been involved in Hawaiian sovereignty issues for many years.

Birth, family and early life

Owana Kaʻohelelani Mahealani-Rose Salazar was born in October 1953. Her parents were Helena Kalokuokamaile Wilcox and Henry Mario Salazar. Salazar was the only girl in a family of five. "Our family discussions were vast... about many of our ancestors, about their roles in Hawaiiʻs history, about the crown lands, about Robert Wilcox, about Princess Theresa going to Washington, about Princess Elizabeth going to Washington to petition Congress to survey the crown lands." Salazar was raised on the island of

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

and graduated from

Kamehameha Schools Kamehameha Schools, formerly called Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), is a private school system in Hawaii established by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, under the terms of the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was a formal membe ...

, where she sang with the Concert Glee Club, and the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, where she learned Kihoalu (

slack key guitar Slack-key guitar (from Hawaiian ''kī hōalu'', which means "loosen the uningkey") is a fingerstyle genre of guitar music that originated in Hawaii after Portuguese cowboys introduced Spanish guitars there in the late 19th century. The Hawaiia ...

). Salazar studied

hula Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song (Mele (Hawaiian language), mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of t ...

with the Kumu Hula, Hoʻakalei Kamauʻu, Hoʻoulu Richards and

Winona Beamer Winona Kapuailohiamanonokalani Desha Beamer (August 15, 1923 – April 10, 2008) was a champion of authentic and ancient Hawaiian culture, publishing many books, musical scores, as well as audio and video recordings on the subject. In her home sta ...

. In addition to studying traditional western

music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

, studied voice with Elizabeth Cole, and studied

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, string methods,

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 stri ...

, Javanese dance and

gamelan Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...

as well as continuing to study hula.

Music career

At the start of her public career, Salazar performed with Hawaiian headliners such as

Don Ho Donald Tai Loy Ho (August 13, 1930 – April 14, 2007) was a Hawaiian traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer. He is best known for the song "Tiny Bubbles" from the album of the same name. Life and career Ho was a singer of Native ...

Ohta-San,

Ed Kenney Edward Kamanaloha Kenney, Jr. (August 8, 1933 – October 5, 2018) was an American singer and actor from Hawaii best known for the role of "Wang Ta" in the original Broadway production of ''Flower Drum Song.'' In retirement, he lived on the islan ...

and Charles K.L. Davis. She was introduced to the world of Kihoalu by friend Nelson Hiu. Combining music theory with her repertoire of Hawaiian songs and slack key, Salazar developed her playing skills with help from her professors and other fellow musicians such as George Kuo, Bla Pahinui, Cyril Pahinui,

Dennis Kamakahi Dennis David Kahekilimamaoikalanikeha Kamakahi (March 31, 1953 – April 28, 2014) was a Hawaiian slack key guitarist, recording artist, music composer, and Christian minister. He was a three-time Grammy Award winner, and in 2009 he was inducted i ...

, George Kahumoku Jr. and Sonny Chillingworth. Other musical influences include

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

Genoa Keawe 'Aunty' Genoa Leilani Adolpho Keawe-Aiko (October 31, 1918 – February 25, 2008) was a Hawaiian musician. Keawe was born on the island of Oʻahu in the Kakaʻako district of Honolulu and grew up in Lā'ie. She was an icon in Hawaiian mus ...

Gabby Pahinui Philip Kunia Pahinui (; April 22, 1921 – October 13, 1980), known as Gabby Pahinui, was a slack-key guitarist and singer of Hawaiian music. Born into a struggling family, Gabby was born Charles Kapono Kahahawai Jr. and later ''hānaied'' wi ...

Lena Machado Lena Machado (October 16, 1903 – January 23, 1974) was a Native Hawaiian singer, composer, and ukulele player, known as "Hawaii's Songbird". She was among the first group of musical artists honored by the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 1995. N ...

, and

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

. Her first recording in 1986, ''Owana and Kaipo, In Kona'' was nominated in the category of Most Promising Artist in the

Na Hoku Hanohano Awards The Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, occasionally called the Nā Hōkū Awards or Hoku Awards, are the premier music awards in Hawaii.Berger, John"A night of Na Hoku Hanohano" ''Honolulu Star-Advertiser''. May 22, 2011.Haug, Kawehi"Hoku awardees shine ...

, a Hawaiian music industry salute. The following year, her second recording, ''Owana'', was a final ballot nominee for Contemporary Hawaiian Album of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year. ''Pupukea'' describes the characteristics of the ocean on the North Shore of Oahu. ''Kula Morning'' takes you upcountry

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

, gazing from mountain to the sea. ''"Na Wai"'' is a playful poetic expression of love's experiences, full of Hawaiian ''kaona'' (hidden meanings). ''"Kalamaula"'' celebrates the early

homesteading Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craft work for household use or sale. Pur ...

movement of the Hawaiian people. "Silhouette Hula" is a hapa haole piece, recalling the early jazz years of Hawaiian music. For most of the 1980s, Salazar sang Hawaiian classics with the

Royal Hawaiian Band The Royal Hawaiian Band is the oldest and only full-time municipal band in the United States. At present a body of the City & County of Honolulu, the Royal Hawaiian Band has been entertaining Honolulu residents and visitors since its inception i ...

and performed at venues in

Waikiki Waikiki (; haw, Waikīkī; ; also known as Waikiki Beach) is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the south shore of the island of Oahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Waikiki is most famous for Waikiki Beach, which is one of six beaches in the district ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

accepted Salazar as his student for formal study of Hawaiian steel guitar. Eventually, she received a full scholarship from the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association. In 1992, she became Byrd's only female graduate and has been called Hawaii's preeminent female steel guitarist. Besides Hawaii, Salazar has also performed in

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. In January 2000, she became the first woman to tour with the Hawaiian Slack Key Festival along with

George Kahumoku, Jr. George Kahumoku Jr. is a Grammy Award winning Hawaiian musician specializing in slack-key guitar. Born in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, he was labeled as "Hawaii's Renaissance Man" by Nona Beamer because of his far reaching talents: far ...

, Keoki Kahumoku and

Daniel Ho Daniel Ho (born March 5, 1968) is an American musician, composer and producer specializing in innovative approaches to Slack-key guitar, ukulele, and Hawaiian music. He has recorded 18 solo albums, some of which have won or were nominated for G ...

Discography (partial)

* "Owana and Ka'ipo IN KONA" (1986), Nominated: Most Promising Artist of the Year. *''Owana'' (1987), Nominated: Female Vocalist of the Year; Contemporary Hawaiian Album of the Year. *''Wahine Slack n’ Steel'' (2003), Winner: Contemporary Hawaiian Album of the Year. Nominated: Female Vocalist of the Year; Album of the Year. *''Hula Jazz'' (2005), Winner: Jazz Album of the Year; Nominated: Female Vocalist of the Year; Album of the Year; Song of the Year *''Hawaiian Slack Key Masters: Volume III'', Winner:

Grammy Award for Best Hawaiian Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Hawaiian Music Album was an honor presented to recording artists from 2005 to 2011 for quality Hawaiian music albums. The Grammy Awards, an annual ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone ...

*''Hawaiian Slack Key Masters: Volume IV'', Winner:

Cultural and sovereignty involvement

Salazar was initiated into the Daughters and Sons of Hawaiian Warriors, ''Mamakakaua,'' a lineage society of descendants of Hawaii's ruling chiefs. She served as family liaison to the Mayor's Office of Culture and the Arts for two years, with the goal of planning, commissioning and unveiling a life-size bronze statue of her great-grandfather

. His statue was installed at Wilcox Park in

downtown Honolulu Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, and governmental center of Honolulu, the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the nor ...

, on the corner of King and Fort Street.

Claim to the throne of the Hawaiian Kingdom

Salazar rejects the legality of the 1898

annexation of Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is ...

by the United States, and as such believes the

Hawaiian Kingdom The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the ...

still legally exists. Dismissing the succession right of

Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawānanakoa Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawānanakoa (April 23, 1926December 11, 2022), also known as Princess Abigail Kawānanakoa and sometimes called Kekau, was a Native Hawaiian-American heiress, equestrian, philanthropist and supporter of Native Hawaiia ...

, the candidate most Hawaiian genealogists identify as rightful claimant to the crown, Salazar maintains that her own immediate family are rightful rulers of the kingdom, as well as being the legal holders of the former Hawaiian crown lands. This claim is based on descent from King

Keōua Keōua Kalanikupuapaīkalaninui Ahilapalapa, sometimes called Keōua Nui ("Keōua the Great") (died c. 1750s–1760s) was an Ancient Hawaiian noble and the father of Kamehameha I, the first King of united Hawaii. He was progenitor of the Ho ...

(d.ca. 1750s/60s) via a niece of Elizabeth Kekaʻaniau (d. 1928), one of 15 children of high

aliʻi The aliʻi were the traditional nobility of the Hawaiian islands. They were part of a hereditary line of rulers, the ''noho aliʻi''. The word ''aliʻi'' has a similar meaning in the Samoan language and other Polynesian languages, and in Māori ...

status attending the Chief's Children's School in 1844 who appear on a list, endorsed by

Kamehameha III Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name is Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula K� ...

, of those elegible to be rulers, though neither the childless Elizabeth nor any of her lineage would subsequently rule the kingdom in the years prior to Hawaii's annexation.

Honours

Dynastic Orders

Foreign Royal Houses

Dame Grand Cordon of the

Royal and Hashemite Order of the Pearl The Royal and Hashemite Order of the Pearl is the dynastic order of the Royal House of Sulu, which serves as the premier institution and the highest personal honour of and in the Royal Sultanate of Sulu. The order is an honourable and nobiliar ...

Medal of Honor (Special Class) of the Association of Monarchic Autarchs of Portugal

Family tree

References

External links

* YouTube - Owana Kaʻōhelelani Kahekili Mahaelani-Rose Salazar
Willie K, "Knight Comander of the Royal Order of the Crown"

Keouanui.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salazar, Owana 1953 births Living people Kamehameha Schools alumni House of Kalokuokamaile Native Hawaiian musicians Slack-key guitarists Native Hawaiian activists Na Hoku Hanohano Award winners Pretenders to the Hawaiian throne Native Hawaiian people American monarchists