Magic beside the sea, Enchanting Waikiki
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, when class lines were more firmly drawn in most cultures, world travel was only accessible to the privileged few. In the early 1900s, luxury liners (carrying from a few hundred to a couple of thousand passengers) sailed to far away lands transporting well-heeled travelers around the globe. By doing so, they helped establish Waikiki as a premier destination. With the advent of affordable intercontinental air travel, however, Hawai'i became a vacation destination for millions of middle-class travelers.
Travel to the Islands
Although air travel to Hawai'i had begun as early as in the late 1920s, through the efforts of the new Hawai'i Visitors Bureau (formed in 1945), tourism promotion began in earnest. Trans-Pacific Airlines (later to become Aloha Airlines) and United Airlines instituted regular service to Hawai'i in the mid-1940s, and the rush was on: almost 42,000 people traveled to the Islands in 1948 (nearly 17% of the population of Honolulu at the time).
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| Hula dancers perform for tourists as they land at Honolulu International Airport. |
Hotel construction was still underway in the years following the end of World War II. This barely kept up with interest in Hawai'i and things Hawaiian, which had been inspired in large part by the success of the "Hawai'i Calls" radio show, as well as mainland performances by touring Hawaiian musical entertainers. In the end, however, Hawaiiana interest won out: by 1959, airlines were forced to turn away potential Hawai'i visitors because of a lack of available places for them to stay.
The hotel boom that took place in the ensuing years drastically altered the skyline edging the beach at Waikiki. Not without cause: an even more radically different kind of tourist era was born when jumbo jets started landing at Honolulu International Airport in the 1960s.
Within a very few years after the arrival of the jumbo jets, Waikiki was recognized as the most famous strip of beach in the world, circled by high-rise hotels affordable to the middle class traveler in just about every culture. To entertain this new strata of visitors, hotels sought the talents of local musicians, singers, and dancers to fill their lounges and cafes – and "the Golden Age of Waikiki" was born.
Melodies of Romance
A beloved feature of Waikiki hotels – besides their beachfront locations, that is – the lounges and clubs provided daily entertainment by the best and brightest from the constellation of Hawaiian musical stars. Names such as Alfred Apaka, Haunani Kahalewai, Nina Keali'iwahamana, Boyce Rodrigues, Lani Custino, and Pua Almeida as well as Martin Denny, Hilo Hattie, Ed Kenny, hula dancer Beverly Noa and Arthur Lyman had become familiar to mainland listeners to the famed "Hawai'i Calls" shortwave radio broadcast.
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| The Kodak Hula Show ran for 65 years in Waikiki. |
Perhaps the most famous Waikiki performer of all was the late Don Ho, who performed for 40 years at numerous hotel showrooms. In the "Golden Age," Ho became a national phenomenon, carving a permanent place for himself in American pop culture.
Yet another popular "Golden Age" musical attractions was the Kodak Hula Show at the Waikiki Shell Amphitheater in Kapi'olani Park. Sponsored by Kodak, this lively song and dance show ran 65 years, ending in 2002.
Back at the Beach
When the sport of surfing was rescued from its near demise in the the first half of the 20th century, Waikiki became a popular spot once again for Hawai'i's youth. It was mostly young men who hung around the beach, swimming and surfing; in time, a select group of them came to be known as the "Waikiki Beach Boys."
This elite group of Waikiki surfers was formed sometime in the 1930s when the first Waikiki Beach Patrol was organized. Known by such colorful nicknames as "Chick," "Steamboat," "Turkey," "Dogpatch," "Toots" and "Colgate," these beach boys were very different from their surf counterparts elsewhere. They have been called "Waikiki's ambassadors," serving the needs of royalty, Hollywood celebrities, and the general public alike.
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| "[The Waikiki Beach Boys] are perpetual adolescents of the ocean, the playboys of the Pacific." |
As tourism grew and Waikiki beach attracted more visitors, the parties held by the beach boys became world famous as well. Since most of them played the 'ukulele all day long while sitting on the beach (waiting for that perfect wave, perhaps) many eventually began working for hotels to entertain tourists.
Today, like their group's founders, many of them are great storytellers, entertainers, and conversationalists. Author James Michener once said of these Beach Boys: "Without these remarkable people the island would be nothing. With them, it is a carnival. They are generous, courageous, and comic... They are perpetual adolescents of the ocean, the playboys of the Pacific..."
Still Enchanting
Waikiki Beach is famed for its magnificent views of the dormant volcano Diamond Head. It is usually pleasantly warm and free of clouds. For some distance into the ocean at Waikiki the water is quite shallow. The surf at Waikiki is known for its long rolling break, making it ideal for long boarding, tandem surfing– and for beginners. Waikiki is the site of many events year round, such as surf competitions, outdoor performances, hula dancing and outrigger canoe races.
Ramsay Taum of the University of Hawai'i calls ha, or atmosphere, the spiritual essence of a place. He says the fundamental value in Hawai'i is aloha, demonstrated through 'ohana, or family, how we treat and welcome one another. As a child, he and his family used to visit the Hau Tree Lanai in the original Halekulani Hotel. "My grandparents, uncles, aunts were there, and we were surrounded by palm trees, the ocean, the hau trees." According to Taum, there is a need to revive our cultural sense of place. "We have to return the soul to Waikiki."
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| Don't miss the fun this weekend at the U.S. premier of "Waikiki". |
And what better way to do so than to honor the legacy of music and dance that was born out of the transformation of Waikiki from swampy marshland to fishponds and taro fields, from duck ponds and rice paddies to luxury resort retreat for the wealthy, to finally, an unparalleled playground for the world.
Through the songs and dances of "Waikiki," AHA invites you to celebrate this beautiful, magical star of Hawai'i.
Get your tickets for this Saturday's performance of "Waikiki"
- by Patricia Ravarra |
