We are pleased to present to you Mr. Larry Rivera, one of Kauai's living treasures. He is a prolific songwriter and recording artist, and one of Kauai's premier entertainers.
Larry Rivera was born in Kekaha on Kauai's westside but he now resides in Wailua on the east side of the island because he enjoys the more tropical climate there. Larry is of Filipino, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, German, and Hawaiian ancestory. His family has lived in Hawaii for six generations. Larry is the father of six children, all grown, and has 16 grandchildren. His three daughers are also in the recording industry.
Larry learned how to play the ukulele by watching others, including his grandfather, and he just picked around, doing everything they did with the ukulele. When he was going to school everyone brought an ukulele so he decided to learn how to play. He says of those days, "If you knew how to play, you would play it, and enjoy it for your own self. An ukulele you can play for just yourself. I learned just by watching and picking it up by ear."
When asked how he got his ukuleles and how long he has been playing them, Larry said that he had bought his ukulele from a tour director for one-hundred and fifty dollars. Today that same ukulele is worth a total of two-thousand dollars. "WOW!!!" We were all amazed. He has been playing the ukulele for a total of forty years. He has two "Martin" ukeleles and says that Martin is a better brand than the Kamaka ukulele. This is because the Martin is really rare and very expensive. He usually plays a guitar but always has his ukulele at his side. He brings it to parties and his shows. He has written over fifty songs on albums, cassettes, cd's and videos all over the world.
When this gifted entertainer plays the ukulele, he feels wonderful. The ukulele makes him feel relaxed and helps him ward off stress. "Playing the ukulele makes people happy," he states. He likes to play the songs that talk about aloha and to Larry, aloha means the spirit of Kauai. His composition, "Aloha is the Spirit of Kauai" is being reconized by the County and Mayor. You will see posters all around town saying "Aloha the Spirit of Kauai". This ambassador of harmony declares, "The ukulele brings people together. Whenever someone has an ukulele and you're sitting together, no matter if they're a total stranger -- and they're playing the ukulele -- you'll go up and listen and smile. It brings the aloha spirit together."
When asked what advice he had for someone just learning how to play the ukulele, this veteran strummer responded, "Learn by yourself. First play for your own pleasure and if you're good, you start playing on the the stage and then after that you can go on to recording. It's wonderful. The ukulele and its magic music brings people together, even total strangers."
In closing, this man whose heart and music beat as one, had this to say: "Remember, with the ukulele, the four strings have to be in harmony. They say , 'My dog has fleas.' That's how you tune an ukulele. Like the people of Hawaii, if you're not in harmony like the strings, you'll have problems so you must always keep your body, your mind in harmony with the music and the ukulele in tune."