God bless the great stoic, skeptic, jokester, always up to something, surfer, bard of Hā’ena, Hawaiian scholar, bandmate, surfer, friend, father, grandfather, husband, Uncle Carlos Andrade. Carlos passed away on Kauaʻi July 30, 2022 surrounded by his loved ones.
KUA and E Alu Pū’s connection and history with Carlos stretches back to the 90s with the founding of Hui Makaʻāinana o Makana (Hui) in Hāʻena, Kauaʻi. Carlos was part of a small group of fishers -from the Hui among others- whose efforts resulted in creating the Hawaiʻi Community Stewardship Network (HCSN). This gathering of fishers would eventually evolve into E Alu Pū, KUA’s oldest and largest network.
Carlos was known for bringing great intention as well as debate to community discussions, and he wasnʻt afraid to get dirty, led working crews, played music and helped cook. As a scholar of his community, he contributed greatly through his work at the University of Hawaiʻi Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, through his music with Na Pali, as a singer-songwriter, and through his storytelling. It is in his book Hāʻena Through the Eyes of the Ancestors that much of the vision and work of his ancestors and his community is laid out for others to learn from.
As a musician, he was surrounded by some of the world’s best, whether playing at home with Na Pali band members, Pat Cockett, Pancho Graham and Fred Lunt; or playing abroad and traveling with Taj Mahal and the Hula Blues. His songs were covered by some of Hawaiʻi’s greats including Uncle Gabby Pahinui.
We have spent time with Carlos in quiet contemplation in loʻi and at shorelines around the state and seen him in action at both formal and informal community meetings and events. Today the dreams he helped work for in Hāʻena continue to progress through the Hui in the designation and increased management of their community-based subsistence fishing area, the restoration of ancestral loʻi, their ahupuaʻa wide vision with Limahuli Gardens and co-steward relationships with the Hāʻena State Park and County of Kauaʻi.
We have known Carlos a long time seen the goodness in his heart, and felt his deep love for Hawaiʻi. His legacy continues in countless ways, some that are tangible and many that are not. We send aloha to his ʻohana, to his wife, Maile; his children, Makaliʻi, Pelika, and Kaimalino; and moʻopuna. He was a skipping stone effectively sending ripples throughout the numerous communities and efforts he’s been part of. So, we send our aloha also to the lāhui, the communities of people that have been impacted by his words, deeds, and gifts. Indeed, there are many.
God bless you Carlos Andrade.
His memorial was held at Waipā, Kauaʻi on Saturday, November 12, 2022.
Carlos the friend, surfer, recycler, musician, sailor, voyager, hoaʻāina, professor, and father
Hours of music, tribute, speedo references, hula, passing downpours and aloha. -Kinohi Fukumitsu
