First -- to answer the most-asked question -- yes, I really am Auntie Maria...loving life on the northshore of Kaua`i -- The Garden Island! In addition to MELE.COM, my love of Hawaiian music is also played out on my two weekly radio shows (Wednesday & Friday, 7-9a.m. HST) on KKCR - Kaua`i Community Radio -- which is also broadcast worldwide online. I am a pro-active voting member of the Hawai`i Academy of Recording Arts (HARA) -- serving on the award selection committee, and as a panelist on the HARA-sponsored "Hawaiian Music Conference" series held island-wide. In my continuing support of island music and musicians, MELE.COM is now pleased to sponsor the weekly PAKELE LIVE concerts, which can be viewed online every Thursday evening (6p.m. HST). What began with my first hula lessons on the mainland as a child in the 1950s, evolved into a passion for the music of Hawai`i. To answer the second most-asked question -- no, I'm not Hawaiian (mother was Mexican-Scot; dad was mostly Scot-Irish). With repeated travels to the islands, my Hawaiian music library expanded beyond the treasured vinyl albums of my parents' collection...but it was the advent of the Internet that presented the opportunity to "spread the word" about the wonderful music and musicians of Hawai`i...thanks to my husband's technical expertise! MELE.COM opened its doors to the world in 1995. As the first independent online retailer of Hawaiian music, the mission of MELE.COM has always been clear MELE.COM is now widely acknowledged as having the world's largest in-stock inventory of the music of Hawai`i -- with over 1,300 different CD titles available for immediate purchase -- plus hula and music DVDs and videos. It has always been important to have MELE.COM be a "one stop shop", by providing:
Since opening in 1995, MELE.COM has expanded to become a resource for Hawaiian music fans, hula dancers, and island music historians by providing:
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