Nani Alapai
| Nani Alapai | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Native name | Nani Alapaʻi |
| Birth name | Julita Nani Malina |
| Also known as | Madame Alapai |
| Born | December 1, 1874 Līhuʻe, Kauaʻi, Kingdom of Hawaii |
| Died | October 1, 1928 Territory of Hawaii, United States |
| Genres | Hawaiian |
| Occupation(s) | Vocalist, soprano |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Labels |
Victor Columbia |
| Associated acts | Royal Hawaiian Band |
Nani Alapai (December 1, 1874 – October 1, 1928) was a Hawaiian soprano singer of Native Hawaiian and Filipino descent during the early 1900s. A leading prima donna of the early era of Hawaiian music, she traveled and performed with the Royal Hawaiian Band and popularized the song "Aloha ʻOe" by Queen Liliʻuokalani in the United States.
Julita Nani Malina was born in Līhuʻe, on the island of Kauaʻi, on December 1, 1874. Her parents were Keokilele Halemanu Punana Ukeke (died 1913), a Native Hawaiian from Wainiha, and John Malina Sr, an early Filipino settler in Hawaii. Her father worked as a paniolo cowboy at Kipu Ranch, owned by William Hyde Rice, and received his surname from the Hawaiian pronunciation of Manila. The family surname has always been spelled Molina. She had many siblings while growing up including five brothers and eight sisters. She received her education at a Roman Catholic boarding school for girls in Honolulu.
Around 1895, she married William J. Alapai and became known as Mrs. or Madame Alapai. On November 20, 1910, after the death of her first husband, she remarried to W. C. Luke and became known as Madame Alapai Luke. For an unknown reason, her marriage certificate listed her parents as Panakiko Kealii and Anna. Alapai and Luke were divorced by 1916, with her citing non-support in the court case.
She adopted and raised Cecelia Kuliaikanuʻuwaiʻaleʻale Waipa (1907–?), granddaughter of former Hawaiian Royal Guard Captain Robert Parker Waipa and a member of the extended Parker ranching family of the island of Hawaii. She became the wife Thomas C. Lake and later Prince David Kalākaua Kawānanakoa. A musical entertainer herself, Cecelia was the mother of Hawaiian musician and composer Kahauanu Lake, who was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 2004.
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