Spotlight ON! Fernando Perez

June 15, 2022 • Addison Ching • Entertainment

It is difficult to determine where Fernando Perez lives. His life is a continuous odyssey. At the time these words were written he had a base in the city of Barcelona in his native Spain. But since he was 10 years old he has spent his life living all around the globe, spending years in every country and culture including of course Hawai‘i. The islands are in Fernando's heart his second-almost first home as he likes saying, "Because if I could choose where I was born that would be in Hawai‘i."

Fernando Perez grew up as a child in a small town called Ejea de los Caballeros in the North of Spain. His interest in music began when he was 7 years old when he literally "took over" his parents' guitar.

He has studied with great masters such as Roland Dyens (Classical), Scott Henderson (Jazz), Bob Brozman (Blues, Hawaiian), Yurdal Tokcan (Turkish), Ross Daly (Middle East), Hooshang Farahani (Persian), Daud Khan (Afghan), Vishwa M. Bhatt Family and Sri. Satish Pareek's family (Indian), Guo Mei (Chinese), Mohammed Antar (Arabic), Ivan Varimezov (Bulgarian).

But curiosity has taken him to learn directly from artists and their cultures, traveling to different places to experience the spirit of music. Residing in such exotic places as Hawai‘i, Africa, China, America, Spain, India, and Egypt.

Back during his childhood Fernando had a Spanish guitar teacher in his hometown who was in love with the Steel Guitar. Maestro Jesus Peralta was an old Spanish man who used to teach music to children at his home. He would teach them the chords for songs while he would play the melody on his mysterious steel guitar.

But it was many years later while living in Los Angeles, California that Fernando got seriously interested in the Kika Kila. While spending time at the Los Angeles Public Library Fernando came across a number of old methods, recordings and material about Hawaiian music and how to play steel guitar. This was love at first sight and since then all was Hawaiian in his world. This love got so seriously intoxicating that he decided to quit Hollywood and all his jobs as a session musician for the big main stream music artists of the 90s and move to Maui, Hawai‘i.

Uncle Sol in Wailuku, Maui was his first real contact with a true Hawaiian musician. From there came many names, some well known, and others humbly in the shadows but nevertheless very influential in not just learning how to play Steel Guitar but what it is to be Hawaiian. After his native Spain, Hawai‘i has been the place where he has lived the longest in his life. As he says with sadness,"I always wanted to stay there for the rest of my life but I could not find the way as an immigrant to get a permanent legal residence."

Although music was the first "hook" to come to Hawai‘i it really was the culture and its people that really gained his heart and soul.

When Fernando is not playing music he likes helping others do it. His second parallel career is as a Music Producer-Mixing Engineer. He has produced many records for different artists in Europe, USA and Asia. In his own words, "I love producing records for other artists. It is one of my ways of giving back to others and sharing the experience I have accumulated throughout the years."

This video is of Fernando Perez doing "Hi‘ilawe".

The video can also be seen on YouTube.

This feature is a snapshot of the complete tribute that is posted on the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase website. See the complete tribute here.