Kool Kat of the Week: Hele mei hoohiwahiwa means “Come celebrate” with Calu Cordeiro at the Rockabilly Luau and Mai Tai Tahitian Tuesdays at Dark Horse Tavern

Posted on: Aug 2nd, 2012 By:

Tiki Cocktail Goddess Calu Cordeira. Photo courtesy of Calu Cordeira.

By Torchy Taboo
Contributing Writer

From Tiki-inspired dance to tattoo arts, this week’s Kool Kat Calu Cordeiro is a well-established and highly sought-after talent in Atlanta’s retro-style nightlife. We talked to her about many things Tiki including the upcoming Rockabilly Luau on Saturday Aug. 4 at the Holiday Inn Northlake (check out our full preview here). To those unfamiliar with Polynesian pop culture, it may seem like more glibly appropriated ethnic flavor – patio torches and grocery store Mai Tai mix. But to a true-blue Tiki lover like Calu, it’s a smoldering yet soul-soothing treat for all the senses. We share a deep adoration for the beauty of these cultures popularized in mainland America in the mid-20th century, so I asked about some of the ways she works to bring to Atlanta the instant vacation that Tiki events offer so easily.

Aloha! Tell our ALTRetro readers, when did you first become a Tiki-phile? What drew you to the genre?

I have always loved all things Tiki. I guess it comes from my mum and step-dad. Trader Vic’s was their fave restaurant. My first Trader Vic’s experience was in London at around 7ish. I was hooked.

I was lucky enough to have cocktails with your mother on one of her visits. It’s clear where you inherited your beauty and charm. You’ve been actively nurturing the Poly-pop scene from behind the bar here in Atlanta for a while; give us the scoop on your current Mai Tai Tahitian Tuesdays?

Mai Tai Tiki nights are something I invented for myself to make my bartending week more pleasurable [and] bring a li’l bit of the beach to ATL bars. I have been doing this for over 10 years and will take it with me wherever I go. It now resides at the Dark Horse Tavern in the Virginia Highlands – Mai Tai Tahitan Tuesdays, 9 p.m.-Drunk.

Photo courtesy of Calu Cordeira.

I’m looking forward to your cocktails pool side this weekend. What are you looking forward to most about the Rockabilly Luau.

I am so excited to bring my drinks to the Rockabilly Luau. I just love making people drunk with my luscious libations. Well, that certainly works out nicely, ha, ha, ha.

You and I have been talking about setting up a cocktail class with the famous Tiki mixologist and author Beachbum Berry in Oct. Are you still game?

I would be honored to take any class pointers from Beachbum Berry, so yes!

I first met the Beach Bum at the world famous Mai-Kai [in Fort Lauderdale, FL], during the Hukilau, the East coast’s big annual Tiki festival. Are you up for a Tiki field trip to South Florida for next years festival and afternoons sipping Mutinies & Rum Barrels in the Molokai Bar

The Hukilau!.Next year! It’s OOOOn!

You have some gorgeous skin art.

I started getting tattooed at 23 – and just from there went full force.

When did you decide to get on the other side of the machine?

I’m kind of at a stopping point [getting tattooed] except for fun things here and there and getting existing stuff finished, so now I like tattooing others. It’s just another medium of art for me.

What other talents have you that we haven’t seen yet? Are there Tiki mugs and carvings I don’t know about?

I love to paint, carve, sculpt, glue, sew, whatever. I love a challenge .

So what should we look for next from you?

My new love is hot yoga and at some point want to get certified for that – Hottikiyoga – watch out, ha,ha.

So as happy-hour called to us, she on her side of the bar and I on mine, I said Mahalo and settled back with a lovely rum concoction and let that little vacation in a glass wash in like the tide.  Hope to see you all by the pool!

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Fire-Eating Mermaids, Cocktails and Guitars, Oh, My! Getting Revved & Ready for the Second Annual Rockabilly Luau

Posted on: Jul 30th, 2012 By:

Atlanta will say aloha to the Second Annual Rockabilly Luau this Sat. Aug. 4 from noon to 10 p.m. by the pool at the Holiday Inn Northlake, which has been undergoing renovations for a tiki cabana look. The first Rockabilly Luau last summer at Masquerade Music Park featured a great line-up of bands, burlesque and Polynesian performers and vendors. But after this long hot summer and before the Mayan calendar ends, this year’s event is themed The End of Summer, End of the World Luau! And ATLRetro is excited that cofounder Chris Mattox decided to relocate it to a more watery location, allowing us to pretend we have escaped to the paradise of the Hawaiian Islands and some added entertainment opportunities including aquatic dance by Marina the Fire-Eating Mermaid (also known as MeduSirena) from Fort Lauderdale, FL. Plus the incomparable Calu Cordeiro, mixologist for Mai Tai Tahitian Tuesdays at Dark Horse Tavern, will be supervising the cocktails – a must for any Retro-Polynesian-themed event. Again all proceeds go to two animal rescue charities, Friends to the Forlorn and Shelter Angels

True to its name, Rockabilly Luau combines two Retro styles – tiki and rockabilly, with a healthy dose of surf. Back again are ATLRetro favorites The Rebel Surfers from Nashville (12:30-1:30), Hot Rod Walt and the Psycho Devilles (4:15-5:15) and Daikaiju (1:45-2:45), who unfortunately got rained out last year. El Capitan & Thee Scallywags (5:30-6:30) also are on the bill, as well as a Polynesian Show (3-4 and 7:15-8:15), a tropical bathing suit fashion show by Waterbabies (6:45-7), Marina the Fire-Eating Mermaid (8:30-9), and culminating in a Volcano Sacrifice Burlesque Show starting at 9:15. Co-hosts are Marina and the Right Rev. Andy, DJ of Psychobilly Freakout on Garage 71, Atlanta’s top rockabilly music radio source and the main stage sponsor.

More features include a fire knife performance, a vintage car cruise-in, live tiki carving, real kalua pork and other Polynesian fare, hula hoop performances by Hoop Essence, Poi performances by Sinder and Incendia and tons of vendors located on Tiki Row (including ATLRetro! We’ll be bringing plenty of T-shirts featuring our exclusive logo by DerekArt, hair flower art, Hula girl tote bags and more Hawaiiana and Retro items).

Marina, the Fire-Eating Mermaid. Photo courtesy of Marina.

ATLRetro caught up with Marina, a self-described “zany Uncanny Exoticat-Aquaticat,” to find out a little more about what it’s like to be a mermaid, why she was drawn to recreating vintage aquatic dance for today’s audiences, her Retro dance influences ranging from Esther Williams to Bruce Lee, and what she has planned for the Rockabilly Luau.

ATLRetro: How did you become a mermaid?

Marina: Well, there was never a time I “became” a “mermaid,” to tell you the truth. I can say that I learned how to free dive at a very early age – 3 – in the West Indies and have always maintained a strong connection with aquatic movement art. That, together with training in Polynesian and Eastern dances, it was a natural fit. I was inspired by marine animal movement and performers and showpeople ranging from Esther Williams, Eartha Kitt, Ricou Browning, Annette Kellerman, Iris Chacón and even Freddie Mercury, with a touch of Bruce Lee. My goal is to not only to return aquatic performances to people’s consciousness, but to help educate and encourage the art form for future generations. Retro-tainment if you will.

What attracts you to mermaids and do you have a favorite mermaid of screen or fiction?

The mermaid [is a] combination of two enviornments – the aquatic & the terrestrial – [and] everyone sees it in a different and personal manner. I perform often without fins, and love it just as much. It pays homage to those first aquatic performers.

The “mermaid” is what most people connect with, and as seems to have become quite popular recently, it’s what most people expect. I make it a point, however, not to appear “realistic,” instead opting for the image of a woman in a “fishtail cocktail dress.” I feel it best addresses the genre I wish to represent.

Marina recreates the aquatic dance made famous by the incomparable Esther Williams. Photo courtesy of Marina.

As for my favorite “mermaid” in film, it has to be the great Esther Williams. If you are referring to the “tailed” variety, it’s got to be SHE CREATURE (2001 remake). She was dangerous, and that really was great – she should make you nervous! The original CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON is also a fave. Love him to chummy bits.No single time we Phentermine suffered any “fake drugs” or delay.

Can you give readers a quick taste of what you have planned for Rockabilly Luau?

As for what I’ve got planned, all I’ll say is that it will be a loving nod to the golden age of tourism entertainment – a bit of swimming, a bit of fire, a lot of humor. I sincerely hope everyone enjoys it. It is a terrific honor to be a part of such a terrific event and for such a noble cause.

Tickets for the Rockabilly Luau are $15 in advance (available here) and $20 at the gate.

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