Portrait of the famous Polynesian singer Barthélémy Arakino, the king of kaina.

Barthélémy the last kaina

Coming from a long line of singers, since his father, his grandfather and even his great-grandfather were known for their musical talents, Barthélémy Arakino was born in 1956. He grew up among the Tuamotu and its district of Outumaoro, in Tahiti. The boy learned to write songs from his father, in the Paumotu language of Hao. At nineteen, he went to France for the first time with the army. The success of his first song recorded in the studio, On my return from metropolis, opened the world to him. He was thus able to travel in Europe and the United States, performing on various stages. Barthélémy has long been the only singer to make a decent living from his royalties in French Polynesia. Filmed just before his death in 2015, this film is the only documentary dedicated to this sacred monster.