Chakacha is named after a girl’s dance style from Mobasa, Kenya. The song invites a woman named Kamitina to dance, recalling that when they danced chakacha, all was well. She agrees to dance. Frank Ulwenya was born into the Luya ethnic group in the Maragoli area of Western Kenya, an area known for producing many of Kenya’s top musicians. Frank started to play guitar at age 10 and at age 18, he began to play in a group called the Sky Raiders, based in Nairobi. From 1979 to 1985, he worked as a disc jockey and played in three different bands: Earthquake, Madics, and Ise Ise. In 1985, after moving to Seattle to work for the Boeing Company, Frank started meeting with friends to play music. Upon the suggestion of other Kenyans, this informal group started to perform together as Ujamaa (sometime translated as “sharing talents”). In 1987, Frank founded his current ensemble, Le Orchestre Afrisound, with other African and American musicians. Frank and Afrisound are an important fixture on the local Seattle scene, especially for East Africans, for whom Frank is considered the musical standard-bearer. A key member of the Pacific Northwest Kenyan Association and other African organizations, Frank and Afrisound are regulars at regional African community events and in Seattle clubs. Most recently, Ulwenya has been playing bass with Yoka Enzenze, also featured on this recording.