Ua hānau a hānai ʻia ʻo Iota Cabral ma ʻŌʻōkala–kahi kūlanakauhale mahi kō liʻiliʻi loa ma ka palena o nā moku ʻo Hilo a me Hāmākua–ma ka Moku o Keawe. ʻO ka ʻŌlelo Paʻiʻai ka ʻōlelo mana o ia wahi, a ʻo ia hoʻi kāna ʻōlelo mua. Ma kona wā kamaliʻi, ua mau nō ke ola o ka pāʻoihana ʻo Hāmākua Sugar Company a ua hānai ʻia ʻo ia ma kekahi o nā kahua mahi kō ʻo Kukui Village a ua nui nā ʻano lāhui like ʻole e noho ana ma ia mau kahua mahi kō, mai ka Hawaiʻi a i nā lāhui i komoneʻe i Hawaiʻi nei e hana ai ma nā ʻāina mahi kō.

Ua hele ʻo ia i ke kula haʻahaʻa a kiʻekiʻe o Laupāhoehoe. Hoʻomau ʻo ia i ka hele kula ʻana i Mānoa no hoʻokahi makahiki a ua hoʻi mai i Hilo nei no ka hele ʻana i ke Kulanui o Hawaiʻi ma Hilo. Paʻa akula kāna palapala laepua ma ka Haʻawina Hawaiʻi a me ka ʻEpekema Kūlohelohe, kāna palapala laeoʻo ma ka Moʻokalaleo a ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, a me kāna palapala laeʻula ma ka Hōʻola ʻŌlelo a Moʻomeheu Hawaiʻi a ʻŌiwi. Ua aʻo ʻo ia no 25 a ʻoi aku makahiki ma Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani. Noiʻi ʻo ia i ka pilinaʻōlelo Hawaiʻi a me ke apo ʻōlelo ʻelua ʻana. He ʻekolu āna ʻīlio ʻo Jiro San, Halle Girl, a me Masanori.

Dr. Cabral was born and raised in ʻŌʻōkala, Hawaiʻi, which is a small sugar plantation town on the border of Hilo and Hāmākua. The Hawaiian Creole or “Pidgin” spoken in that plantation community is his first language. The sugar mill for the Hāmākua Sugar Company was located in ʻŌʻōkala when the sugar plantation was still in business and he grew up in one of the many plantation camps, namely Kukui Village, surrounding the mill among different ethnic groups ranging from Hawaiians to the immigrant groups who moved to Hawaiʻi to work for the plantation.

He attended Laupāhoehoe High and Elementary School from K-12. After one year at UH-Mānoa, he moved back home to attend UH-Hilo where he got a B.A. in Hawaiian Studies and Natural Sciences, an M.A. in Hawaiian Language and Literature, and a Ph.D. in Hawaiian and Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization. This is his twentythird year of teaching Hawaiian Language for Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani, the College of Hawaiian Language at UH-Hilo. His research interests include Hawaiian syntax and grammar as well as second language acquisition. He has three pitbulls named Jiro San, Halle Girl, and Masanori.