International Night Recap
By: Alesi Meyers-Tuimavave
Photos Provided by: Interviewees, Interntional Student Association Facebook page, and Alesi Meyers-Tuimavave
Tupulaga O Samoa Mo A Taeao performing at International Night 2024
International Night 2024 was unforgettable. UH Hilo students came together with community members to put on this annual event. Audience members voyaged through the many beautiful islands of Oceania; over to Japan, where they showcased their grace and pop culture; continuing on to Ireland with a sensational tap dance; and even traveling to México. It was the group’s first participation in International Night and they showed off their Hispanic heritage to much applause.
As community members, students, faculty, and staff members alike lined up on Friday, Feb. 23 to enter the Performing Arts Center, performers were backstage dressing in their cultural attire, getting last minute practices in, and celebrating with one another until the show started.
Doors opened at 7 p.m., where crowds of excited and anxious audience members made their way into the theater, seating themselves as they waited for the show to begin. At exactly 7:30 p.m., the lights were dimmed and a documentary-style video recap of last year's International Night was played. Along with shots of performances, there were also interview clips of student performers talking about their experiences.
When the video was over, the crowd cheered, and two students came out to introduce International Night 2024. They also presented and thanked different workers from ISA (the International Student Association) who helped organize the event, along with their sponsors.
After everyone was introduced, the performances began. For each group that performed, two students introduced themselves and their respective clubs with slide shows explaining where they come from through pictures of different foods, cultural attire, traditions, and so on.
The full International Night 2024 show can be found on YouTube, posted by the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo’s page. (Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bj-HDb2Te8)
The program and order of performances was as follows:
- Japan: Taishoji Taiko
- Hawaiʻi: Hui Haumana Hawaiʻi ma Hilo
- Pohnpei: Kaselehlie Pohnpei Club
- Palau: Ngelekel Belau Club
- Japan: Japanese Students Association
- Marshall Islands: Marshallese Iakwe Club
- Intermission
- Ireland: Hawaii Irish Dance
- Kosrae: Kosrae Hilo Organization
- México: Hispanic Heritage Club
- Sāmoa: Tupulaga O Sāmoa Mo A Taeao
Ke Kalahea had the opportunity to speak to some of these performers, following International Night.
Hawaiian student and history major with a focus in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific, Makanoe Hufana has performed at International Night for two years. The O'ahu native is graduating this semester.
“I chose to perform [with Hui Haumana Hawai‘i ma Hilo] to represent my home because Hawaiʻi is an illegally occupied nation that was then turned into a not-legal state,” Makanoe said, “and I decided to perform, or dance, with Palau because my significant [other] is from there and I wanted to learn more about the culture.”
“[Our group, Hui Haumana] are all Hawaiians from different communities on campus, and we are all very spread out in terms of majors and interests,” Makanoe went on, “but we all could agree that our drive was to make sure we represent the kingdom of Hawaiʻi and the progression of Hawaiian culture and sovereignty.”
Makanoe expressed her love for putting together the ‘oli (chants) and hula (dance). Makanoe confessed to almost crying while performing because she was so proud to be representing her lāhui from back home.
Hui Haumana Hawaii ma Hilo club perform a hula
“Please join Hawaiʻi, we are open to anyone coming to learn and no be shame,” Makanoe says to students of UH Hilo.
“Also, I’d like to share a big mahalo to my hui as well as the… Ngelekel Belau Club, for letting me have the honor and privilege of learning more about Palau and your culture as well as letting me perform with you all. Congratulations to all the seniors that were performing at International Night!”
Lennie Espinoza graduated last semester with a B.A. in English, after studying at UH Hilo for two and a half years. This year was Lennie’s first time participating in International Night. Scheduling conflicts prevented him from dancing, so he instead presented the performers.
Being able to represent Hispanics and Mexicans, along with being loud and being heard, was exhilarating for Lennie, especially since this was México’s first time performing at International Night.
Lennie loved interacting with other performers backstage and after the show, as well as getting the crowd hyped for the Hispanic Heritage Club. He was a performer in high school, and being back in that space was exciting.
“Being indigenous – Chiricahua, Apache, and Mexican – and being able to represent the indigenous communities in México was also really nice,” Lennie said, “It’s very similar to America of like, ‘you’re Mexican, you’re not Native American’. México did a really, really, good job of trying to erase our national identity and unify us under this identity of Mexican. So, it was nice to be able to represent México in a way that honored the diversity of the country and the people.”
Hispanic heritage club performing the flamenco dance
Mio Kamioko, an international student from Papua New Guinea and Japan, received a B.A. in Ohio before coming to UH Hilo to pursue an M.A. in the Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science (TCBS) program.
Being one of three Pacific Islander students in Ohio, Mio appreciates the involvement of her culture in activities like International Night and through her degree.
“[Our research], it’s not just focused on the environment, [but] it involves our talk-stories, our kava circles, arts, music, songs, dance – that all contributes to our understanding of sustainability. That experience has really strengthened my identity as a Pacific Islander,” said Mio.
Mio Kamioko presenting at International Night
Mio has performed at International Night for three years, the first being held in the Campus Center Plaza thanks to COVID-19 restrictions. She danced with five other students in a Melanesian fusion. Last year, her group did a Fijian dance but there was no one to teach them this year after mentor Dr. Tarisi Vunidilo left UH Hilo.
Growing up in Papua New Guinea exposed Mio to lots of different cultural dances, and she loves to learn to dance in different styles; in Ohio, a friend taught her some Indian dancing. So this year, Mio decided to dance with the Ngelekel Belau Club to represent Palau.
Mio explained how meeting different Palauan students at UH Hilo, for the first time, and seeing what great people they are made her want to perform with them.
“I think that’s a huge part of learning another cultural dance, wanting to pay the proper respects to that culture,” Mio said. “You wanna be able to give it your best because you’re representing their culture, their country, on an international stage… Balancing that demand of student [life] and trying to be respectful to the culture and perform is sometimes a little hard to do. Yeah, my least favorite part was feeling like I couldn’t give it my best.”
Mio also worked behind the scenes with ISA to prepare for the show, and was the first MC of the night, as well as a presenter for Taishoji Taiko.
“Meeting all these amazing Pacific Islanders from Micronesia, other Melanesian brothers and sisters of mine, and Polynesians,” Mio said, “It’s been such an amazing coming home for me, in a way… there’s so much love, and so much hope for us Pacific Islanders. We have what it takes, we are enough as we are. And we can be more, we don’t have to be like any other culture… or meet any other standards to live a good life. We know what it means to have a good life in our own cultures and deep in our blood, we just need to believe in ourselves.”
Erika 'Hema' Asiata holding the Samoan flag as he prepares for International Night
Sociology major Erika “Hema” Asiata is an international student from Sāmoa. This was his second year performing with Tupulaga O Sāmoa Mo A Taeao for International Night.
He was chosen to instruct the performances this year, with the help of Tuimalata, another Sāmoan student, who helped choreograph the seven dances they performed.
Hema enjoyed the non-stop practices (the group gathered every night), but found teaching difficult. It might have paid off with the audience participation though:
“I liked how they [the crowd] were screaming and all that. I heard my name, [well] I was hearing my name throughout the whole thing. That was fun, it was enjoyable,” Hema said.
Accounting and sociology major Jae Marie Mae “Cindy” Digno danced for her second year in a row with the Marshallese Iakwe Club (MIC), and joined the Ngelekel Belau Club. Born and raised in the Marshall Islands, she identifies as Marshallese and Filipino.
“When you’re somewhere really far from home, you’re very eager to do something that reminds you of it,” she said.
MIC had a live band, and Cindy said that during practices, their keyboard person would play songs between breaks. The singers would join in, and everyone would begin dancing because it felt like they were “back home in the Marshall Islands”.
Cindy Dingo holding a lei getting ready to perform with Palau
“We have members who weren’t raised in the Marshall islands but they’re Marshallese, they were just raised here,” Cindy said. “How they’re inserting themselves into our culture, even though they weren’t really raised around it, it’s so beautiful… Even those who aren’t Marshallese, and don’t know much about the culture, they learned something new. We’re really happy with that outcome...”
Cindy learned some Palauan dancing in 2020 and after seeing Palau perform at last year's International Night, she wanted to join them too.
She said that dancing with MIC felt more natural than NBC, but that the strict nature of Palauan dancing (where there is more bending down and use of the hips) gave her a satisfying challenge.
“An biliñliñ koba koman lometo,” Cindy shared, a Marshallese quote which means, “Tiny droplets create an ocean”.
“I would really like to encourage students to join International Night,” Cindy said. “Even if it’s not your culture, you have the opportunity to represent another culture and meet new people, expand your network, while also adding on to your knowledge of other places in the world that you probably didn’t even know about. Or even coming up with their own club to represent their own culture, that would be really nice. One club we missed this year was Fiji.”
Taishoji Taiko kicking off the show with roaring drums
Kosrae Hilo organizations girls performing
Mio Kamioko performing with NBS Palau International Night
Marshallese Iakwe Club dancing and smiling together as they perform
Kaselehlie Pohnpei Club performs couples dance
Ngelekel Belau Club performing at International Night 2024