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Piʻikea Kekīhenelehuawewehiikekauʻōnohi Lopes, KSK ‘18, claimed the prestigious title of Miss Aloha Hula at Merrie Monarch Festival earlier this year and won the Hawaiian Language Award with a perfect score of 50.

Uplifting ‘ōiwi culture on a global stage

Aug. 8, 2022

For Piʻikea Kekīhenelehuawewehiikekauʻōnohi Lopes KSK’18, it was never a question of if she would enter the Merrie Monarch Miss Aloha Hula competition. As the daughter of nā kumu hula Tracie Lopes KSK’89 and Keawe Lopes of hālau hula o Ka Lā ʻŌnohi Mai o Haʻehaʻe, dancing for the prestigious competition was “stamped on [her] birth certificate.”

“When you’re raised as a kumu hula’s daughter, you have this expectation to live by. You have to go,” says Lopes, whose mother was crowned Miss Aloha Hula in 1994.

In April, Lopes faced nine other soloists in the Miss Aloha Hula competition at the 59th Annual Merrie Monarch Festival. She claimed the coveted title with a score of 1,168 points, more than 60 points ahead of the second-place contestant.

Both mele she performed held special meaning for her ‘ohana. Her ‘auana “Pua Be-Still” by Bill Aliʻiloa Lincoln paid homage to her father’s side of the family and the area of Kohala. Her kahiko number, “No Puna Ke Āiwaiwa Hikina” by composer Lolokū, honored her mother’s hula lineage and featured motions inspired by Na Wai ‘Eha ‘O Puna, or the four waters of Puna.

“I just felt very pleased and thankful that the judges and everyone saw the importance of honoring your foundation, your lineage and the importance of the language and the ‘ike that our kūpuna passed down to us,” Lopes recalls.

She also earned a perfect score of 50 to win the Office of Hawaiian Affairs ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i Award.

“I don’t think you can dance hula without the language. That’s a big thing that I’ve realized after Merrie Monarch. If you’re going to do hula, if you’re going to teach it, and you’re going to dance it, you really can’t know what you’re dancing about or what you’re teaching unless you know the language. It’s a whole different level when it comes to mele and the type of poetry that our kūpuna use. That’s very different from just speaking,” Lopes says.

But speaking ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i in the mainstream media when the world is watching, as Lopes did in a TV interview with Hawaiʻi News Now, can have resounding impacts too. 

“I think conducting my interview in Hawaiian has inspired a lot of people. I’ve had a lot of people come up to me…who said how inspired their kids are to dance hula and to learn the language now. Seeing those young kids having pride in our language and perpetuating it is very pleasing,” Lopes says.

Her roots in the language are deep, having grown up in Hawaiian language immersion schools like ʻAha Pūnana Leo and Kula Kaiapuni ‘O Ānuenue before continuing her education at Kamehameha Schools (KS). She thrived in the ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi classes and Hawaiian Ensemble with Kumu Kaleo Trinidad KSK’93, traveling to Rapa Nui and Tahiti to welcome Hōkūle‘a on its worldwide voyage, and joined the volleyball team. She views her time at KS as formative, preparing her well for college and helping her break out of her shell.

“I think Kamehameha has a big role in building confidence that I didn’t know I had. [KS has] given me lots of great opportunities and relationships with other classes and classmates that have helped me grow. We love that tight-knit [community], bleeding blue and white,” Lopes says.

She remembers fondly the lessons she learned from ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i Kumu Melelani Pang. She recalls that her class wrote a song for Pang because “we were so inspired with what he had to say, and how much he loves the language. That’s how much we want to love language.”

Lopes hopes to continue installing this love of language in the next generation by becoming a Hawaiian language immersion kumu. In 2021, she graduated from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa with a bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian language and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in education at UH Mānoa.

Since becoming Miss Aloha Hula, Lopes has shared her story and what she has learned across Hawai‘i with grad students and immersion haumāna alike, even returning to Ānuenue, which was a “humbling” experience.

“I think an important thing for—at least my generation—is to allow yourself to let your guard down and to be vulnerable to all of whatever comes your way and to grow from it,” Lopes says.

For Lopes, she draws upon her Native Hawaiian culture, particularly hula, mele and ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i, as her three “rocks” when things get tough.

“I knew that hula, mele and ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i would always still be there. And that gave me a rock to stand on that I knew that one would never go away,” Lopes says. “So, my advice is to find that rock.”


Piʻikea Lopes' ʻauana performance.


Pi‘kea with her parents Tracie Lopes KSK’89 and Keawe Lopes celebrate the win.



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hawaiian culture,merrie monarch festival,alumni achievement

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Kaipuolono Article, Themes, Culture, Newsroom, Kapalama

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