‘Ūniki
Lāhela Igarta
Mai ka ʻōʻili ana a ka lā i Kumukahi a ka lā iho aku i ka mole ʻolu o Lehua, aloha mai kākou. ʻO au no ʻo Kumu Hula Lahela Igarta o Hālau Nā Mamo o ka ʻUpaʻiakaʻaua.
I was truly blessed by my mom Rachel Puaahihi Ignacio Igarta and the entire Ignacio ʻohana by being immersed in Hawaiian music and hula from the day I was born. ʻO ke kahua ka mua….this was my foundation, the beginning of the journey.
Through Ilima Hula Studio with Kumu Hula Louise and Luka Kaleiki, my passion for hula ignited. At my first class at the age of 7, I decided that, when I grew up, I would teach school and teach hula on the weekends.
After the passing of Aunty Louise and Aunty Luka, I took a break from hula but then again found myself drawn back and became a student under Kumu Hula Samuel Bernard of Hālau Kaulu Laka. After a year, life again took me down other roads.
In August 1992, after the urging of my brother, Lōpaka Igarta-De Vera and Kumu Sonny Ching, I became a member of Hālau Nā Mamo O Puʻuanahulu. At the time, the idea of becoming a Kumu Hula was not even a stirring in my naʻau. I was content to just dance and enjoy the beauty of Kumu’s choreography. After all, I was doing exactly what I said I would do, teaching school during the week and helping Kumu teach hula on Saturdays.
When Kumu asked me to seriously begin the training to become a Kumu, once again, I was not sure that it was the right thing for me. In fact, even during the six years of training, we would discuss the fact that I did not want to become a Kumu Hula. E hui kala mai, my fellow Kumu Hula brothers and sisters!
Thankfully, I continued the journey. So after 20 years of dancing with my Kumu, I can now open my own hālau.
So, why am I now a Kumu Hula? ʻAʻole naʻu ke koho, na ke Akua i koho i koʻu ala e hele ai, koʻu kuleana e ʻauamo ai, ʻo ka hula ka mea i koho ʻia noʻu. I did not choose, I believe ke Akua chooses our path and our responsibility to fulfill, and hula was the path that was chosen for me because it is through hula that I can help our keiki know our stories, understand our traditions, understand the pilina between each other and the world around us, ka ʻāina, ka lani, ka wai. It is through mele that we of this time can see, touch and experience what it was like to be Hawaiian hundreds of years ago.
Through my own hālau, if I can continue the style and teaching of my Kumu, if I can bring honor not only to my Kumu but also to the Luna Loiloi who have given me this honor and this responsibility, if I can bring dignity to the Hawaiian people, then I will have fulfilled my destiny, I will have fulfilled my kuleana to be of service to the lāhui. E ola mau ka ʻike kuʻuna o nā kūpuna, Kū i ka niʻo.
And now the new journey begins…
