Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 8, 1 August 2016 — Remembering Aunty Hōkū [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Remembering Aunty Hōkū

By Lindsey Kesel Kumu Hula Marlene Hōkūlani DeRego was not your average everyday teacher. If you were lucky enough to dance hula under her with Hālau Hula 'O Hōkūlani, you also had an instant best friend, a mother and a life eoaeh all in one.

Aunty Hōkū spent her hanabata days in Wahiawā and found her passion for dancing hula and paddling eanoe early on. She studied under the hula lineage of Lokalia Montgomery, with inspirational guides like Nona and Keola Beamer. She also coached hoe wa'a at Leilehua High, where she met the love of her life, Lawrence "Unele Larry" DeRego. In 1985, Aunty Hōkū and Unele Larry founded Hālau Hula 'O Hōkūlani in Wahiawā with a focus on family and perpetuating Hawaiian values beyond the classroom. The hālau relocated to Waipahu and went on to win countless awards in internationally acclaimed eompetitions like the Merrie Monarch Festival. In April, the Hawai'i State Senate recognized Aunty Hōkū for her boundless contributions to Hawaiian culture, including teaching Hawaiiana in puhlie schools. Kumu Hula Hau'oli Akaka met Aunty Hōkū a quarter century ago as they moved in the same hula

circles. Serving as emeee for her homegrown Hula 'Oni Ē Hula Festival, he saw firsthand the boundless energy she gave to others without pause. "I think that what most impresses me about Hōkūlani's life philosophy and priorities is her focus on the family," he says. "This is especially apparent in their annual participation at the Iā 'Oe E Ka Lā Hula Competition in Northem California where her hālau always wins top honors in the keiki divisions, then the families travel to Disneyland to celebrate immediately after the festival is pau." Aunty Hōkū would spend countless hours sitting and talking story with eaeh student about their aspirations and their responsibilities to their parents. Hānai daughter and former student Donalyn Dela Cruz feels it was this personal bond that created a nurturing environment. "Students would blossom under her tutelage because she believed in all of them and inspired them to reach higher," she says. "There was

no lesson that could not be learned, even if it took more time for some than others. She expected the best from all her haumāna because she knew our abilities. She had the warmest smile and sweetest demeanor, yet there were times when she

would give the fiercest stare and the Wahiawā tita would be unleashed. No matter what, at the end of every class she would give the biggest hug and kiss — leaving the marks of her red lipstick on your eheek — to make sure you knew how mueh she loved you." In July, the hula community lost a teacher and a friend following her battle with cancer, but Aunty Hōkū's legacy lives on through her countless students spanning Hawai'i and the Mainland, Japan, New Zealand and Europe. Her emphasis on connection and participation, and her efforts to teach students to mālama eaeh other without judgment, ean be found in one of her favorite sayings: "There's no time for your shoulda, coulda, woulda — leave it all out there ! Do your best and God will take care of the rest." ■ Lindsey Keseī is a loeal freelance writer who focuses 011 building eommunity, protecting the 'āina, and preserving indigenous culture.

HEHO'OMANA'O v IN MEM0RIAM f

Kumu Hōkūlani DeRego has left behind a legacy of love and eommilmenl to Hawaiian culture. - Photos: Ann Cecil