Coco Talanoa — Coco News / Page 51

The video “I’m a Proud Pacific Islander” is one of two videos created by the Pacific UN Free & Equal campaign for equal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.

It features the faces and voices of LGBTI people and their allies from across the Pacific, calling for everyone to take a stand for LGBTI equality.

‘We are what we remember, the self is a trick of memory . . . history is the remembered tightrope that stretches across the abyss of all that we have forgotten’

Maualaivao Albert Wendt

‘Ta’isi O.F.Nelson, Political Campaigner & Statesman’

Credit: Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 31-66440. Photographer, H.J. Schmidt, article from The Museum of Sāmoa.  Photos courtesy of Tony Brunt via the Museum of Samoa

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Ta’isi Olaf Frederick Nelson (24 February 1883 - 28 February 1944) was a successful businessman, scholar, and the leader of the Mau movement in the 1920’s and 1930’s.  Despite a firm position against violent protest of any kind Ta’isi was banished for two long stints, spending more than seven and a half years of forced residency in New Zealand without the right of return to attend to family or business matters.  He was absent from Samoa during the shootings in Apia on ‘Black Saturday’ 28 December, 1929.…more

Night 1 - " The Beauty of Oneness " Miss Galaxy Pageant 2017 Program at Queen Salote Memorial Hall, Kingdom Of Tonga 12th July 2017

Coco Talanoa - Media Panel, join Johnson Raela (Journalist, Tagata Pasifika) and the panel, Adrian Stevanon (Associate Producer, The Hui), Henry 'Jandals' Tuipe'a (Radio personality), Susana Guttenbeil (Jounalist and Communications Manager) and Yolande Ah Chong (Television personality and Media Liaison for Pacific Media Network) discussing issues of the day.

Today's discussion centres around Pacific representation in Aotearoa media and out there in the World.

“I decided that if I stayed, I would will be killed. I didn’t know where I would go but I prayed and said to my people ‘Today I will leave you with tears, but one day I will come back and you will smile’. If I escaped alive, maybe West Papua can be free.” - Benny Wenda

You’d pay attention if Samoans were tortured and imprisoned for raising the Samoan flag, or if Fijians were murdered for peacefully protesting.

You’d pay attention if Tongan villages were burnt to the ground, women raped and children killed.

Yet there is an island in the Pacific where these horrors are actively taking place and the Pacific region isnt paying enough attention, says Saina Tomi Setu from Samoa First Union, who is helping to publicise the plight of West Papua in Apia while the Pacific Islands Forum Summit is being held.

As Pacific people we are often too comfortable in our freedom, scrolling through global news of recent race hate violence but not connecting to the human rights violations happening right next door.…more

Bouncing – One of the only occupations where people feel entitled to get in your face, bold and intoxicated, and tell you how to do your job.

The Auckland nightlife has been growing and evolving rapidly over the past ten years, and through new bars, clubs, crowds and music, one aspect remains fairly constant…Pacific Island bouncers.

“Nightclubs like islanders because we’re naturally big and it’s easier to have someone big and intimidating to say “no”. When I was working, we were all mostly Islanders…Samoans and Tongans.” – Eti Naseri.

Eti, who now works as a club promoter and operator of two Auckland nightclubs, has around 7 years experience as a bouncer. Entering the scene while he was still in high school, Eti quickly learned that the job was less about the ladies and status, and more about brotherhood. There is an obvious and necessary camaraderie between the handful of men who watch over up to 200 people at a time.

 Addressing the stereotypes that bouncers are “dumb angry coconuts”, Eti says that they’re usually always untrue.…more

Finally, an Auckland restaurant 100% dedicated to Pacific Island food.

Kai Pasifika opened its doors this month and has set itself apart as New Zealand's first ever Pacific foods restaurant. Every dish on the menu has Pasifika origins or incorporates ingredients directly from the islands. 

The venture led by renowned chef Robert Oliver offers a menu that includes our favourite to'ona'i dishes, including pua'a Samoa pork, ika vakalolo, sapasui, taro and more (see the full menu here). Lunch dining will start on May 24th, and To'ona'i Sunday's are to come - how much better can that get?

Aside from iconic island flavours that will prompt family to'ona'i nostalgia , what makes Kai Pasifika so special is the team behind the food. Head Chef Bertrand Jang, originally from Fiji, says the restaurant is a living dream. 

"Everyday I am excited to come to work and share the experience with my friends.…more

Islanders definitely have a flare for innovative names, and it’s quite common in our culture to be named after an event or object. Here are a few people who’ve shared the stories behind their unconventional names.

Apollo Eleven Perelini - (Apollosefulutasi Perelini)

Samoan 

As you can probably guess, Apollo was named after the space mission ‘Apollo 11’, in which Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first men to step foot on the moon.

“Until the age of 8 I was convinced that I had been named after the Greek Sun God Apollo. However, I found out otherwise when I had to take my birth certificate into school, as a proof of my age in a upcoming rugby tournament. I was shocked to see the full name on my birth certificate.

It was July 16, 1969 in Matautu Lefaga (Paradise Beach) Samoa.…more

TAMED NATIVES AND WHITEWASHED BEAUTY – WHERE ARE OUR BROWN SKINNED BROTHERS AND SISTERS AT IN THE MODELLING WORLD?

The lack of Pasifika and Indigenous faces in fashion and media is nothing new, and though we are slowly seeing a shift in representation and diversity, we're still a long way from where we need to be. 

Looking back, some of the first Pasifika faces to surface in the New Zealand modelling scene include Rosanna Raymond, Sarah Leo, Monique Rana, Stan Wolfgramm and Marama Nicholas (to mention a few). During the 80's and 90's these models brought a fresh energy to a scene that was European dominant in representation. A handful of New Zealand brands and platforms like Workshop and Planet Magazine took the lead in presenting and celebrating Pasifika faces to their audiences. 

Now a leader and innovator within the contemporary Pacific art scene, Rosanna Raymond spoke to us about her time as a model in the 80’s.…more