Coco Talanoa — Pacific Blog / Page 22
Michel Tuffery - A message from Tangaroa
Reknown Pacific contemporary artist Michel Tuffery aims to create a dialogue about one of the most important issues we as Pacific people deal with - our environment.
The pacific environment, this has been a long standing narrative within my art practise.
I’ve recently returned from Tahiti delivering the most amazing film titled "Tupaia" made in collaboration with Lala Rolls.…more
Afakasi Alien in New York
After 32 hours travelling, 3 planes and surviving the beast that is LAX airport, this South Auckland afakasi woman arrived blurry eyed and bloated with airplane food at JFK airport New York City.
I jump into a yellow cab and head to Brooklyn as the driver ducks and dives between traffic like a pro. We trade stories about our home towns and what brings us to New York. I tell him I am a poet and here to check out one of the largest youth literary organisations in the world.
I arrive at my friends place in Crown Heights, Brooklyn just as the sun is setting. I am greeted by smiles from the papas playing chess in front of the stoop. Clearly, my years of travelling are not evident in my overweight suitcase . . . but a girl never knows what she may need, ya feel me? (that’s me trying to ‘New Yorkify’ myself). Once settled in, I am taken for a walk and shown the nearby laundromat, grocery corner store, the subway, bars and restaurants.…more
Dancing for JLO
I'm a dancer from New Zealand who has been selected to back up dance for Jennifer Lopez in Las Vegas.
I come from a small town Tokoroa and always dreamt of being a dancer. A passion of mine that started from a very young age and has now become a reality.....
Being from Tokoroa, i was limited to achieving this dream. I had to commute to and from Hamilton and Auckland 3-4x a week for classes and rehearsals as well as maintaining a full time job.
It was physically, mentally and financially challenging but i knew i had to make it work.
In 2012 i auditioned for Parris Goebels The Royal Family. A choreographer and company i knew i had to be apart of to grow as a dancer and achieve my dream.
I was successful and have been apart of the company ever since.
The move to Auckland was the biggest sacrifice i had to make. I always saw Tokoroa as my home. I was comfortable, i had my family and didn't no the outside world.…more
Welcome to Samoa, An Actual Country
I remember it well, spending three hours at Gatwick Airport in the UK, while the Customs agents tried to locate one of their people who knows what a Samoan passport looks like, to verify the existence of my country. They found an agent finally, who came over, took my passport and declared: "Sorry, this is not Somalian."
The feelings I had at that point ranged from a deep anger to a sense of amusing dismay at the fact that my beloved island Paradise of Samoa in the middle of the South Pacific, was mistaken for a war torn country in Africa.…more
Featured Writer: Tusiata Avia
This months featured writer is Tusiata Avia - Impossibly Smart, utterly funny and a true artist with the written word. Sink into her modern retelling of the beloved ‘Sina and the Tuna’ legend- and let us know your thoughts!
Surfing for Sina by Tusiata Avia
For an eel, Tuna wasn’t a bad looking guy, not good looking, but he wasn’t a dog.
No, Tuna was an eel. But Tuna, like most eels, had a hard time with the ladies – what with the smell and the slipperiness and the slime: not qualities most women find appealing. It would take someone special to see beyond that. And, let’s face it – we all care about looks, now, don’t we? Well, we do, don’t we?
Tuna lived his life in the sea of I.T. If I say he was a genius I wouldn’t be far off the mark. And socially, it suited him. A laptop doesn’t care if you’re a little clammy, a P.C. accepts you just the way you are.…more