Instagram story viewer> @pono.fernandez> Posts

Pono Fernandez

@pono.fernandez

4.2K

followers

2881

following

ʻO Hawaiʻi kuʻu ʻāina kilohana
• moʻolelo • mele • hula • hulu • ulana

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Honored, humbled…PUBLISHED AUTHOR 😭✍🏽📚

My first publication and I’m just so grateful (and FLOORED) to be in a book like this one. The authors and artists in this text are household names, scholars and teachers I’ve looked up to and who have truly influenced my journey of self discovery and kuleana. It was only fitting that I share this moment with my mother who nurtured my love for moʻolelo throughout my whole life. It was the greatest blessing to speak about her love for stories and honor my childhood spent writing our own stories as a pathway to healing our generational trauma. It would be a full circle moment, but because we’re women of Oceania, it’s a ring on our spiral 🌀

When my PhD journey began, publishing wasn’t something that interested me. My whole purpose in pursuing degrees and a career in education was to make space for the kinds of stories I always wanted to read, to empower Native Hawaiian youth by giving them the chance to see themselves in the stories told to them and about them. I can’t say when it finally clicked that this would be a natural part of that process but like my essay says, it’s time to contribute to the continuum of moʻolelo that our kūpuna have left for us. We are a present tense people, for the sake of our future generations.

Link in bio, cuz why not! #legacy #writer #author #scholar #pinchme taken in University of Hawai'i at Mānoa by @pono.fernandez

567

107

2 years ago

🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎

📷: @hawanemusic taken in Kingdom of Hawai'i by @pono.fernandez

467

15

4 years ago

Happy Aloha Friday! 🌺

Enjoy this performance of Ē Liliʻu Ē by @kulaiwimusic, with hula dancer @xo_pono. The song came to Shawn Pimental in a dream about the Queen.

“We always talk about how we feel, you know, going through the overthrow and what our people still struggle with today and the generational trauma that many of us suffer from. But to think about what she must have been feeling at that time, you know, when she was imprisoned in the palace and the visualization of that. So I thought, if I could write a letter to her to tell her that we still love her and support her — and so I started writing a letter to her and just visualizing what we would say to her through this letter.

#pbs #pbshawaii #hawaii #hawaiistagram #kulaiwi #hawaiian #hawaiimusic #hawaiianmusic #aloha #alohafriday #happyalohafriday #hula #alii taken in PBS Hawai‘i by @pono.fernandez

717

30

3 years ago

Five years since we released this album… so special to us. Mahalo to all those who contributed to it, who trust us with their mele and who supported our vision and hope for the future of Mele Aloha ‘Āina. The kuleana we all have for Hawai’i can be shown in many different ways - and this was just one small part of ours. ❤️ by @pono.fernandez

110

6

19 days ago

Celebrating your special birthday in NYC!! Aloha Lā Hānau @pono.fernandez!! Nui ke aloha iā ʻoe❤️ taken in Central Park, New York City by @pono.fernandez

279

52

2 months ago

I ulu nō ka lālā i ke kumu ❤️🖤❤️

Waaaaay late post of moments that will live forever in my heart. by @pono.fernandez

519

20

2 months ago

Aloha Lā Hānau to the one and only @shawnpimental 🎉🥳 there aren’t enough words to describe how incredible you are. You’ve taught me some of my most important life lessons, but the one that strikes me the most has been about growth. For someone whose professional bio reads like a laundry list of favorite, famous artists and every kind of award that exists, you are continually seeking or creating new opportunities. Hours pouring over new technology, learning techniques, studying world famous musicians at live concerts, never satisfied with staying still. Your passion and love for music has inspired and touched countless people, and all the music you’ve created has left indelible footprints on the hearts of many. And that love for music is only surpassed by your love of ʻohana. Mahalo for guiding us in so many ways, we are truly beneficiaries of your malu aloha. Aloha Lā Hānau e kuʻu koa. ʻO ʻoe nō ia. by @pono.fernandez

310

55

2 months ago

HOʻI KE ALOHA I KALAUAO✨

My aloha returns to Kalauao. This Collection pays tribute to Kalauao, the ahupuaʻa that Pearlridge resides in. Originally designed in 2021 for my debut opening at Pearlridge Center. Reminiscing of many years spent in Kalauao, the phrase Ho’i I ka piko came to mind. A term often used to describe returning to the source. This design reflects my return to Kalauao, a place that i hold near and dear to my heart and pays tribute to this Ewa moku.

Join us tomorrow! ✨ As Kalauao2 makes itʻs debut in store at 10am! Online monday at 9am!

We will begin this release with four Wahine styles, Kōwelo wrap dress, Mohala top, Anuhea tank & Hōʻala top.
Mens Aloha, Keiki styles & more wahine styles to come in the following weeks! All styles will be available in four new exciting colorways. Stay tuned for more photos!

We look forward to seeing you all! 🤎
Me ke aloha nui,
Kananiokeānuenueokalani

ALOHA LĀ HOʻIHOʻI EA! ✊🏽 taken in Pearlridge Center by @pono.fernandez

3

6

3 months ago

10 years in the ancestral realm and I’ve missed you every day since. You are the epitome of mana—the generation force-fed a new language, torn from the knowledge of your mākua, the ones they thought would be compliant and ashamed. As I look back on your life now, there was so much resistance and resilience behind your quiet smile. You made sure that Mom and I would reclaim our ʻike in our own ways, that we would ask the hard questions and become the medicine that you and Kupuna dreamed of.

You will always be my favorite dancer, my example of aloha and silent strength. You will always be my guiding light, mahalo for finding ways to let me know you are always there. May I be the wahine you hoped I would be…my most important goal in life is to make you proud in all the realms. Please dance beside me forever and ever. Iā ʻoe ke aloha e ka wahine pua kou, i uka o Maunaloa. Mau a mau, Nana 🩷💜 taken in Kingdom of Hawai'i by @pono.fernandez

265

17

3 months ago

I maikaʻi ke kalo i ka ʻohā 🤎 Pōmaikaʻi maoli no nei ʻohana i ka hoʻomalu ʻia mai e nei koa kūpaʻa i ke aloha. Aloha lā makua kāne iā ʻoe e @shawnpimental 🙌🏽☀️😎 mahalo no nā mea a pau āu e makana mai ai iā mākou! taken in Kingdom of Hawai'i by @pono.fernandez

337

15

4 months ago

Hard conversation, but also a hopeful one.

Supported by Hawaii State FCU 🫶 taken in Hawaii by @pono.fernandez

68

1

5 months ago

That last line...

Local stories made possible with support from Hawaii State FCU 🌺 taken in Hawaii by @pono.fernandez

140

3

5 months ago