Recently I received an email from someone who pointed out that I had the wrong picture posted of her mother, Malia Solomon. Rosalind Solomon Kaplan was not only gracious enough to send me pictures of her mother, but the wonderful story of Malia's interest and research into kapa in the 1960's as well.  With her permission, I am very pleased to share her story and her passion for kapa with you.

Malia B. Solomon, along with her husband Herman, began Ulu Mau Village in 1960 after returning to the islands from California where they had resided for 10 years. They left the islands after a dock strike left them struggling to make ends meet. In California, they established a thriving catering business. They catered luaus and private parties for movie stars and popular night clubs and hotels throughout Hollywood and Los Angeles. But the longing for home eventually led them to sell their business and move the family back to Hawai`i. One day while driving through Ala Moana Park, they came across a cluster of thatched houses in a fenced enclosure. They discovered through an inquiry with the Parks Dept. that the place was only used during Aloha Week. So, after some negotiation, they were able to lease the property with the idea of creating a “living”  Hawaiian village where people could step back in time and get a glimpse of what life in Hawai`i was like 200 years ago. Malia carefully chose the individuals that would become the “villagers”, people who were knowledgeable in various cultural aspects of ancient Hawaiian life and who possessed good speaking skills. It was at this time that my mother Malia realized she knew very little of her Hawaiian heritage. And so her journey began to educated herself about the people from whom she had descended.

An online search about Disney's new billion dollar resort in Ko`Olina, on the westside of O`ahu will turn up many articles, travelogues and early reviews about what may prove to be a prototype of Disney resorts to come.  But its presence on this website is specifically because of Disney's commitment to showcasing and incorporating the stories of Hawaii, as told through her artists, throughout the resort property.

Joe Rohde, left, met with most of the artists individually to document them at work and talk about their feelings on the resort and their participation with it.  Mr. Rohde is Executive Designer and Vice President, Creative, of The Walt Disney Company, and was a lead designer at Aulani.  Having grown up in Hawaii, he has a very special feeling for the way this resort would be portrayed and viewed by local residents and world travellers alike.  Here he meets with Dalani to hear about the history and importance of Hawaiian kapa.

The artworks of over 50 local artists, most of them native Hawaiians is one of the highlights of the design of this resort.  It is in the architecture, in major installations, on walls and in rooms in the decor, it occurs throughout the grounds and is even in the uniforms of cast members.  And as it happens, much of this work is representative of kapa designs created by kapa practitioner Dalani Tanahy.  The following is a listing of the consulting and work that was created for the Aulani resort that was original kapa or designs made by Dalani.