Members of Da’ Hawaii Seniors Club of Cerritos enjoyed singing songs, watching hula performances, and learning more about the History of Hula at their monthly meeting on Thursday, April 23, 2026, at the Cerritos Senior Center in Cerritos.
President Carmelita Tiongson started the meeting by welcoming members and guests and asking David Ethington to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Members Winona Chang, Gloria Kunimoto, Glenda Ujiie, and Gladys Yoshii then led members in singing Hawai’i Pono’i.
Carmelita conducted the club’s business meeting and the secretary’s minutes were approved by members. Treasurer Ken Matsuda reported that the club account has $8,514.35, with 56% of its 110 members being Cerritos residents.
Ohana (Hawaiian for family) Care member Annie Kelly reported that Get Well cards were sent to four members and a Sympathy Card and a donation were sent to Rosita San Miguel.
Her husband, Ben San Miguel, recently passed away. Susan McCormick shared information about Ben and Rosita, who were married for 66 years and met in high school.
Hedy Anduha shared some memories about Ben and Rosita, who were members of DHSC for many years. Carmelita spent a few minutes for a silent prayer for Ben.
As part of Ohana, the club celebrates the birthdays of club members every month. Hedy Anduha led the club in singing “Happy Birthday” in English and Hawaiian to April birthday celebrants Aida Kull, Georgina Onaga, Carmelita Tiongson, and Glenda Ujiie.
Carmelita made announcements about the performances that members would be participating in in April, including La Palma’s Festival of Friendship on April 5, and City of Cerritos Talent Show telecast on Channel 3 on April 24-26. She asked for volunteers to continue to sign up for a time to help secure the club’s picnic date in September. She said that the club still had access to use the Maple Room on second Thursdays of the month, so Ann Kho asked for the Angklung Group to use it on July 9 and was approved.
She also said that she would be at the “Spring Cleaning and Inventory” of the ”Cage,” where the club’s supplies are stored, on May 14, with volunteers Frances McCormick, Helen Limbo, and Edna Ethington. Edna asked whether club members wanted to still serve coffee and tea at meetings. With no one volunteering to lead the Refreshment Committee there will be no snacks or drinks at meetings. Members are reminded to bring their own snacks, water, coffee, or tea for meetings.
After the business meeting, there was a special presentation by Susan McCormick about the History of Hula. Susan read two pages about how hula was seen in the 1800’s and following years. Before the missionaries came in 1820, hula was seen by native Hawaiians as a sacred tradition. However, the missionaries thought that the hula was a “heathen song and dance.” When Queen Ka’ahumanu became a Christian convert in 1830, she issued an edict that banned hula from public performances.
It became illegal to tell the story of Hawaiian history with hula chants and dances, but this did not stop the Hawaiian people. They kept practicing the sacred hula chants and dances in secret and passed it on to kumu hula (teachers of hula), and to their children and grandchildren.
When King David Kalakaua took the throne in 1874, he put hula at the center of his celebration of his coronation at Iolani Palace which lasted for two weeks. He asked elders from all the islands who knew the old dances to come and celebrate his coronation. King Kalakaua said: “Hula is the language of the heart, therefore the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people.”
When Kalakaua died in 1891, hula struggled again and became like a tourist sideshow.
However, in 1968, a festival was created in Kalakaua’s honor, but no one wanted to run it until Dottie Thompson and kumu hula George Na’ope begged kumu hula in Honolulu to bring their halau (hula houses) to the first hula competition at the Hilo Civic Auditorium in 1971. Nine halau came to the first Merrie Monarch Festival in 1971 and about 100 people came to watch.
Today, the Merrie Monarch Festival is one of the most prestigious hula competitions and as many as 4,000 people have come to Hilo for the festival. Dottie Thompson ran the festival until she died in 2010, but her daughter Luana and her granddaughter Kathy have worked to keep her legacy alive. The hula legacy is kept alive in the hearts of the dancers every April in Hilo at the Merrie Monarch Festival.
Members were treated to watching modern hulas performed by Na Ipo Hula (The Hula Sweethearts) as they danced the hulas “Sophisticated Hula,” “That’s the Hawaiian in Me,” and “Aloha Week Hula,” with ukulele and guitar accompaniment by the club’s Audio Tech Group.
After the hula dances, Program VP Loke Manetta presented eight members with raffle prizes of coupons to Trader Joe’s. The meeting ended at 4:00 p.m. with the singing of “Aloha O’e” and “Hawai’i Aloha” by members.
Members and guests are invited to come to the next meeting of Da’ Hawaii Seniors Club on Thursday, May 28, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at the Cerritos Senior Center in Cerritos. Ann Kho is preparing a special program to celebrate Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary and the Angklung Group will be performing. There will also be a sing-along and games to play.