 My name is Amy Ortega Anderson, your host for Pinoy Power Hawaii. Every Tuesday live at 12 noon, we come to your home to bring you empowerment. In line with our mission, we aim to enrich, enlighten, educate, entertain, and we hope to empower. Today, we have a very lovely ambassador of Hula and Aloha, and she doesn't need any further introduction because she's got a whole book of merits, awards, accomplishments, service, full of Aloha. And I'd like to introduce to you Ivalani Seyu Walt. He has another name, but we call her the Queen of Aloha. Welcome to Pinoy Power, think that kawaii. It's such an honor to be here, you know. I mean, it's been many years that we've had the opportunity to share, and thank you for your service of all the years that you have participated because we're both Filipina and Ivalani. Pinoy Power. Oh, I saw, yeah. Yes. Thank you. So, sis, when people look at you, you just radiate that your joy, happiness, someone that you should have been a poster, forever poster for Hawaii. Well, I was in 19 kuakos, you know. I like that, 19 kuakos. I'm 69, and when I was in my 20s, I had the opportunity to travel, and yes, I was on posters and different things. And in over the years, they still asked me to participate in the culture and promoting hula and aloha and Hawaii throughout the world. You were born to do that. That's your official calling. Well, I believe that it's with upbringing as well. We do what we have to do with our children, and I am from a family of seven. I'm the fifth girl. And it's all about sharing and supporting each other. And when you're inbred with those values, you have your faith. I always like to say, you know, I was raised with the F words. Tell us. The F words. The F words is faith. Family first. Or is it faith first and family and friends? Being fabulous. And focusing on a foundation. Being fearless. And knowing about your forefathers. And being proud of you, our Filipina. And the Pinoy power. I love your F words. That's why we can't get enough of you. Oh, thank you. When people are around you, you just radiate that beauty that glows from inside and out. Well, thank God for Long's drugs for the makeup and all the bling-bling. But take us back, sis. When you were little, this wonderful aura must have come from somewhere. What's the first thing that came out of your mouth? Parents. Tell us about your parents. My mother is a Filipina. Okay, sis, you sign, right? You know, actually, I think we're all. We're all. Because those days, actually my papa, my Lolo, was from Isabella Icache. So that, when I did the research, it was Ilocano, basically. But they spoke Tagalog. My Lola was from Manila. Okay. And then when we did the research, I mean, it migrated. And so with my little Filipino that I can speak, it's been like Chapsuay. I can say a little bit Contila, you know, for Tagalog or Sayang. Sayang for me, just Contila. And then a little bit of everything. But I believe that's enriching because here in Hawaii, I was born and raised in Hawaii. My father, the ancestry, is British-Irish, and my grandparents are originally from Australia. So my grandmother's side is Filipina. So I'm Filipino-European. That's where the beauty comes in. And so we have, you know, strong protocol in the European mannerism, as well as very strong protocol mannerism in the Filipino side, which my mother was extremely adamant about having those values. We needed to know our Filipino respect and honor, dignity, and also on our European side. I really say, and they were very, very strong Christians, so I really believe that we as people go back to our roots and that's what makes you that person you become because it's about holding on to family legacy and values. I love it. I like your F words. Filipina and the foundation. The foundation, focus on our foundation. Yes. And about our forefathers, it's really important. That's true too. Don't let our culture get diluted along the way. Don't let it be ripped and raped away from us because it is so important. You know, like I judged just a few days ago. Thank you for being there. Yes. One of the judges and I was so blessed and mesmerized because of the beauty. And I looked around us and there were only people our age, and I feel, where's the youngins? They need to see this. That's why I brought my daughter along. Yes. Yes. She won, didn't she? She won. And I didn't know I had no idea. No idea, sis. No idea. But again, I judged fairly and she just bubbled with so much love and personality and was having fun. She had fun and she was real. Yes. It's the F word, fun. Yes, fun. That's another one. She was fun, fearless and just focused and just wanted to represent her family. Exactly. And she had enough time of her life. She was. No idea. That was her first time. Yes. Man, if I was that tall and that skinny, I would want to... Just like your beautiful daughter. Thank you. Princess and queen, Ariana. Ariana, we just opened up in China as far as the culture of Hawaii. So she is considered, again, as far as the legacy is concerned, the queen of Aloha there. Yes. Well, like I said, in 1939, my mother was the first Filipino queen. And at that time, it was called Hawaii Commonwealth because we weren't in a state until 1959. 1959. Correct. And so having these values and having the beauty, not only because of the crown, because my mother would say, anybody can have a crown on their head. It's the crown that rests on your heart. It's so important. That is important. That's the reason why I expressed to all of you out there is that beauty does come from false eyelashes, lipstick. Everything else can be bought, but the heart. That's on the surface. Amen. So everything is within the heart and the soul and what we want to represent of our family and our legacy and our lineage is so important. So what's inside is what really counts is I agree with you because many people, there's so many beautiful people that looks good on the outside. But when you tear away the covering, you look deeper into the soul. Oh, yes. Wala na. Wala na. Takalaga empty. Empty. Yes. And then when they open their mouth, I'm like, it's like I said. What is this? You are a blast and so real and... So down to earth. down to earth but yet it's like a goddess so tell me before we go in a break about the your garden garden of the goddess thank you for asking yes you know I was blessed by receiving this property from my parent it was totally abused and Sanford and son had nothing over me with all the junk that was there was 500 loads of junk that I took out to the dump and just digging plowing and planting and just praying I said oh dear Lord you know I want this for my family I want to leave a legacy I want to reach out and embrace other women in the community because you know Filipinos are one of the highest with breast cancer cancer in general because of the diet and and eating too much leech on and all the you know greasy stuff and you know we were all raised with that but now we have to be more mindful yes about our diet and in our health and so I started you know digging away plowing planting brain like I said earlier and and and just say dear Lord help me help me you know just give me this vision and this passion to clear it up and now today it is I think so there's a beautiful garden and I've been getting a lot of accolades and recognition for that and embracing other women to come and pray because it's inevitable since we're going to pass we can choose how we want to pass that's the knowledge we want to give our children and our significant others of who we are what we represent and what's the value that we want our families to continue to have after we pass you know it's the legacy and tradition yes yes addition is important we need to out there you know because I'm proud to be Filipino and wherever I go they always think because I'm born and raised to your sis they think I'm Hawaiian and when I said I'm I'm from Hawaii yes but my ethnic cultural heritage I'm Philippine and no you're not oh yes and I'm very proud you know I'm very proud and I just let it know when right out there you know I don't have a date I don't have a date it was 35 women 35 women yes those days was you know from all the islands they came and it was in 1968 I was just right out of high school and my mom says I want you to end and it was marvelous because of the fact that you know we interacted with the culture and and everybody that was involved and and it was wonderful Jake Monagdeek was I mean all the elders and you know it was very in fact when he sees me because I remember you and I was one of the first put there you know when they walked in and needed to see my birthday right yes if I was really you know Filipina was one of the most fabulous experience that's another effort of fabulous fantastic experience I've ever had because it was my connection to my roots I didn't win but I was out of 35 I was second second the first runner up you know something like that but thank you for bringing that up I mean it at times most times it's not all about winning no no you know it's the experience that do you take home with you absolutely and you know all that growth all I really believe that if you really only go for the crown you know even I tell my children totally and I tell the women that I you know as a life coach I said if you want the crown right more than anything you forget about why you're doing this as far as exactly self in in growth you know I mean just wanting to improve yourself and meet people in the community and network I says then I'll go out and buy you one crown and put it on your head and call you miss Calamunga you know whatever because it's not about that and if and when you do get the crown if you're blessed with that how you going to carry it to the best of your ability to represent the organization so I really believe and I do because I judge so many pageantries I encourage I encourage pageantries for young women because it's a stepping stone for meeting wonderful women in your age group as well as in the community and the people that promotes it however going for the right reason not only for the kill or for the crown because then you lose who you are sis I'm a queen every day of my life but it's it's all about what you perceive in life and have joy you know I do I have joy I was hit twice with cancer stage three and I wasn't gonna allow myself to to fall apart I said Lord you know this is not a better place than to be with you but I'm selfish please allow me to be on earth I can see girls my daughter's graduations and weddings and grandchildren and everything then you know and that my work be completed here continue and continue and then take me take me but joy have joy and that's what I do I just have joy fun in my life that's what I see in you joy in the work of the Lord and God's faithful God's servant thank you which is all necessary and important in my book vocabulary to have it all in a complete package and you do have that sit with that we will continue our conversation with the beautiful fabulous and she's just full of beauty inside and out the wonderful and Queen of Aloha and the ambassador of hula and Aloha Ivalani Ivalani say oh Waltz he's got many names but she is the Queen and we will be right back thank you Aloha this is Winston Welch I am your host of out and about where every other week Mondays at 3 we explore a variety of topics in our city state nation and world and events organizations the people that fuel them it's a really interesting show we welcome you to tune in and we welcome your suggestions for shows you got a lot of them out there and we have an awesome studio here where we can get your ideas out as well so I look forward to you tuning in every other week where we've got some great guests and great topics you're going to learn a lot you're going to come away inspired like I do so I'll see you every other week here at 3 o'clock on Monday afternoon Aloha Aloha I'm Yukari Kunisue the host of Konnichiwa Hawaii Japanese talk show on think tech Hawaii Konnichiwa Hawaii is all Japanese broadcast show and a streamed live on think tech at 2 p.m. every other Monday thank you so much for watching our show we look forward to seeing you then I'm Yukari Kunisue mahalo welcome back to Pinay power Hawaii and I am your host Emmy or Tega Anderson proud pinay and today we have the pleasure of getting to know for those of you that don't already know our ambassador our queen of hula and Aloha is also a wonderful life coach and you know she's so natural that anything that she does she pick up or whatever it is that she's doing he just becomes the queen of all Queens Queen Ivalani welcome back I cover by ends out there if anything else I am the queen of Kalamongai because it's all about health and wellness and that is one of the most powerful plants healthy as well amen you know the you know most powerful plan to have so do you have Kalamongai growing or totally oh yes because I have it yes put it in Sabah and then I will salad everything drying it and tea uh-huh yes yes awesome sis so I know that you've had your own health struggle yes and with the the C word yes those are the things that we don't want to hear when we go to our medical checkup yes you have the big C yes so how do we cope and how to handle it well you know the first time that I had cancer I was pregnant with Ariana oh that's 35 6 30 and a half 35 and a half that long ago it's like only yesterday well wait that was the first time and yes only cuz right and so they said you know you need to abort her wow you do you die she die you know you both may die because you're engulfed in cancer and I said no it is so me and my mother is a very strong we need to pray I was not as strong then and she said you had you need to surrender surrender with all your heart and soul and I said okay I was in the peak of my career yes and in the peak of my my dance school was number one in our area and and I just honestly I fell to my knees and I said Lord you have a plan you have a plan for me and if you need to take me take me save my baby I mean I was just going through this whole turmoil right well the rest is history I'm here yes and then right after that I had a hundred percent of the hysterectomy so but you gave birth I gave her yes yes yes I gave birth to Ariana she came in early and you know we had to induce labor and she came out and she was in incubator for a while for a couple of weeks and like I said the rest is history she's been nothing but a charm and I'm so grateful I'm so grateful that you know we're the Lord saved both of us then I was hit again because cervical cancer breast cancer works together then I was hit again years later with breast cancer and it was devastating again both time was stage three now stage four you're nearly terminal you know right and again I said okay prayers and and I said okay now I had to have to change my whole diet my whole thinking my everything and so they went in and they said okay we we don't know if we're gonna have to take two breasts or work on one whatever it was well it worked out that they were able to save most of my breasts and but take out the cancer so that's when I decided to educate educate educate the women of Hawaii of what we need to do to take care of our bodies you know to get on a proper diet the exercise laugh a lot in your attitude and great gratitude and and have faith and just totally change your thinking and lifestyle like I said Filipinos are very high in that and then to our mannerism unfortunately and in the days of old it was fortunate because the women are so dignified and so proud for them so respectful that they won't touch their so so anybody you know because if you touch your so so something wrong but now you know I encourage a younger generation is to when you shower you know touch yourself if there's any kind of love or anything you know know that something's going on and get it checked ASAP don't wait until it mass-dustified and it's so huge then you know it's assumed and you know take your body right so I believe that we need to continue to promote and educate to tell the truth about what you need to know because they don't want to talk about it you know in our in our in our culture mannerism we they don't they're afraid to talk about yes and so I host little gatherings in my garden when someone calls me and crying he says you know you don't know who I am but I heard about you and may I come and talk to you in your garden I said yeah and they would you know they would come and tell me you know how their thoughts are and everything I would say okay now you bring me your asawa you bring me your husband right I got to talk to him too yes and I would say you remember what those days when you know you felt so sorry in love you had touchy feely and you know you know I said keep that yes no her body is way you know so if you feel a lump any part of her body acknowledge it and get it checked out and that's what I say to all of you you know in Hawaiian we would say Malama Keikino take care of your body how would we say that in Filipino well they take a give a name it is alone yes take care of your health absolutely amen and and and this is our temple in the bar so you have to know what's going on in your temple like I said I'm so sorry but I'm greedy and I'm and I and I want long life I want to be with family friends and and I and I want to live a joyful loving rich life yes not so much materialistic but rich with with love and and education and reaching out to people that's my richness you know you take everything off I'm the same person you know like you and I will throw on our rubber boots and up in the mountain and in our garden you write them no makeup no nothing that's what I do this is a connection absolutely so you know I mean we have to two sides of ourselves you know we can dress up go out and be the queen of whatever we want to be but then we become real and go back down to to the Aina you know I'm plant pray and for the purpose of our people that's right that is so important for me with faith absolutely amen the F word sounds like a negative no but that's what we have to turn it like everything we do I and I say that when I do my my my lectures in school to the young students when I say the F word they're poking up like right and then I come out with the faith and the focus and our foundation for our future that is true you know everything I've watched you I follow you and everything is about education and talking about our future our future goals and what we want because we at our age we've done that been there we need now to reach out to our turn yeah to turn around and share with others especially the young ones yeah because they're so consumed with everything else in life it's another F word says pay it forward so that's what I've been trying to do yeah that's another not only pay back but why not paid forward amen all the blessings that you will receive yes and when we know that it's our time for the pearly gates but we have contributed you know so we need as people of our culture the Pinoy power yes possess that power and move forward and go hey this is what I'm going to do and make it happen you and I you know we don't let dirt under I feel the only time dirt is when we don't time for that no more no but I want to touch up on another important aspect of the F word sis a part of my existence is to choose fairly friends yes that will surround yes because that is very very important I decided in my life that I had to choose the ones I wanted to be with those that will contribute to my to the positivity of my day as well as my life yes I decided to choose my friends wisely yes yes because it's important to be around you we have that same mentality same level yes and to not get caught up with just you know the outer just the surface beauty we have I know you know thousands I mean I know your wealth of your knowledge and your exposure in the media you have thousands of followers and people but you know I believe to with my health and wellness and issues that I've gone through and and even you know I don't like to acknowledge it but hey you know through a divorce it was it was devastating for me devastating to feel like I wasn't a woman that could keep a husband you know that he had to go find somebody else and I thought I was the queen well obviously I'm not that's reality I had I had to learn forgiveness that's another F word I sell on my knees I said Lord no you know they always say you know people are in your life for a reason in the season and we said earlier just let them go if they're not there because the dear Lord don't want us there but you know I had three wonderful children because of that but getting back to you know what we talked about yes we I have me if I have five fabulous friends on my fingers you know that we learn we look we love we listen we live we live we live that empowers us yes you know we pick our friends well I I know that I had to I pulled back over the years because I was in the garden and praying and say oh dear Lord you know I know you have a mission for me help me help me help me and now my life has changed immensely immensely you know I was stripped I mean you know I was robbed I mean last year at gunpoint and it was devastating but again I know the Lord was was with me because it didn't hurt me this wanted to steal and rob and find where other robbers you know when they rob the people they beat them up and everything but to a point where it gets it's fatal it's fatal yes yes that's another awakening and second chance it was yes so I've been given so many chances and I'm just thank you thank you thank you and if I cannot be a person you know we've been Hawaiian I don't even help the minute we have remaining says right plant that I know plant that seed in every individual you have stayed in Filipino so that this way we can blossom we can bloom from within and be the most wonderful people of our culture yes and wow I wish we had more time sister Ivalani it's always a pleasure to be with you whether it's admiring you on the stage fashion but your most passionate about which is the pull up and conveying your emotions and your feeling through just the beautiful and movement and from the heart thank you many differences in dancers but you you go out there and dance it with your all and that's what the ambassador of aloha is all about you wear your emotions and your sleep which is always joy and happiness thank you coupled with faith yes I want to wish you more joy more faith more life more of God's blessings thank you future and I'm so grateful I'm so grateful that you invited me and thank you my couple by ends out there for listening and watching and God bless each and every one of you live your life to the fullest thank you again for this opportunity and that's a great advice from our sister Ivalani we encourage you to continue doing what you're passionate about live each day to the fullest amen that's a good f-word