ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS
A RESOLUTION
No. 2017 – 4
HONORING THE LIFE OF HILTON MANSFIELD NALANI CABRERA
WHEREAS, Nalani was born in Kohala Hospital to Harry and Mary Cabrera on December 26, 1972, as the oldest of three children, including a sister Cheryl and brother Elton, and he graduated in Kohala in 1990; and
WHEREAS, Nalani and sister started dancing with Kumu Suse Soares from elementary school for about ten years, and after graduation he moved to Kona and shared his culture by dancing on a tourist boat in Kona and then he finally moved back home to Kohala; and
WHEREAS, Nalani joined his sister to dance for Hālau ʻo Haʻalelea with Kumu Raylene Kawaiaeʻa Lancaster in 1994, and he quickly rose to performer status, and after awhile, Kumu selected him as one of her two alaka‘i, a special position of support for Kumu and the hālau; and
WHEREAS, Nalani taught classes when needed and he also helped create lei and implements used, and for many years he taught by Kumu’s side, the Kohala and Kona middle and high school students for an annual festival on Oʻahu; and
WHEREAS, he supported Kumu in everything she wanted, whether in dancing for Pele at Volcano or a cultural exchange in Montana, and he helped the Na Kupuna ‘O Kohala, the senior hula dancers when Kumu was unable, so she would choreograph a dance and Nalani would help them learn it, and he was even more demanding to his father when he coached him the year he was the male soloist in the annual Kupuna Hula Festival and watching son walk father to the stage gave his hālau a memorable moment; and
WHEREAS, he was a gifted Hawaiian, and he expected perfection in his work and from those he taught, and he helped you get to perfect, and his talent and skills were many as he crafted lei with flowers, shell, seeds, nuts, and all kinds of plants, and his parents yard is an example of his beautifully designed and productive garden filled with native lei plants and food; and
WHEREAS, Nalani was very connected to Kamehameha, and became a valuable and dedicated member for the support of the statue, in Kohala and as caretaker of our “community kiʻi” he helps wash and inspect the statue twice a year, and he worked side by side with Glenn Wharton, the conservator, up on the scaffolding, assisting to remove the 23 layers of paint and to repair any damaged metal and then repaint as the community wanted; and
WHEREAS, most of us knew him as Nalani, but few knew of all he did for others and his community in the “under the radar” style, and he will be remembered very fondly for his many silent services to his beloved culture and community and to his ‘ohana and many hānai family that he had aloha for, so we say ALOHA HILTON MANSFIELD NALANI CABRERA, who at age 43, took his last breath on December 24, 2016.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 58th Annual Convention in Seattle, Washington, in the malama of ʻIkuwā and the rising of Māhealani, this 4th day of November 2017, honoring the life of Hilton Mansfield Nalani Cabrera; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to the Kohala Hawaiian Civic Club, as well as the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i, President of the State Senate, Speaker of the State House of Representatives, Chair of the State Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the State House Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources, & Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and all County Mayors.
The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted in the malama of ʻIkuwā and the rising of Māhealani on the 4th day of November 2017, at the 58th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Seattle, Washington.
Annelle C. Amaral, President
