Pacific Arts Festival, Part III

Paul finally got the chance to check out the festival last night, and it was nice to have someone else do the photo taking (which worked out well as I don't know if I could have gotten good pictures of moving subjects in the dark). In the evening, there are several venue choices around the island. We opted for the Fagatogo pavilion and saw some of the best performances yet.

Rapa Nui is a clear standout. Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is west of Chile and their main language is Spanish. I've always wanted to see the famous statues there, but now I would love to visit to see more of the beautiful people and culture. Their dancing is incredible - sexy, intriguing, high energy, and it is so unique to see a South American influence in our Polynesian world. Think Polynesian dancing meets salsa dancing. All of the festival performers create their own music, typically with traditional instruments and singing. I wasn't sure about Rapa Nui's modern drum set, electric guitars and such, but the music was fabulous. Again, the perfect combination of Polynesia and Latin America. Another favorite of the evening was the Solomon Islands. We're considering having a reunion with our island friends at the next Festival of the Pacific Arts in the Solomon Islands in 2012 (especially considering the scuba diving is incredible there). The best part of the Solomon Islands' performance is when these guys play bamboo flutes along with the bamboo drums. Some of the flutes are extremely large, but the men are still able to dance while playing them. The music they produce with these instruments is awesome. It makes you smile and feel like dancing. I even tried to find out if I could purchase a CD, but then something tells me these guys aren't sitting in a studio back at home, recording their music. Australia is represented at the festival by both of its indigenous people: the Aborigines and the Torres Strait Islanders, who we saw perform last night. Papua New Guinea has delegates from three different regions of its country. The differences between their traditional clothing and dancing is interesting. These performers were from one of the other regions than the Papua New Guineans I saw on the first day of the festival. I love these dancers with the crazy head pieces!
There ended up being 26 countries at the festival as Vanuatu was unable to come. I have now seen 12 of these countries perform and the festival continues on for another week. Our island is going to seem so quiet after all this excitement, but my need for travel and live music is really being satisfied.