Meet Kyra Gomes

ONIPAʻA

Written By Kyra Gomes (She/Her)

Onipaʻa

To be resilient, steadfast

Onipaʻa

Since childhood, I was told to stand firm in myself and my beliefs

Onipaʻa

An endangered tongue; traditions forbidden; history whitewashed; still we

Onipaʻa

silenced, bound, desecrated; still we

Onipaʻa

our elders arrested, reefs destroyed, Queen overthrown; still we

Onipaʻa

Do I move? Do I mourn? Where is the how-to manual on stolen identity

I have to Onipaʻa

Young children like Gladys Brandt rubbed lemons on themselves to bleach their skin

They had to Onipaʻa

So we Onipaʻa; for them

Onipaʻa not a verb but a people

We create a foundation for the future children of Hawaiʻi

We are Onipaʻa

We fight back for Mauna Kea and breathe the stories of Gladys; of our ancestors

We are Onipaʻa

I am Onipaʻa

HOMETOWN

Hilo, Hawai'i

DOUBLE MAJOR

Music Theatre & Vocal Performance

3 THINGS ABOUT ME

I love to roller-skate! I most recently played Belle in a sold-out production of Beauty & the Beast in my hometown. My Rottweiler, Maile, can count in Hawaiian!