DENVER — People from around Colorado came together on Denver's eastside Saturday afternoon to spend a day in Polynesia.
With live music, hula and fire-knife dancing, the island culture took center stage. It's part of the Mana Initiative, an inaugural event honoring Polynesian culture.
Knife dancer Martin Tevaga traveled to Denver just to share his fire-knife dancing expertise.
"30 years. I've been doing it 30 years," Tevaga said.
The Maui native picked up his first knife at four years old but he's has been performing since he was six.
"What don't I love about it? You know, it's one of those things where it's kind of my identity," Tevaga said.
His performance at the Mana Initiative is celebration of island culture at a moment of so much heartbreak.
"The fires began the day before I was set to come here. And most of my family, they were found except for my brother and his wife. And that brother has a farm and you know, he’s got chickens, goats, ducks, pigs and his agricultural farm, too," Tevaga said. "And he's hard-headed, he’s stubborn and we thought that there was a chance that he tried to save the farm because he’s that tied to his animals and that was our biggest fear.”
With his brother Junior missing, Tevaga feared for the worst.
"Thursday morning I woke up and got a missed call from him and so, it was hard. Like, I cried that I missed the call and I might not be able to call him back so I called him back, he answered right away and he said he and his wife, they saved some of their dogs from the house and they got away in time," Tevaga said. “What he was doing and it’s so like him, he didn’t get into contact with anybody because he was helping everybody else. So he was pulling people out of their destruction, making sure everybody had food and water and blankets.”
News of his brother's safety was a relief. But while his family's lives were spared, everything in it had turned to ash.
"You know, everybody lost something but we lost everything," Tevaga said.
Unable to be there to help has been tough.
“It’s so hard. It’s so hard," he said. "Yeah… It’s hard to put into words how hard it is to be here."
So far, at least 89 people are confirmed to have died in the Lahaina fires, a number expected to climb far higher in the coming days and weeks.
"Obviously, the death count takes a long time to get numbers but it’s so much more than they’re saying," Tevaga said. "There’s so much more people missing than what they’re saying, and there’s so much more help that they need out there than is being given so that’s the hard part for me.”
Buildings, homes and historic landmarks have all been erased by the flames, but that drive to help neighbors and family rebuild their community is still strong.
"It's very conflicting," Tevaga said. "But what I do know is we as a people, if we stand together, we're the strongest thing the world has ever seen. I think as long as we can remember to stay strong, we'll be okay."
That strength, Tevaga is keeping with him front and center as he performs his fire-knife dance.
"I dance for Maui tonight, that's for sure. I dance for Maui because I'm from there and I dance for Samoa because my parents are from there, that's where my blood is from. I do that everyday but tonight is something different, you know," Tevaga said.
Keeping that hope and his home in his heart.
"The mana I was talking about, it's strong out there," Tevaga said. "Lahaina strong, Maui strong, we'll get through this together for sure."
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