GVB have tried to coin the “Håfa Adai Spirit” which is a direct steal from the “Aloha Spirit” of Hawaii. It feels disingenuous. Fabricated. Constructed.

A feature of last night’s “Contact” Fashion Show was a parade of dresses from the colonial Spanish influenced era, the mestiza that are similar to the puffy shouldered dresses also found in the Commonwealth of Northern Marianas Islands (and as it turns out, The Phillippines).

A dance performed by Inetnon Gef Pa’go (choreographed by Vince Reyes) was full of vim and vigor, as a dozen young Chamorro boys played cheekily with the audience in Spanish suits hitting, spinning and jumping on buckets. I sat there asking what was going on, as my mind couldn’t read or translate the cultural mishmash. Apparently the references were “traditional” to Guam’s Spanish era, and that this group had won several international folkloric competitions putting Guam on the map (and earning Reyes a Master of Dance distinction from the government). But still, it was a character dance – well performed – but in that joyful performance I wondered if there was a word for brown face playing Spanish face?

There are so many strange cultural dilemmas being played out here, it’s mind boggling if you are not swayed by the asphyxiation of “nostalgia” which seems a common affliction. I asked if they could imagine Maori boys ever doing a “British era” dance as demonstrative of “tradition” in this day and age, and quite frankly I just don’t think hell hath frozen over in “New Zealand, U.K” just yet.