Hawaii: Surfing, the Hula, Pearl Harbor, Waikiki, volcanoes, the okulele, Elvis, cinnamon ninnies covered in leys, loud shirts, white sands - the stuff legends are made of...

In a shuffle between colonial powers, American sugar cane and tropical fruit business owners form a private militia and imprison the reigning queen of this independent island nation. Their simple objective: Consolidate control over all Hawaiian islands, take from the willing, disown the unwilling and bring Hawaii under the American flag. The year is 1893. The rest is history.

Waikiki 2004: Hotel highrises as far as the eye can see; its white sandy beach a legend indeed; most sand was in fact shipped from nearby islands to facilitate Waikiki's transformation. Greater Honolulu is quintessential American suburbia with an asian pacific off-shore appeal.

Radiating inlands from Pearl Harbour, highway infrastructure and military installations compete with nature, as do the mono-cultures of todays tropical fruit trade empires.

In disregard of such odds, Oahu abounds in natural and spiritual beauty. Its ancient voices have not fallen silent. They freely speak to those who listen - They give tribute to the vitality and endurance of Hawaiian culture.