From Hawaii to Las Vegas: Embracing this Home Away from Home
By Giana Ragudos
I’ve always loved the diversity of my home. Being born and raised in Hawaii, and to be raised surrounded by such rich cultures, is a privilege. As a child, I’ve been given the opportunity to experience many cultural traditions that play a huge role in my identity today.
Photo by Miriam Ragudos.
Photo by Prince Solomon.
My parents enrolled me in the sport of judo when I was five years old. Judo has always been our family sport with both of my parents and all of my siblings on the mats. Growing up, my siblings and I spent a lot of our childhood attending judo practice and competing in tournaments throughout highschool. Since then, I’ve earned my Shodan (black belt) and continue to give back to the sport as a Sensei for my home club, Newtown Shinseikan.
Photo by Giana Ragudos.
Photo by Giana Ragudos.
Growing up in Hawaii, I saw many beautiful adornments of leis made by fragrant flowers. I wanted to make my own leis, so I taught myself. Living at home, it was normal to have plumeria trees, crown flowers, and ti leaves growing in your backyard. I’d spend hours picking the flowers, stringing them to wear around my neck, or wrapping them into a headpiece.
Photo by Giana Ragudos.
Photo by Giana Ragudos.
After moving to Las Vegas to attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), I found myself missing these parts of home. This sparked my interest in the judo and lei-making communities here and made me want to learn more about it. This semester, I’m working with Nevada Humanities as an Events Intern as part of UNLV’s Neon Pacific Initiative (NPI). The NPI was created to further explore and understand the culture, contributions, and lived experiences of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in southern Nevada. With this great opportunity, I’ve been able to hear the stories of judokas and lei-makers here in Las Vegas.
This past semester, I conducted interviews with members of the judo and lei-making communities. I learned more about their stories in these traditional arts, the joys and challenges they’ve faced, and how being in Las Vegas plays a role in their journey. They’ve given me deeper insight into the meaning behind these practices and their thoughts of them. It’s been so fulfilling to connect with and hear the stories of other AAPI individuals — especially those in judo and lei making.
These stories are important. Judo deserves more recognition and other judokas can testify to this as well. To showcase these stories, I’m creating an online feature that will be posted to the Nevada Humanities website next year where you can learn more about judokas and this community of practitioners in southern Nevada. Keep an eye out for it!
The Hawaiian culture is so rich; lei making preserves this culture and allows people in Las Vegas to feel that aloha spirit/culture/love. Come join us at Clark County Library in Las Vegas on December 7, 2024 for a conversation with Lindsey Nacapuy-Oshiro and Tyra Ha’o as they share their lei-making stories and what this traditional Hawaiian art means to them. This conversation will be followed by a lei workshop led by Nacapuy-Oshiro. These events are free to the public; however, workshop seats are limited, so be sure to reserve your spot here.
I’m extremely grateful for the time I got to spend with Nevada Humanities and am sad to be leaving soon. This experience opened my eyes to the importance of the humanities and how it can bring communities together. I was very lucky to experience this through working closely with judo and lei-making communities and learning more about them. I’m excited to share these stories with the public and hopefully bring joy and connection to those who read them.
Photo courtesy of Giana Ragudos.
Giana Ragudos is a fourth-year student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and currently serves as an Events Intern with Nevada Humanities. In addition, Giana is also a Sensei for Newtown Shinseikan and Shinseikan in Aiea, Hawaii, where she devotes her time to sharing her judo knowledge with the next generation of judokas.