Lourdes Estores "The Coconut Girl"

Lourdes Ann Kananimanu Estores (1958-????), a young woman from Haleiwa, Hawai‘i. She was a "Mixed Plate" that had: Filipino, Spanish, Tahitian, and Hawaiian descent. Lourdes Estores was known as the pretty north shore girl next door who always would wave and say Aloha on Waikanahele St, Haleiwa. She lived all the way at one of the last house at the curve and the family rented from Gladys Awai, next to the Kalo Taro patches, across from the old flower shop on Kam across from where Breakers would later be. All the housing in the area were old Hawaiian houses, full of island character.  She graduated from Kamehameha schools in 1976.

She had a love for music as it ran in her family with her father being a band director. She was talented at playing the piano. She had a brother named Ninyo Estores who was a bass player named "Ehukai" with Thomas Shirai Jr, and Kingo Ariyacos. The family was huge though with twenty plus people living under one roof. She later would marry Matt Souza and later married a Kamehameha classmates Lee Pacheco.

Haleiwa Sea Spree, Lourdes was competing in the Haleiwa Sea Spree Modeling competition to be the Queen of the carnival at the Haleiwa Beach park. The contestants for queen used go out the the public and sell tickets to the carnival, so it was a big public appearance for these local girls and Lourdes came out the winner one year. 

Born and raised in the islands, her selection came at a time when mainstream American media rarely showcased women of diverse backgrounds, and when Hawai‘i’s multicultural beauty — often admired locally — was still underrepresented in national conversations about fashion and entertainment. In June 1982, appeared on newsstands across the country as Playboy magazine’s Playmate of the Month. At first glance, it might have seemed like just another magazine feature, but for the people of Hawai‘i — especially its multicultural community — this moment held quiet significance. Lourdes first appeared in "Playboy" in the pictorial "Girls of Hawaii" in the August, 1980 issue. Estores subsequently became the Playmate of the Month in the June, 1982 issue of "Playboy." Lourdes was featured in a couple of "Playboy" videos and posed for a handful of "Playboy" special edition publications. Her sole acting role was a guest appearance on an episode of the hit TV show "Magnum, P.I." Today, her centerfold in Playboy Magazine June 1982 serves as both a cultural artifact of 1980s America and a reminder of Hawai‘i’s long, often uncredited role in broadening the country’s understanding of diversity and representation.

Back in the early 1980s, families were made of conservative values, but were still strong. Posing for photos, then as a model, and then the next stage being nude, especially for a national men's magazine like Playboy, was often seen as taboo or something that might "make shame" for your family. For a young woman from Hawai‘i — to pursue a modeling opportunity in that space would have gone against the grain of typical family expectations back then. Families were concerned about reputation, especially within tight-knit island communities where everyone knew each other and word traveled fast. Lourdes would represent the quiet girls who might not have had her courage and by going after what she wanted it made plenty of the local girls proud and not ashamed of being mixed in their identity when it came to beauty. The "Local Girls" knew she was one quiet girl who had the guts to do what she did and had the physical assets to compete with the best in the United States and represented Hawaii.

Signing Event, Pearl Ridge Center

For local readers, Estores embodied more than glamour. She represented the complex, modern identity of Hawai‘i. Her appearance in one of America’s most circulated and culturally influential magazines challenged narrow beauty standards and subtly expanded the public image of Hawaii womanhood and American womanhood. It went international with her career being noted even in Japanese magazines at the time. While Lourdes Estores did not pursue celebrity in the years following her Playboy appearance, her presence on that national stage carved space for future generations of models, entertainers, and public figures from Hawai‘i diaspora.

Brother Noland’s song "Coconut Girl" was written for Lordes, adding to her quiet but lasting footprint in Hawaiian pop culture.

Lourdes Estores went on to work as a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines in 1986. She would later on be part of the history of Chuck's Steak House in Aiea working as a Server.