NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

My testimony from earlier today at the Guam Legislature. I made it a point to write and deliver my testimony gi Fino' Chamorro. Crafting this testimony was difficult in Chamorro as these are all ideas and concepts I am used to articulating in English, but rarely in Chamorro. I figure though that for each time some important issue is discussed at the Legislature in a public hearing, I should try my best to testify in Chamorro and hopefully others will follow suit, even if just mixing Chamorro and English together or saying part of their remarks in Chamorro. It was very inspiring to see so many people gathered for a resolution sponsored by Senator Telena Nelson calling for a halt to the construction of the firing range at Litekyan. I was fortunate to be the second person to speak, as others waited for hours. ************* --> Buenas yan Håfa Adai, I na’ån-hu si Michael Lujan Bevacqua. Hu tutuge’ este na tinestigu-hu komo taotao gi kumunidåt. Ti hu kuentusisiyi i i

Guam gets its 15 mins of national or international media fame refreshed every few years, sometimes because of a typhoon or earthquake. Sometimes because of snake epidemics. Over the past few years, North Korea has had alot to do with Guam getting a little extra attention. Usually these periods are frustrating to analyze in media terms because Guam, even if it is mentioned as the focus of a story, still remains at the periphery of it. But this most recent North Korea scare led to a series of well-written and insightful articles that didn't shy away from Guam's colonial status, but engaged with it. Here below is probably my favorite piece to come out from all the drama. ************************* "Guam: A colonized island nation where 160,000 American lives are not only at risk but often forgotten" by Gene Park Washington Post August 11, 2017 “Total Americans affected: 3,831.” Fox News ran a video explainer  this week on the affect of North Korea’s missiles o

Last year, the attendees to the UN Committee of 24 Regional Seminar in Nicaragua got to meet the President of the country, Daniel Ortega. It was a surprise visit, and most of use weren't prepared as we had just spent the day driving around during tourist activities and weren't dressed for an official state visit. Several of the country representatives lamented their attire and that they couldn't officially share their photographs as their dress violated their official protocol. All in all, our meeting with Ortega lasted for more than two hours. With him speaking at length about his experiences with the United States, the United Nations, Leftist movements in Latin America, and also decolonization in Africa. I meant to write a post about that conversation, but never got the chance to. I'm hoping to do so this year, especially if we are fortunate enough to meet with him again. Several country reps and representatives from Non-Self-Governing Territories refused to take

"HITA: Maisa, the Chamoru Girl who saves Guåhan" Trailer 2 from Twiddle Productions Inc. on Vimeo . ************* Buenas yan Hafa Adai, The Guam Department of Education (GDOE), Chamoru Studies Division is inviting you to the premiere showing of    "Maisa, The Chamoru Girl Who Saves Guåhan", an animated movie in the Chamorro language, on Monday December 7, 2015 at the Tango Theater located in the Agana Shopping Center, show time will be at 7:00 p.m.  The film is produced by the GDOE Chamorro Studies and Special Projects Division, and Twiddle Production.  It is 100% federally funded by US Department of Education Consolidated Grant,Title V (Prugråman Giha Mås Mona).  Please call 300-5048 or email to confirm your attendance by 12:00 p.m. on Friday, December 4, 2015. Si Yu'os Ma'ase', Angela F. Weger Administrative Secretary I GDOE  Chamoru Studies & Special Projects Division 192 Dero Road Ordot, Guam 96910 Tel: 3

I collect as many things in the Chamorro language as I can. I have my students interview elders in Chamorro. I try to find everything online in Chamorro and cut and paste them into word documents. I have thousands of pages of photocopies children’s books and informational materials in Chamorro. I also, as much as I can try to write down or remember the things that people say to me. I have countless random pages from minutes of meetings, to the backs of student papers, to even napkins from restaurants, all of which have scribbles of Chamorro sentences on them. As I was trying to find some materials for my class tomorrow, I came across this excerpt from a conversation I had with an elderly Chamorro man last year. I really like its message. I may someday get this blown up and place it on my wall as a poster Hu faisen i lahi-hu, sa’ håfa malago’ hao umotro? Håfa na un tatitiyi i kustumbren Amerikånu? Ilek-ña tåya’ dangkolu na bidå-ta hun i Chamorro. Ilek-hu, lachi hao lah

Mafitma i ROD gi i ma'pos na simana. I Maga'lahen Guahan ha silelebra este komo un gefpago na rigalu para i taotao Guahan. Lao anai hu hungok i sinangan-na sigi di hu faisen maisa yu', "hafa magahet na ha taitai ayu na ROD?" Kao ha tungo' hafa ilelek-na? Anggen magahet na ha taitai ayu, ti sina ha sangan ayu. Ti ha konfotme i sinangan-na i ROD, ha chanda gui'. Gi i dinesganao-hu, muna'hasso yu' put i sinangan-na i difunto na Senadot Ben Pangelinan. Matai gui' gi ma'pos na sakkan, lao hu record gui' gi Mayu, anai tumestigu gui' para i huntan publiko put i SEIS. Estague i video para i tinestigu-na, ya hu pega lokkue' gi papa' unu na tininge'-na ginen i ma'pos na sakkan lokkue'. ******************* Estague i Mañamoru! ben’s Pen Published in Marianas Variety March 13, 2014 THE month of March signals the start of our celebration of Mes Chamorro. School children around th

My students often ask me, "Who is the most famous Chamorro?" Meaning which Chamorro has achieved the most, has achieved fame or stardom? Which Chamorro is a household name, not just in Guam or the Marianas, but in the world? Are they any Chamorros out there who can represent the island, the culture and the people to the billions of people who aren't Chamorro and don't even know what Guam or a Chamorro is? There are lots of Chamorro musicians, some of whom have achieved minor fame outside of the Pacific, such as Johnny Sablan and Pia Mia. There are Chamorro athletes, many of whom are baseball players, but with the rise of fighting culture on Guam, we have seen some Chamorros truly shine in that regard. There are even a few Chamorro actors and filmmakers out there, although it can be hard to miss them when they appear in the periphery of major films. There are even Chamorros that have won Grammy Awards and Pulitzer Prizes. But who should receive the honor as the m

I recently had to write an article for the website Guampedia on the late Angel Santos, former Guam Senator and Maga’lahi of the Nasion Chamoru. Angel Santos was a very controversial figure during his lifetime. He was considered one of the most hated and most beloved island figures. After he died however, public opinion over his legacy warmed and even those who had publicly condemned him before came to praise some of his statements and accomplishments. While writing my article I went through as many of the public statements and writings of Santos that I could find. He was, like any larger than life figure, incredibly complex and full of contradictions. We may want to reduce the life of a person to things that are simple and inspirational, but they are always more complicated than that. I wanted to share today a list of quotes from his life and writings to give you a better sense of Angel Santos and his own journey in life. As a 10-year-old altar boy in Si

--> I wrote on my Facebook the day I arrived in Okinawa “Sweet Home Okinawa :) ” I am not Okinawan and have never lived in Okinawa, but after being there three times in 1 year and a half, I have developed an interesting relationship to the place. I started writing about this last year in my blog post " Coming Home. " People in Japan tend to assume my origin in the following ways: #1: People would ask me if I was Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan who the government and most people pretended to be non-existent for quite a while. #2: I was from Hokkaido. I have no idea what people from Hokkaido look like, but if I was to imagine myself as some sort of Japanese person, it would be from Hokkaido. #3: People regularly asked if I was from Okinawa. But eventually I wrote that the historical and contemporary connections between our islands actually make me feel oddly at home in a place I have barely visited. I wrote that my coming to Okinawa was a "h

Add caption I was asked to do this months ago and it has been sitting on my computer ever since. Gangnam Style was still new at that point and it was only primarily K-pop fans and nerds who were aware of its massive, macarena-like, world changing potential. Someone asked me to do a Chamorro version of it, taking the lyrics and translating them into Chamorro. It didn't take very long, but I just never got around to posting it. First a couple of points. Number 1, this song is in Korean and I don't speak Korean. In order to understand it I had to rely on the translations of others. So there maybe obvious ways I couldn't grasp accurately what I was translating. But then again, the intent wasn't to take the lyrics to Gangnam Style exactly, but rather translate the feeling into Chamorro. This is a conundrum that you often face when doing translation work. If you take it exactly as it is written, you run the risk of making it lose the correct meaning in the new languag

For a person of any ethnicity undergoing an identity crisis, there are various stages that you must go through in your search for answers. Some of these stages you may move through quickly, others you may spent more time in, you may find your way to a new space and then decide you don't like it and then turn around and return to a previous point in your journey. For those who feel that they have been deprived of a cultural identity one stage that they must pass through, but which can be fairly dangerous, is the "uniku" stage, or unique stage. Their feelings of loss can come from many sources. They can be from the diaspora and feel like this barrier of oceans or continents stands between them and their identity. It can be an issue of dominant society blocking cultural expression and making them, their parents or their community feel like their cultural has to be neutralized or sterilized before it can be passed on. It can even be a railing and rallying against history

Six years ago my grandparents celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary.  We had a large gathering at the Westin Hotel in Tumon. All of my siblings flew in, as did most of my cousins and my grandparents' still living children. The party was lots of fun. I got to meet more family than I can remember. The highlight was the stage where grandma and grandpa sat in their chairs of honor, beaming as friends, family and even a few politicians would come to greet them and pay their respects.  One of the duties I had for the party was to coordinate some singing with the grandkids and great-grandkids. As most songs that grandma and grandpa like are Chamorro songs and everyone except for me could not speak or sing in Chamorro we had to find some songs that were lighthearted, merry and easy to remember, with words easy to pronounce.  One of grandma's favorite songs is "Nobia Kahulo'" and the words for that are simple enough. I taught everyone that