NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

When my son Akli'e' and I played Assassin's Creed Black Flag (Åttelong na Bandera) together, we were both touched by the game's ending ballad, "Parting Glass," a famous Scottish farewell song. Even  after  I stopped playing it years ago, we still find ourselves singing to it in the car and referencing his favorite line from the song "for want of wit." Este uno gof ya-hu na huegon bideo. Ya hu hasso gi finakpo' annai makånta este na kånta, kulang tumåtanges yu'.  Over the years when we sing this song, my kids and I eventually added in our own Chamoru lyrics for it. I've pasted them below.  As I reflect back on the year that was 2019; the love, the pain and everything in between, this song was a beautiful way to bid it adios. ************************* The Parting Glass Of all the money there ere I had I spent it in good company Put todu i salape’ ni’ hu chule’ I manabok-hu hu gaståyi And all the harm that ere I

The first book that I bought for my daughter, prior to her even being born was a children's book that focused on the tale of the slaves who killed their captors aboard the ship The Amistad and after a long legal struggle were allowed to return to Africa. I only read it to her a few times over the years because the subject matter was difficult and the historical and racial politics difficult to unpack. Over the years I've tried to do the same with other books, especially liking to read to the kids books that focus on the experiences of Native Americans and African Americans. Parenting is a convoluted endeavor no matter what ethical commitments you do or do not feel. There are always problems, limitations, blindspots and ways in which your best intentions or goals backfire. But pushing your children to accept difficult truths and also feel the both responsibility and capacity to change things for the better is essential. It is one reason why, in my own creative works, includi

After World War II, Chamorros launched into a period of aggressive Americanization, which you could argue is still going on until today. This Americanization had many levels and dimensions to it. There were clear desires amongst most Chamorros take on the material and consumer comforts America seemed to offer. There were also clear moves by some to ensure that there children were properly or at least passably Americanized, most notably through the refusal to use the Chamorro language with them. There were frameworks of economic, social and political dependency that were created and eventually celebrated by Chamorros themselves. There were also dramatic shifts in lifestyle due to land loss and trauma from the war, which made things such as cultural maintenance difficult because occupations and life-ways were changing so quickly. Alot of these shifts could not be helped, but simply came about because the US is so much larger than Guam, and it produces ideological content and material

If you are interested in purchasing the new Chamorro/English children's book Sumahi and the Karabao or the new Chamorro/English comic book Makåhna, head over to the website: The Guam Bus This is a new venture that my brothers and I recently started, where we aim to finally find an outlet for all the creativity that we were blessed to be born with. These two items, the book and the comic are just the start. We are already working on other texts. I'm actually writing the next book right now between blog posts. Stayed tuned to the website above and this space in general for more updates. In the meantime, we have been fortune enough to have received some local media coverage about our books. See the articles from The Pacific Daily News and The Guam Daily Post below. Si Yu'us Ma'ase to Lacee Martinez and Amber Word for their articles! *************************** Bevacqua brothers join forces to create Chamorro-language books as The Guam Bus by Lacee A.C. Martine

--> Ti Guahu tumuge' este na estoria, lao fihu hu sangan este na estoria gi klas-hu siha yan gi me'nan i famagu'on-hu. Estoria na estoria ni' mafa'na'an "Puntan Patgon." Este na estoria put i fihu na prublema siha gi familian Chamorro (yan gi todu i familian taotao). Achokka' mamparerentes, guaha nai ti maniniha put chinatkomprende. I Puntan Patgon na estoria uma'aya yan i estorian "Sirena" sa' i dos put i prublema anai ti manafa'maomaolek i manaina yan i famagu'on, sa' binibu pat hinesguan umentalo'. Hu hahasso este na dos na estoria todu tiempo, ya i mensahi gumigiha mo'na komo tata. *************         Åntetes na tiempo gi tiempon i man mofo’na na taotao eståba un taotao i na’ån-ña si Masåla. I gima’-ña gaige gi inai giya Tålagi Si Masåla gof banidosu sa’ pudi sumen dangkolo yan sumen metgot gue'. Mansen ma'åñao i Chamorron Guahan.   Tåya' gi isla siña umigi si Masåla.  

There are good parents and there are bad parents, but there are no perfect parents. What I find intriguing from talking to public school teachers around the island, is the way in which they see many parents unable to deal with the reality of their children or their level of parenting. The students that are the most problematic are usually those where the family is hardly involved in their education. The parents are absent in the home life, discipline isn't taught and order and structure aren't laid down and so those kids become problem students in school. Kids misbehave, kids make mistakes, families become busy, attention is divided, these are all normal things. But when some parents are confronted with the misbehavior of their children, rather than recognizing the realities of life, they choose to throw up a facade of being perfect parents. Perfect parents are always blameless and so are their children. The school system is the problem. Other kids are the problem. The te

The Chamorro language has lots of fans. This is something to applaud. Two generations ago, the Chamorro language was being used by more people, but had very few fans. Most people who used it didn't speak it to their children or those younger than them. So even if it was being spoken, it was not being passed on and so its death sentence was already being prepared. It had few fans, most of the older generations of Chamorros, who were World War II survivors and veterans of American colonialism, were not big fans of Chamorro. They saw it as something that was a relic of the past, tied to a stagnant and penniless way of life, and something to be gotten rid of to make way for English. The game has changed. Chamorro now has more fans. The Chamorro language has more than 10,000 likes on Facebook. Attitudes have shifted so that people say the language should be saved and should be used. They admit to a beauty to it and it being an important part of the heritage of the Marianas. Only

Sina un fahan i tiket-mu siha gi este na website: nihikids.org Gof maolek este na sho, sa' ha na'dadana' i lenguahi yan i kuttura yan i humuyong-na ma fa'na'na'gue i ume'egga' positive na values put i irensia-ta, komo tiningo', lenguahi pat guinaha yan tano'.

Estague i inetnon baila "Taotao Lagu." Siha manggana' i uttimo na Dinanna' Minagof na Silebrasion gi i ma'pos na simana. Gi este na litratu mambabaila siha giya Saipan para i 2014 na Flame Tree Festival. Ma kombida yu' gi i otro simana para bai hu hues para i este na sakkan na Dinanna' Minagof. Hu aksepta i kinembida, ya sen excited yu'! Meggai na dinanna' taiguihi hu hanaogue, lao taya' taiguini komo hues. Hu gof sapopote i gima' baila siha giya Guahan, maseha Fanlalai'an, Pa'a pat Inetnon Gefpago. Hu tungo' na manmaolek na lugat siha para i ineduka i manhoben. Guaha dos na patgon-hu, ya guaha na biahi manhasso yu' buente maolek para bai hu na'saonao i patgon-hu siha gi unu pat dos na gurupu. Maolek i sinaonao para i tahtaotao, maolek lokkue' para i hinasso.

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama recently visited the Standing Bear Sioux Reservation of the Lakota and the Dakota. Here are some pictures:

Gof ya-hu este na mubi. Na'chalek yan meggai na akshon lokkue'. Achokka' kalang estrana i hinengge-na Si Tom Cruise put rihilon, gof ya-hu gui' komo actor. Gof ya-hu i mubi-na siha. I famagu'on-hu ma egga' i trailer para este na mubi "I Kanton Agupa'" yan gof yan-niha i "tagline"-na. "Live. Die. Repeat. In pila' este gi Fino' Chamoru taiguini, "La'la. Matai. Ta'lo." Esta in egga' este, lao kada hu faisen i dos-hu, kao malago' siha na in egga' gui' ta'lo, ma faisen yu' "Ta'lo?" Ya ilek-hu, "Hunggan nai, ta'lo yan ta'lo yan ta'lo, taiguihi gi mubi!"

For many years I dreamed of Pagat. Para meggai na anos manguiguife yu' put iya Pagat. But last week I dreamt about Litekyan. Lao gi i ma'pos na simana manguife yu' put iya Litekyan. These two places are very important and you could say they are sacred to Chamorros. Este na dos na lugat siha gof impottante ya sina un alok sagradu para i Chamorro siha. But their stories are complicated. Lao i estoria gof kumplikao yan matahlek. The majority of people on Guam believe that Pagat is an important place that must be protected. I meggaina na taotao giya Guahan, ma hohongge na gaibali iya Pagat ya debi di u ma prutehi. But for a very long time, that was not what our people felt.  Lao para un sen apmam na tiempo ti taiguihi i hinasson i taotao-ta. For a while they forgot put its sacredness, and when the military first tried to take it, they almost let it go. Manmaleffanaihon put i sinagradu, ya anai fine'nina i militat ha keganye', kana' ma sot

Published on Thursday, October 17, 2013 by TomDispatch.com Shutting Down Americans: The Government Shutdown in Perspective What Was “Essential” and What Wasn’t by Jo Comerford and Mattea Kramer     (Photograph by Chip Somodevilla/Getty) On a damp Friday morning 11 days into the government shutdown, a “few dozen” truckers took to the Capital Beltway in a demonstration with the Twitter hashtag #T2SDA (Truckers to Shut Down America).  They wanted to tell lawmakers they were angry, launch an impeachment campaign against the president, and pressure Congress to end itself. They were on a “ride for the Constitution,” protesting big government and yet the opinion polls were clear.  In fact, the numbers were stunning.  One after another, they showed that Americans opposed the shutdown and were hurting because of it.  At that moment, according to those polls, nearly one in three Americans said they f

Below is my testimony in support of my cousin Cara's project Nihi. A locally made kids learning show, that I helped to write one of the pilot episodes for. The other day a hearing was held at the Guam Legislature to provide some funding to help get this project off the ground. As someone who helped make it possible, but also somehow who sees the potential for a project like this I was happy to come and show my support. You can read more of my thoughts below. I testified along with my daughter Sumahi, who was on my lap while I was speaking.  ****************************** Tinestigu ginnen Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua The Guam Legislature 6/12/13 Este i hagå-hu. I na’ån-ña Si Sumåhi. Desde mafañågu gui’ hu fino’ Chamoruruyi gui’ todu tiempo. Humuyonogña, siña gui’ fumino’ Chaomru. Esta kapas gui’ gi fino’ Chamoru. Kada diha kumuentos ham put mubi siha, cartoons, ga’ga’ gi lepblo yan maseha hafa otro gi lina’la’-mami. Lao achokka’ fifi

My kids, like most kids love reading Dr. Seuss. Their favorite book, by far is The Lorax. I enjoy reading Dr. Seuss as well, the sentences can be find not only for your mind, but for the physical parts of your mouth. The sentences seem like they are pieced together in such a way that your tongue gets a satisfying workout as well. One problem I've often found with reading Dr. Seuss to my kids is that I translate books we read into Chamorro, and so it is often more of a storytelling time with pictures, than actual reading. Some books are easily translated off the top of your head. Dr. Seuss books are not. Sen mappot este para u mapula'. The language is fitted for English and its mannerisms, its flow. Many times words are made up and formed out of various things to create some amalgamated, overflowing idea or character. Translating the basic ideas of Dr. Seuss is easy, since the themes are generally universal. But capturing that animated and vibrantly creative quality is someth