NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

(Kada sakkan gi este na mes, hu tuge' este na post ta'lo. Hu fa'nuebu didide'. Este na mas kabales na hinasso-ku put Mes Chamoru) It’s Chamorro month again, or mes Chamorro ta’lo. That means that the landscape of Guam changes in some small and large ways, to bring out more of the island’s “Chamorro side.” It’s the only month of the year that you might see more Guam flags than American flags. It’s the only month that you can actually hear a large group of young people, actively debating and creating in the Chamorro language. Its also the month during which communication between grand kids, great-grand kids and their respective elders is usually at an all time high due to class assignments about Guam history. I imagine there is an increased demand for Chamorro related tattoos. Lastly, it’s also the third most important time period for t-shirt vendors on Guam, after election season and the month of July (Liberation Day). It can be both an exciting and depr

My Chamorro lessons for the Fall start tomorrow, Friday, August 17, 12 noon at Java Junction in the Agana Shopping Center. The lessons will be for beginners and are free and open to anyone. If you are committed to learning the language and want to be in a supportive environment to learn the rules of grammar and expand your vocabulary, come and join us!

I’m sure that most people out there have heard the term “sausagefest” before. Its a term you use to refer to the fact that something is comprised mainly of men, or to call attention to the fact that there are way too many men here. The Micronesian Island Fair last month at Ipao beach, was a very interesting and inspiring experience, but also one which some might refer to however, as a sade’fest. Sade’ is the Chamorro word used for diaper, but it is also the contemporary Chamorro word which is used for loincloth. For a variety of reasons at this year’s event, there were sevearal dozen men, from Guam and from other islands who were sporting very little clothing other than a small shred of cloth covering their, you know what’s. Chamorros from Guam and Rota who were wearing loincloths did so because of their participation in certain events, such as the building and maintaining of the guma’higai, a small cultural village which was built on the edge of the fair, and was meant to represent

Since I've come back to Guam I've been painting a lot more. I'm known on Guam as an artist in addition to be an activist, a writer, a scholar and the grandson of my grandparents. I sold at the Lunar Calendar Festival last month, and also gave out some free art at the Free Art Friday a few weeks ago. I've made about twenty small abstract pieces since the new year and I've already sold or given away half of them. I'm painting a few more this week, and getting them matted and ready for next week's 2nd Isla Art Fair at the University of Guam. Since all this art stuff is going around in my mind and blood, and generally keeping me from writing my dissertation, I thought I'd share a piece I painted over the summer last year. But first some background. The small art pieces I sell on Guam are different than what I've been painting over the past few years while living in San Diego. In the states, most everything I paint has been women's faces or sunsets

Last month I had the honor of presenting twice at the Tetset Konfrensian Chamorro in Saipan. I wrote about my presentation on a panel on militarization and political status in the Marianas Islands in my post " Shiro, Sakman yan Fino' Chamoru: Pa'go Giya Guahan." My other presentation was a solo one, where I was put in charge of a session on "national identity" and Chamorros. The description (which I didn't write) was as follows: Identifikan Nasionat: Komu i tinituhon i ManChamorro sina ha' un rastreha mas ki kuatro mit anos tatte sigun i estoria i ManChamorro komu un grupu ha' manparehu na lenguahi, para na kustumbre yan parehu na rasa. Gi kinlamten-ta mo'na obligasion-ta para u ta susteni i hinengge-mu put Hagu mismo. There were a number of different directions that I could have taken this discussion. But given the importance of issues of preserving and sustaining Chamorro culture to the conference, I decided to intervene at that poi

Plenty of things going on this coming weekend and so I thought I'd post info on all of them. Even if you're not on Guam its still important to keep up to date with what's happening on the island. Although when I was younger I would always hear that there's nothing happening or nothing to do on Guam , this is absolutely not the case anymore. Right now, there is, at some points, too much going on! ************************************************ OCT. 24 - "Puengen Spondylus" The Guam Gallery of Art and the Chamorro Artists Association present their fourth Orange Night, Spondylus Night, from 6 to 10 p.m. on Oct. 24 at The Guam Gallery of Art at the Chamorro Village in Hagåtña, during Arts and Humanities Month, in celebration of the Chamorro culture and in remembrance of their ancestors. There will be a special presentation by Christine Choe, an association member, who was selected to represent Guam at the recent ninth China Changchun International Sculpture