NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

As part of Independent Guåhan's outreach to the island community around issues of decolonization, we are proud to present our new monthly newsletter titled The Kulo'. This newsletter is put together by the Media Committee of Independent Guåhan, which is chaired by myself and Manuel Cruz. Feel free to save the images and also once Independent Guåhan's official website is ready, we'll be able to archive them there for public download. ***********************

 I've been helping with the organizing of UOG's annual Puengen Minagof Nochebuena celebration for several years now. At first, I found myself very awkwardly participating, as much of the traditions involved, whether it be the praying of the nobena or the singing of Chamorro Christmas songs was foreign to me. I grew up in a home where we didn't make a bilen and certainly didn't go out into the jungle to obtain lumot for it. We sometimes sang some Christmas songs, but they were always in English and I was never really exposed to the exciting array of Chamorro Christmas songs, some of which are translations of popular English tunes (like "Similot" which is the Chamorro version of "Silver Bells") or gof katoliko na kanta siha, or Catholic Chamorro songs that feel like they were penned straight from the quill of Pale' San Vitores himself. As I grew up Seventh-Day Adventist, we didn't pray the nobena either.  Boñelos were a part o