NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

The exhibit Sindalu: Chamorro Journey Stories in the US Military is still on display at the Agana Shopping Center. At the end of this month it will move to its next location in the Isla Center for the Arts at UOG. Although the creation of an exhibit like this can be so stressful, especially when you have a very tight timeline for completion, the experiences after the exhibit is open can be so rewarding. I was so worried that more people would complain about the exhibit and why their family stories weren't covered, which is what I often hear in the community about projects like this. But very few people have approached me personally about that, and many of the conversations I have had both while visiting the exhibit and also just out and about have given me a sense of how interesting and engaging people found the narrative. So many people appreciated the way it deepened their own understanding of the experiences of their fathers, cousins, sisters and grand parents in the US mili

Gaige yu' Palau gi este na simana. Manaliligao yu' put "self-government" guini ya taimanu ha ayuda Palau nu i inadilanto-na. Humanao yu' nigap para i "Rock Islands." Sen gatbo este na isla siha. Ma fa'na'an este na lugat "paradise" put i ginefpago-na. Hu gimen i ginefpago guini kalan taya' nai mantana' yu'. Achokka' hu sen agradedesi i tiempo-ku guini. Ti nahong este para Guahu. Mahalang para i nobia-hu. Achokka' gaige yu' giya para'isu, ti ha tatahgue hao. Ti ha songsongsong i maddok gi sanhalom-hu put i tinaigue-mu. 

My first experience with the UN wasn't very useful or inspiring. Chamorros and representatives of Guam have been going to the United Nations to testify before the 4th Committee for more than 30 years. I became one of them in 2007. Prior to testifying I already knew quite a bit about the UN process and so I wasn't expecting that my testimony would make much of a difference. Those who come from colonies or non-self-governing territories like Guam don't get representation at the UN, but they do get a few chances to let their concerns be heard. The 4th Committee is the most auspicious of such occasions. You get to testify in a large room in front of delegates from the entire world. But the potential for the moment means little in terms of its actual effect. The day I testified it was like moving through an assembly line. Names were called. Testimonies given. Thanks given for the testimony. Move on, next name. It went on like that for hours. There were no questions asked whi

I haven't been painting much lately, but I decided to do something about that last week and ended up painting several faces using watercolors. These are two that I submitted to the Creative Hands Exhibition at the Isla Center for the Arts. There titles are "Hot Woman" and "Cold Woman." I really like how they turned out. I hope they accept both pieces as I think they contrast each other nicely.

Everytime I go to an event on Guam, I always see so many people with cameras running around. Filming everything, taking pictures. But then as I go around the "Guam" corner of the internet or the "Chamorro" corner of the internet, I don't see any of these things. I don't see the pictures, the videos, nothing. What do people do with the hours and hours of video they have? What do they do with all the pictures they take? Its s a real shame since most of these people have way better cameras than mine. For me though, there are so many things happening on Guam, and often times so little attention is given to them, even from people here. Often times, huge historic things will be taking place and people here will have no idea that they are going on. I guess when I upload my crappy videos of things happening on Guam, I'm doing my best to try and get the word and the visuals out to people. Here are some recent videos that I've uploaded onto either my Youtube