NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

I am in the very early stages of an article that was inspired by the Navajo dubbing Star Wars: A New Hope into their language several years ago. The use of native languages to talk about "pop-culture" in a general or sometimes considered to be colonial sense is not something new or recent for me. On this blog close to a decade ago I was already talking about everything from science fiction to manga to Bollywood movies in the Chamorro language. I have long felt that if you care about something, but it is alien to your native language, there should be ways to bridge that gap, especially if you are in a precarious situation in terms of language sustainability. The collective I started with Kenneth Gofigan Kuper, Guagua Tiningo' is built on this idea. We believe in it so strongly we made a film to show our ideas titled Påkto: I Hinekka last year which premiered at the Guam International Film Festival and was based on the premise that you can play a full game of Magic: The G

Adios Siñot Torres by Michael Lujan Bevacqua Guam Daily Post October 14, 2015 I spent last week asking several dozen people about the favorite classical musical choices of an eighty-eight-year-old Chamorro man who had just passed away. It was a saddening, sobering, but also inspiring experience. Jose Mata Torres, a man I’ve spent the last two years working with, passed away on September 28. Through the Chamorro Studies program at UOG, I assisted him with the researching, writing, editing, and eventual publishing of his memoir “ Massacre at Atåte .” The book recounts not only his general wartime experiences but also a truly heroic event where he was among a group of men in Malesso’ who rose up and killed or drove off the Japanese in their village in July 1944. I feel privileged to have helped him publish this book, which, he joked, schoolchildren may be forced to read for generations to come. When I learned of his passing, I immediately felt the

I've spent the past week asking several dozen people what the favorite classical music choices were of an 89 year old Chamorro man who passed away last week. It has been a strange experience on so many levels. Jose Mata Torres, who I spent close to two years working with passed away last week. I assisted him in getting his memoir titled "Massacre at Atate" through the research, editing and publishing process. After learning he had passed away I immediately felt the need to do something to commemorate him and his contributions to the community and to Chamorro history. Mr. Torres was a host on the Guam public radio station KPRG for 20 years. His show "classical concert" pushed the boundaries of Chamorro possibility in ways that I still find fascinating. Torres was a proud Chamorro man, who felt it was very important that Chamorros keep their language alive and also keep alive a memory of their culture even if it has changed substantially from his youth. When I

The film I made with Kenneth Gofigan Kuper titled "Påkto: I Hinekka" is being shown tomorrow at the Fifth Guam International Film Festival at 7:30 at the Agana Shopping Center Theaters. Below is some information on the film itself and its cast. *********************** PÅKTO: I Hinekka - Film Synopsis             “Påkto: I Hinekka” pins nerd ambassadors Ken and Miget in the most epic battle of their lives. While playing the popular fantasy card “Magic: The Gathering” they once again battle to the death, only this time things are different, this time things are in the Chamorro language. “Påkto: I Hinekka” is filled with nerd humor, drama and glory, but more than anything aims to show that it is possible to use the Chamorro language everyday, no matter what one is doing.  The Chamorro language has existed for thousands of years and has recently become endangered as it is no longer being actively transmitted from one generation to the next.