NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Chamorro Soil, Chamorro Soul by Michael Lujan Bevacqua May 4, 2016 The Guam Daily Post Last week’s University of Guam Film Festival or UOGFF was very exciting for me personally. In three of the films featured, I had a role in creating, whether as an actor, producer or consultant. I had a minor speaking role in the film “You’re Not Going Anywhere…Kid” directed by my former student Kyle Twardowsky, who shot the entire film on his iPhone. The documentary “War For Guam” which was premiered last year on PBS stations around the United States was also shown. It was directed by Frances Negron-Muntaner, a prominent Puerto Rican scholar who teaches at Columbia University. I worked for a several years as a co-producer (along with local filmmaker Baltazar Aguon and others) on this film that shows the Chamorro experience in World War II, primarily through the re-telling of the stories of American holdout George Tweed and Chamorro priest Jesus Baza Duenas. The final film, which was

The film American Soil, Chamorro Soul premiered last week at the University of Guam Film Festival. The documentary is currently on sale through the website Chamorro Film . Head there to watch it online or purchase a DVD. I'll be posting more about the film as I was involved in the filming of it as an informant and a consultant. It is a very interesting and exciting short documentary about contemporary Chamorro culture. Below is an article about the film and the director Jessica Peterson. *********************** Where Does America's Day Begin? by Amanda Pampuro Guam Daily Post April 3, 2016 From cultural resurgence to sustainability, healthcare and tourism, the documentary short “American Soil, Chamorro Soul” raises a number of questions. Painting “intimate portraits of Chamorro people living their culture,” the film features master dancer Frank Rabon leader of Tao Tao Tano, carver Ron Acfalle as he rebuilds the ancient proa as best he can, and Audrey Meno who

In my weekly Chamorro classes, I try to end each Intermediate lesson with a axiom, a saying, some words of wisdom in the Chamorro language. Each of them can shed some light on the continuum of the Chamorro experi ence. Some of these sayings are just Chamorro versions of sayings from other cultures. Some contain interesting hybrid elements and possibly ancient, pre-colonial themes. Some are just nonsense and only said because of a harmony with the sounds and words. This image is one such saying, "Nina'i hao gi as Yu'us i chetnot-mu, para un espiha i amot-mu." It translates to, "You are given your illness by God, so that you can search for the cure." It is a good idea to ask our elders for more of these sayings, these pieces of Chamorro wisdom and incorporate them into our daily lives.

Friday, February 14, 2014 by Common Dreams Now Presenting.... The Activist Awards by Ralph Nader     The Kodak Theater in Los Angeles where the Academy Award ceremonies are held. (File) The annual Academy Awards GALA, viewed by one billion people worldwide, is scheduled for the evening of March 2, 2014. Motion pictures and the people who act in and produce them are center stage. Apart from the documentaries, this is a glittering evening of “make-believe” and “make business.” Now suppose our country had another Academy Awards GALA for citizen heroes – those tiny numbers of Americans who are working successfully full-time in nonprofit groups to advance access to justice, general operations of our faltering democratic society, and the health, safety, and economic well-being of all citizens. This must sound unexciting in comparison with the intensity of the world of film. Until you see what th

Opposition to the Affordable Care Act by Bruce Karolle Letter to the Editor Marianas Variety 10/29/13 AMAZINGLY, Obamacare threatens America’s unique status among the world’s advanced economies. As a nation where access to regular medical care has been a privilege, a privilege, according to many right-wing conservatives, that must be earned. We are the only advanced, Western-oriented country in the world with such a privileged healthcare system. Our friends in Canada and our buddies the Brits (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), perhaps America’s two closest allies, have had for years superior national health plans for all their citizens, as have other developed countries, i.e., France, Australia and Israel. When measured comparatively, their costs are far less than ours over the past decades. Since the days of President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt (early 1900s), seven other U.S. presidents, in my lifetime, have proposed national heal

This was written Saturday, November 19, 2011, before the "We Are Here" protest of President Obama during his short visit to Guam. *********************** Pau fatto magi Si Obama lamo'na hun. Supposedly President Obama is stopping in Guam tonight. People estimate he will be here at around 10 or 11 pm tonight, and only stay for at most two hours. He was scheduled to stop in Guam last year, but his pit stop was cancelled at the last second because of the Health Care Reform debate. We Are Guahan led a petition drive requesting that when he come to Guam he hold a townhall meeting to hear concerns about the buildup. They collected over 10,000 signatures in less than a month. Although the urgent momentum from the buildup process is for the most part evaporated, and now people see it more as stalled than going anywhere, the self-determination process appears to be picking up new speed. Gof likidu este na momento, ya magof hu na gaige yu' guini gi hilo' tano' p

One of my favorite lectures to give in my World History 2 class is the one on Haiti. Especially since the earthquake there earlier this year, I find it truly important to break the silence that surrounds Haiti and its revolutionary history. I was appalled at how through months of coverage over Haiti by media in the United States, the narrative was always the same, tragedy in a third world country. Collapse in a place where collapse and disaster is a way of life. The valiant efforts by the first world in recognizing that suffering and taking steps to alleviate it, to help those helpless souls. Given the scent of human suffering its understandable that they take this angle, but what was left out of their coverage, the historical aspects was also expected but still nonetheless horrifying to watch (or rather to not watch). The media's purpose in this case was to help the people of the US "discover" Haiti. the concept of discovery is always interesting. It has the aura of lea

I called in sick today because I had a horrible migraine last night, the kind which basically incapacitates me for a few hours. I get feverish, weak, very sensitive to light, I have trouble focusing when looking at my laptop and my mind races and sometimes I feel like I can't control it. These atdet na malinek ilu-hu siha happen every couple of months, so while I'm used to them happening, while they are happening, they are not fun. Today, I'm trying to take it slow, I'm going to try and see a doctor about getting some stronger amot para este na klasin chetnot. As I'm tossing and turning in bed with this migraine, I have my laptop on to live coverage of the "historic" health care reform vote that is going on right now in the US House of Representatives. Obviously I'm not in any state of mind to write about this now, but I just thought I'd post something about the vote below. ******************************* The Final Health Care Vote and What i