Hafa Adai Everyone!!!

On Saturday, February 13 from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. the Guam Fishermen’s Cooperative Association will be featuring the
*2nd Annual **Gupot Fanha’aniyan Pulan CHamoru *or CHamoru Lunar Calendar Festival.

The festival, will be held on the grounds of the Hagåtña Co-Op which is along the stretch of the Hagåtña Marina and Boat Basin next to the Chamorro Village. The purpose of this event is to promote the preservation and perpetuation of the Chamorro culture and provide cultural practitioners an opportunity to share their talents and earn funds while promoting their crafts and skills. We are working to develop this event as annual local resident and tourism attraction.

The day’s festivities will feature exhibits, demonstrations and entertainment fully utilizing the use of the indigenous language and the distribution of the first comprehensive Marianas Archipelago Lunar Calendar. Another major highlight of the festival will be a CHÅHAN which is the ancient way of cooking underground. Once done, in the spirit of the Chamorro culture, a feast will be shared with those in attendance. The event will be free and open to the general public.

Please print this for your office break room as well as pass this on to others in your email address book who may be interested in this event.

Si Yuos Maase!!!

take care,
john

Whenever I’m asked this, my mind immediately starts to sift through my soul, my mind, my heart and picking out my different limits, faults, flaws, mistakes, vices etc, looking for a few to say I would like to do away with, improve on, or get rid of.

Having lived close to three decades by now, the aura or the importance of making resolutions for the New Year is starting to wane for me. When you find that what is supposed to be a very deeply personal experience of improvement or building your life and sustaining yourself the subject of every conceivable media form, you might want to rethink using that format to start a new year.

For this next year I’m not making any New Year’s Resolutions for myself. This is not to say that I don’t have anything I need to improve in my life or work on, there’s plenty of that, but I think that making resolutions for myself are the wrong way of doing it. It focuses on me too much, when I know by now that for happiness and a good life, you are the smallest (but still necessary) piece of that equation, the rest is up to everyone and everything else in the world.

So for me, I will be making promises to people. Individuals in my life, family members, perfect strangers, friends and so on. Life is all about the world around you and how to relate to it, and so for each new year we should make promises to people (even if they don’t know it) about how we will change or what we will do.

Secondly, I will be taking wisdom with me into the next year. Words or sentiments which aren’t so concretely tied to stuff like how much I weigh or how many cigarettes I smoke or how much time I waste blogging, but are more holistic, more philosophical and more open for interpretation. One of the problems with resolutions is that they tend to be forgotten by January 8th or 9th, and then only be remembered as a taunting failure come December 31st.

With small empe’ finayi or pieces of wisdom as I call them, even if you forget them the day after you write them down, they are not oppressive overlords which are commanding that you work out everyday or eat healthier. They are instead like small voices, which might appear or be remembered when you least expect it. You never know when they will appear to guide or help you; to influence you in choosing one thing or the other. This path in instead of that one. Yes to this instead of no.

Because I got for myself for Christmas Rock Star Band: The Beatles, and its been a fantastic diversion lately from finalizing my dissertation, worrying about money and all the military buildup craziness going on now.

I think that all the empe’ finayi that I’ll be carrying with me in this new year will be from Beatles’ lyrics. So here, just to share and help create some reflection and hope for the new year, are my five pieces of Beatles wisdom.

1. “Tomorrow Never Knows” from the album Revolver

Turn off your mind/relax and float down stream/This is not dying

Something I really need to try and remember.

2. “The End” - from the album Abbey Road

And in the end,/the love you take,/is equal to, the love,/you make

A more interesting way of talking about the golden rule.

3. “Nowhere Man” from the album Rubber Soul

He’s a real nowhere man,/Sitting in his Nowhere Land,/Making all his nowhere plans,/for nobody./Doesn’t have a point of view,/Knows not where he’s going to,/Isn’t he a bit like you and me?

Self-reflection and how most of what we see (and put down) in others is already in ourselves.

4. “Don’t Let Me Down” - from the album Let it Be

I’m in love for the first time/Don’t you know it’s gonna last/It’s a love that lasts forever/It’s a love that has no past.

The power and nature of love.

5. “In My Life” - from the album Rubber Soul

There are places I remember/All my life though some have changed/Some forever not for better/Some have gone and some remain/All these places had their moments/With lovers and friends I still can recall/Some are dead and some are living/In my life I’ve loved them all

How we all live with both memories and a memory (which we can’t always trust)

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Put fabot, na’halom i mas ya-mu na sinangan pat palabras kanta pappa’ gi i bandan comments! Please feel free to share some of your own in the comments!

After hearing her say that, I have to be honest, I didn’t believe this young girl could write a song, much less memorize the lyrics, melody and be stage ready in less than 12 hours…until she dropped her fist line of lyrics - “Hear the voices of the kids that pray for a brighter day.” That’s when I knew she meant business! The song spoke of hope, courage and self determination all of which we need in our lives right now more than ever. So without further ado, here is a post of Teeh’s second most viewed youtube video “I Want You” at a little over 850 thousand views. Let’s help her break another million! Guam represent!

For those that don’t know Abel, just check out the links at the bottom of this page, but before I cut out, I would however like to say something from the heart. Abel, he’s a great guy, honest, always thinking of others first, talented, humble and…and, well you get the picture. I don’t want to say too much, it would ruin his mystique.

So if you good folks haven’t already committed to a boring company party on the 29th, be sure to check out Abel’s Bash. Trust me, when Abel throws a party it’s pretty darn good. I dunno if it’s Dee Cruz good, but his parties definitely have a good vibe!

Fantastic job as always, you guys! Merry Christmas!

Guam Scenery from Discover Guam on Vimeo.

The other day I had the chance to sit down and meet with Jon Tanuvasa of Timecode Productions, the force behind the new documentary entitled “Discover Guam“. We talked a bit about his two year journey of compiling footage, research and taking on the monumental task of actually completing a project driven by passion. Yes, we had much to talk about - and still do (our coffee time was cut short). Maybe I’ll save it for an upcoming interview with him. But for now, this piece is all about his new documentary.

So last night I popped in the DVD and frankly, didn’t know what to expect. I really wanted it to be something fresh, refreshing, new and original. High expectations that are hard to fulfill? Sure, but not too much to ask. Then the menu came up and then I played the DVD. And I loved it.

First of all, surprisingly, the vibe of the overall doc was originally sleek and had a stylistic approach for a documentary. Every shot was beautiful! The blues from the ocean and skies were rich, deep and dark. The greens from the trees were vibrant and crisp. This had a subtle and calm aesthetic that made me not want to miss the next scene. The visuals and shot compositions were simply stunning! It totally surprised me and went above and beyond my expectations. Kudos, mayn!

The music was on point. New school style. Reflective and chill, the soundtrack was another great choice in the production. Great call. I’m not sure if the songs or music were original or not, but it totally enhanced the vibe, nonetheless.

I think what I really dug the most about this doc was that it was a documentary about Guam, but showcased in a new light. And since they of course had to involve the island’s history, they decided to keep it fresh and touch on only a few crucial topics without sculpting too much of the piece into a classroom lecture. I think it was a smart choice to go for a few notes on the history and maintain the structure of its original aesthetic style instead of turning it into a textbook. Pretty brave.

On another note, they also include an actual news reel from 1944 in the Special Features! This alone is worth the price of the DVD! Totally cool.

I’m actually very proud of this project and I commend Timecode Productions for doing such a great job with the completed product. I definitely looking forward to more of what’s in store from these guys. Support local art and pick up your copy!

If you want to have a fresh, 60 minute look at the place we call home, you can purchase the DVD at Bestseller Bookstore for $15 just in time for the holidays. You can also check out their Myspace page at: myspace.com/aglimpseofguam or shoot ‘em an email at timecode671[at] hotmail  [dot]  com.

Bravo!

STIRS OF ECHOES… Commemorating December 10, 1941

Members of Ginen I Hila’ I Maga’taotao Siha Association (From the Tongues of the Noble People Association) are dedicating the production entitled STIRS OF ECHOES to the CHamorus who fought and defended the island of Guam against the Japanese soldiers at the invasion of Hagåtña on December 10, 1941.

This commemorative event will be held on Thursday, December 10, 2009, from 4:00 to 6:00 in the morning, at the monument situated on the lawn of the Plaza de Espana in Hagåtña (in honor of the Guam Insular Guard). The event is free and open to the public.

According to event coordinators Felix Benavente and Selina Onedera-Salas, the group has gathered information and collected stories from some surviving family members of those civilians and guardsmen who fought in the early morning hours on December 10, 1941.

Other members of the group are Anthony “Malia” Ramirez, Annie B. Pineda, Patricia Ann Quichocho, Antonia Salas, Peter R. Onedera, Charissa Lynn Aguon, Rosa Salas Palomo, Lourdes A. Benavente, Peter Jon “Makåhna” Duenas, Vincent John Salas, Victor Tuquero, Daniel Pangelinan, Dallas Taijeron, Gloriette “Gena” Babauta, Maria Esteves, Elizabeth T. Cruz, and Emily Sablan.

Most everyone who knows me, knows that my daughter is named Sumåhi. Most don’t know when first hearing the word, exactly what it means. It’s a Chamorro word, which means “the waxing of the moon.” The root word is såhi, which is most commonly known in the form sinahi, which means “new moon” and is also the name for a necklace that many Chamorro men (kontodu Guahu) wear today.

Most don’t know, but a handful do, where I got the name from, or from where I heard it first, that made me think of it as a beautiful name. It’s not a very common word in Chamorro today, and most Chamorros upon first hearing it, assumed that it was a Chinese or Japanese word. I first came across the word in 2000, when I was first learning to speak Chamorro. At that point, I had taken two elementary Chamorro classes from Peter Onedera at the University of Guam, and wanted to continue learning until I was fluent.

It was something that for most of my life I had never even considered or thought was possible. I, after all, like many my age, had grown up with the Chamorro language as something which had been kept from us, walled away back in time, something old people greeted each other with or yelled at children in. Because of this, it was never something, for the first 19 years of my life, which I thought would ever have any real meaning for me.

I worked with my grandparents and those around me who spoke and slowly became fluent. One of the activities that I would engage in, with the help of my grandmother, in order to increase my vocabulary and also my knowledge of Chamorro grammar, was to have her help me translate Chamorro songs into English.

We would sit very closely next to a stereo (which was covered in paint because I often used it when painting), and my grandmother, whose hearing was already poor, would strain to help me with the lyrics. More contemporary artists weren’t something grandma enjoyed, so singers such as J.D. Crutch, she did not like being forced to listen to. Stuff from Johnny Sablan or Jimmy Dee was a different story. The older, early songs of Johnny Sablan were tunes that she loved to listen to.They had the power even just for a few minutes or moments, to transport her back to another time, a different era of Guam life, and even her helped her envision the faces of people who were long gone.

The albums Dalai Nene and Chamorro Yu’ were by far her favorites, since both were a blending of older tunes and lyrics, with contemporary lyrics and sounds. Many were Chamorrita tunes, which everyone on Guam supposedly knew, that people simply added their own lyrics to. When grandma would hear Johnny Sablan’s version of An Gumupu Si Paluma, she would both smile and chuckle. In the course of the song, a bird, which as a metaphor represents anything from a literal bird, a woman, a sexual organ, or Chamorros in general, lands on the branches of different Guam trees. When in the song, the bird would land on a tangantangan branch, grandma would chuckle, since that wasn’t, in all the variations of the song she’d heard, a branch that the infamous bird ever landed on.

In the translating of one song however, called “Dalai Nene” I saw, or rather felt a completely different side of grandma. I have never really seen my grandmother give off a romantic aura. I’ve only known her in the twilight of her life, and have only heard stories of her when she was younger, and so I know that she had it in her, but that the years that have passed and her SDA religious beliefs mean that much of that would be better left forgotten, or not appropriate things to talk about to anyone, much less your grandchildren.

When grandma would listen to “Dalai Nene” and sing along to it in her soft, quiet, delicate voice, I had no idea who she was thinking of. Was it a young man who had a crush on her in elementary school, perhaps an older man singing the song while walking to the farm, maybe something she heard an older sibling or cousin sing after their heart had been broken. Or maybe it was grandma’s own version that she was recalling, something she had written in her mind for someone long gone, but whose presence or absence will always remain in her heart.

I had no idea to whom or from where she was singing, but it was a side of her I had never felt before. As we translated the lyrics, which like most Chamorro songs, deals with horrible heartache and the feeling of love for one who doesn’t reciprocate, there was one word which she constantly came back to, one which seemed to fill her with a different color or energy. That word was of course ‘sumåhi.”

In the song the lines of the first version go like this I pilan yanggen sumåhi, guaha triste sumahi-ña…or in English “when the moon waxes, sometimes it is sad when it does…” I asked grandma why she liked this word so much (since at the time, I didn’t even know what it meant to say “the moon waxes”). She couldn’t really give me an answer, she just said that it was something beautiful, it just brought such beautiful images to mind.

I did not name my first daughter after my grandmother in the sense of giving her the name “Elizabeth” or “Bitbit” as she is often called. But Sumåhi became her name in order to honor my grandmother in a different way. Instead of honoring that part of her, which is out there in the world, and you can find on her driver’s license, her cedula or on her tithe envelope, I decided to try and honor that energy that I saw that day, which I knew I would only know in small bits and pieces, but which most likely represented something in grandma that she would want to be shared, that she would want to live on past her.

Like most children nowadays who are being given archaic or old Chamorro names, my daughter will most likely believe for much of her life, that she was given her name because I wanted to curse her and make her as miserable as possible. Despite this, I hope one day, in her own way, she stumbles across this blog post, or comes to find this shred of knowledge, this glint of hope that I am writing about today. I am hoping that she will understand and recognize her name as just one feeble attempt to instill in her some of the greatness and beauty that I have glimpsed in her great-grandmother.

I’m pasting the lyrics to the song “Dalai Nene” below in honor of both Sumåhi and her great-grandmother, as well as my translation of them.

I pilan yanggen sumåhi

When the moon waxes

Guaha triste sumahi-ña

Sometimes it is sad

Kuatseria un kilisyånu

Especially when there is someone

Yanggen guaha piniti-ña

Who has great pain

Likidu na finañågu

You are unique

I mina’mongmong korason-hu

The one who makes my heart race

Bai hu matai gi hilo’ tåno’

I would die from this earth

Ya ti un li’e’ ine’son-hu

And you will never see me get tired (of you)

I lassås-hu bai hu fa’kaohao

My skin I will make into a chest

I anineng-mu bai hu kaohao gui’

Your shadow I will put in it

I korason-hu para siladura

My heart will be a padlock

I te’lang-hu para yabi

My bones will be the key

Propiu minachom pulan

Just when the moon start to go down

Annai sumispiros yu’

Is when I start to sob (gasping)

Ya dalai ti un piniti

And for shame that you aren’t hurt by this

Nene kahulo’

Darling wake up

Hagatna, Guam – Friday December 4, 2009. The founders of We The People, Inc, JD Iriarte and Derrick Muna Quinata, announce the very first Guam Music Festival to be held on Saturday December 12, 2009 at the Paseo Baseball stadium. The festival doors will open from noon to 8pm on Saturday, and promises to be the event of the year.  Featuring numerous local band and 50+ vendors from Chamorro Village and 15+ children attractions such as bounces and games from Q’s Rental.

The festival is sponsored by Budweiser the King of Beers, in association with PDN, DOCOMO Pacific, DPR, the Guam National Guard, Sheraton Laguna Guam, AM Insurance and Coast 360.  The festival will feature an unforgettable performance by Reggae Royalty Bob Marley’s son, Ky-Mani Marley, with performances by Hawaii’s finest, Ooklah the Moc, and other local talent. (see attached bios)

We The People will also be holding the largest youth voter registration drive that Guam has ever seen.  Bring your U.S. Passport, birth certificate and a picture id. Those who register to vote will get in for just $25. Tickets are on sale now at 76/Circle K, MWR Guam, Affiliated Lifestyles, Jamaican Grill, Jah Reggae Shop and wanttickets.com. The event will also include food and activities vendors brought to you by, The Chamorro Village, Paradise Limosine The Official Party Bus, The Guam Musicians Initiative, Fence Masters, Q’s Rentals, Guam Election Commission, Guam AutoTraders, Ending All Media, Shimbros Music and A-List EventZ.

Ticket prices are as follows: Pre-Sale $25 & $40 at the Door. Kids under 12 get in free.

We the People, Inc, strives to influence Guam and its peoples by bringing positive change to the island as well as new and innovative ideas. The Guam Music Festival, Vol. 1 will be the first of many things to come.