Stories and Song Festival

On November 29th, the Chamorro creative arts group "Ginen I Hila’ I Maga’taotao Siha" wil be hosting a Stories and Songs Festival, which is free and open to the public and will feature Chamorro/Guam storytelling as well as arts and crafts. The group has been organizing a series of very enjoyable presentations recently, even having on before Halloween, where they told ghost stories on the beach at Ipan.

I'll be participating in this festival in a number of ways. First off me and i che'lu-hu Kuri will have a table set up in order to display the tools of our grandfather Tun Jack Lujan. My grandpa has been a Chamorro blacksmith for more than 80 years now, and whereas the island once had several dozen tool makers, he is now the only traditional one, or one who comes from a generational legacy. Put i mafana'guen-na i che'lu-hu, esta gaige gi entre i familia-ku kuatro na henerasion herrero. Yesterday I posted some videos of grandpa, Kuri and me working in the shop. Also recently an article that I wrote for the website Guampedia on the history of Chamorro blacksmithing was uploaded.

I'll also be telling some stories. I've got plenty of Sumåhi stories to tell and so I'll be taking up one sessions to share some of them. In one of them Sumåhi is a blacksmith, in another Sumåhi is a storyteller.

The main story that I'm working on right now and trying furiously to translate into Chamorro is based on a blog post I wrote here in July of 2006 titled "How My Grandfather Almost Joined the Military." My presentation is titled "Why I Didn't Join the Military," and the answer to that question has everything to do with how and why my grandfather didn't join. If you're too lazy to find out now, I'll give you a clue, it has to do with taotaomo'na.

To find out more you can click on the link above or you can come out and attend the Festival.

For more information, read the info below/ Para un tungo' mas, taitai i notisia gi pappa'.

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Ginen I Hila’ I Maga’taotao Siha Association
Stories and Songs Festival at the University of Guam
Saturday, November 29, 2008

Ginen I Hila’ I Maga’taotao Siha Association is hosting STORIES AND SONGS FESTIVAL on Saturday, November 29, 2008 from 6pm to 10pm at the University of Guam’s Humanities and Social Sciences Building and the CLASS Lecture Hall. The event is free and open to the general public.

CHamoru baked goods, Christmas treats, artwork and crafts will be on sale in the atrium throughout the evening as singers, musicians, chanters, dancers and storytellers will be performing in Room HSS101, 102, 104, 106 and the CLASS Lecture Hall. Invited performers from the island community will be presenting their repertoire in the CHamoru language allowing the community a taste of a unique experience while heralding the approach of the holiday season. Families and visitors to the festival are encouraged to move about the different classrooms and the CLASS Lecture Hall which has been designated for storytelling and entertainment being presented by children from the various public and private schools. The event is free and open to the general public. The goal of the event is to allow children and families an opportunity to experience the CHamoru language through art, stories, chants, music and dance while providing the public with an experience unique to the culture of our island.

The following members may be contacted if anyone is interested in participating as a vendor, artist, crafter, storyteller, singer, dancer and chanter as well as to tell a story or sing songs in the CHamoru language accompanied by a guitar or a ukulele.

For more information contact:
• Beverly Ann Acfalel 689-2843 bacfalle@gmail.com
• Charissa Lynn Aguon 686-2908 charissa.aguon@gmail.com
• Rosa Salas Palomo 727-5522 salaspalomo@hotmail.com
• Leonila T. Gombar 734-2868 louienlila@guam.net