Alice in Musicland
I na'ån-ña si Alice, lao fuera di enao ti meggai tinigo'-hu put guiya. Sigun i primet na tinige' guini mågi, malago' gui' hun manrecord kånta gi Fino' Chamorro. Malago' yu' tumungo' mås put guiya, ya anggen malago' gui' siña hu ayuda gui' tumungo' mås put i hale'-ña guini, put hemplo anggen malago' gui' muna'hålom mås infotmasion put Guåhan pat Fino' Chamorro gi kantå-ña siha, gof magof hu na bei ayuda.
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Alice in Musicland
by Johana Salinas
The Guam Sunday Post
July 24, 2016
Japanese pop singer Alice wants to spread joy with her music. She visited her birth island for the Guam Summer Beach Festival on July 16 to perform upbeat grooves. "I love R &B and pop," Alice said. "I love catchy sounds. I like hip-hop but it's not catchy."
That night, Alice covered the Chamorro classic "Hågu." The person she thought of when singing "Hågu" was her Auntie Diane. "She told me what the song meant and I mixed the ballad into a reggae beat," Alice said. Her cover of "Hågu" reveals her interest in Chamorro culture despite moving away when she was two years old.
While Alice is half Chamorro, her English is minimal; however, she is fluent in music. She understands the power that music has over a soul. Music can be an emotional escape from boredom and even from stress. "My music is meant for dreamers," said Alice, a dreamer herself. Her bubbly, encouraging songs depict her lively spirit and her youthful heart.
“I prefer ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ the animated version over the new live-action version,” she said. “The older version is dreamy and the newer one is dark and a little scary."
Alice is a little coy about big dreams, but she would like to win a Grammy award.
Yumi Yabe, the pop star’s translator and friend, finds a sanctuary in Alice's work. “My favorite song by her is 'Rainbow,'" Yumi said. "That song makes me more energetic. It gives me hope and dreams. This morning I was singing it while doing my makeup and it made me feel good. During this time, I have been tired and stressed and when I heard her song she made me come back to life.”
Alice and Yumi's different experiences with Alice's music fit into the aesthetic “151a.” Musician Kishi Bashi defined “151a” in a Ted Talk: "This moment is unique only to now, with or without its imperfections."
How Alice thinks and feels while writing a song is different from the experience she has each time she performs that song. The same goes for Yumi, who finds a new meaning in each of Alice’s song each time she listens to it. How "Rainbow" helped Yumi that morning will be different from how it'll help her in the future or how it may help someone else.
Alice is working on a new EP in Japan and hopes that it will lead to a full album. She enjoys coming back to Guam and plans to return again next year. "If I were to write a song about Guam it would be a love song," she said. She also hopes to do a duet in Chamorro or English. "I would like to collaborate with Pia Mia. She is the queen."
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Guam Visitor's Bureau
Press Release
September 16, 2016
Alice, who performed at the Guam Summer Beach Fest opening weekend in July, reunited with Team Guam for a special concert at the Guam booth. Her voice and dance moves brought crowds of people as she performed her original songs and a rendition of “Hagu” by Flora Baza Quan.
This year, the Guam Chamorro Dance Academy (GCDA) featured some of its youngest participants. Boys and girls, ranging from 5-10 years of age, moved the audience with their performances on both the Guam and JATA stages.
“It’s been an honor teaching and seeing them perform,” said Master of Chamorro Dance Frank Rabon. “These dancers may not be from Guam, but they are excited to learn and embrace our Chamorro culture and share it here in Japan.”
GCDA has grown successfully since the Guam Visitors Bureau (GVB) started the program in 2009, with more than 2,000 members actively participating from six different cities in Japan. The program has also expanded to the U.S. mainland in 2014 and Taiwan in 2016.
Guam also grabbed the attention of JATA attendees with multiple performances from Jesse and Ruby and their cultural dancers for the Håfa Adai Chamorro Dance Show, weaving demonstrations from Tony Mantanona and Arthur Pangelinan during the Chamorro Craft School, photo sessions and greeting calls from Ms. Earth Guam 2016 Gloria Nelson and Mr. Guam 2016 first runner-up Edward Malaca, a Håfa Adai Quiz Show and other key presentations. Additionally, the island’s signature sports and events were highlighted with GVB Community Development Officer Kraig Camacho and other Team Guam members promoting the “Sports Paradise Island” experience.
“We are working hard to maintain our footing in the Japan market while placing our Chamorro culture at the forefront,” said GVB President and CEO Nathan Denight. “JATA is the opportunity to build upon those long-standing relationships we’ve established with our airline, hotel and tourism partners abroad and thank them for their support. Our Japan Manager Yuji Mitsumori has played a key role in bridging those relationships together and I personally want to thank him for his efforts through the years. I also want to thank Governor Calvo, Lt. Governor Tenorio, Senator Barnes, our GVB Board, management, staff and the rest of our industry partners for their support of tourism and promoting our island paradise.”
Team Guam additionally included local businesses to further promote the island at the tourism expo. They were comprised of the Japan Guam Travel Association (JGTA), Hyatt Regency, Hilton Guam Resort & Spa, Fiesta Resort, Hotel Nikko Guam, Royal Orchid Guam Hotel, LeoPalace Resort, Lam Lam Tours, R&C Tours, Holiday Tours Micronesia, H.I.S., Nippon Travel Agency, Micronesia Hospitality Inc., TMI, Pacific Micronesia Tours, Skydive Guam, GPO and Tumon Sands Plaza, and the Pleasure Island Group (T Galleria by DFS, Outrigger Guam Beach Resort, SandCastle, Globe, Dusit Thani Guam Resort, UnderWater World, Sea Grill, Sky Lounge, the Plaza, Hard Rock Guam and IHOP Guam.
“Once again it was a successful year at JATA. Guam was represented and represented well,” said GVB Vice President Telo Taitague. “It’s so important we have our presence known here and although there are some challenges in Japan with the yen and outbound travel, we will be here again next year in full force to continue representing Guam at this amazing expo.”
Guam joined over 150 countries and regions for the JATA Tourism Expo, the world’s leading global tourism event. This year’s theme of “Be part of the world. Travel.” focused on giving a taste of travel destinations through exhibits that featured food, dance, music and performances at the Tokyo Big Sight with an estimated attendance of over 170,000 people.
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GVB unveils Visit Guam Expo 2017
Guam Daily Post Staff
July 18, 2016
This weekend, the Guam Visitors Bureau unveiled the Visit Guam 2017 Expo which highlights the GVB signature events and its industry partners who are supporting various objectives of the Tourism 2020 plan.
On July 16, GVB launched Summer Beach Fest which featured a workout, performances by local and Japanese musicians and films from the Guam International Film Festival family showcase.
According to GVB spokesman Josh Tyquiengco, both events this weekend had great turnouts.
The Visit Guam 2017 Expo entertained 75 international media members and presented to them the highlights of the expo at the Agana Stadium Theaters.
One of the highlights was acting Gov. Ray Tenorio, who was present to proclaim 2017 the Year of Love.
Raffle drawings were done throughout the day at the expo which went on from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Samples of barbecue were handed out from the Guam Community College culinary team who were the winners of GVB’s BBQ Block Party held July 2.
Tyquiengco said there was a constant flow during the expo and the Summer Beach Fest. At the beach fest, there was some rain, but that was to be expected this time of year, Tyquiengco said.
The Summer Beach Fest featuring the Tumon Night Market hosted many food vendors and different arts and crafts vendors as well.
According to a release from GVB, the Tourism 2020 plan includes improving quality and yield, growing arrivals and diversifying, focusing on MICE, promoting the Chamorro culture and Guam’s unique attractions.
The expo highlights “Only On Guam” events and activities brought to the island by tourism to celebrate the industry’s contribution to the local economy, business development, employment and quality of life on Guam.
The Visit Guam 2017 Expo and Events press conference was held Saturday, July 16 at the Agana Shopping Center.
The Agana Shopping Center provided GVB and its partners a high-traffic venue to display event information, increased opportunity for interaction and a chance to host its press conference with greater impact for local and international media partners. This gave event organizers an opportunity to register participants, answer questions and offer demos, raffle or other promotional opportunities to a broad audience of locals and visitors alike.
The opening weekend for the Guam Summer Beach Fest featured the new Tumon Night Market at the Gov. Joseph Flores Memorial Park (Ypao Beach) in Tumon.
On Saturday, the event featured a workout with H.I.I.T. by James Sardea of Urban Fitness and the musicians of GSBF in a special Hafa Adai pledge ceremony off-stage. The stage livened up with performances by The Dolls, The John Dank Show and J-pop star Alice performing until the 9 p.m. fireworks show closed out the night.
Sunday night's events also included Fitness on the Beach with H.I.I.T. by James Sardea of Urban Fitness, a performance by Alice and the exclusive Guam International Film Festival’s Encore Family Showcase on the beach. Throughout the next six weekends there will be food, a beach bar by Miller Lite, refreshing beverages from Pepsi, and performances and activity each night. Admission is free and the event is family friendly, however pets are not allowed.
Information was provided in a press release.
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