NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

More than a decade ago, a statue was unveiled in Hagåtña for the late Angel L.G. Santos in the park which bears his name in memoriam.  It has been more than two decades since the passing of this iconic Chamoru figure. It has always intrigued me the way Santos morphed in meaning locally – from a patriotic, military-serving young Chamoru, to a loincloth-wearing taimamahlao chattaotao activist, to politician and defender of human rights, to visage on stickers, T-shirts and symbol of Chamoru strength and pride. Angel Santos and Nasion Chamoru worked hard, in particular in the 1990s, to push to the forefront of the island’s consciousness issues such as Chamoru rights, especially around political status and land.  One of their biggest successes is not the sinahi-necklace-wearing that has become so commonplace, but rather their protest efforts in getting the Chamorro Land Trust implemented and formalized.  Debates over the changing of the rules last year for the Chamo...

Last month, my family launched our latest bilingual Chamoru-English children’s book titled “An Tåya’ Elektrisidåt” or “When There’s No Electricity.” In the book, three Chamoru children, based on three of my own kids, struggle with boredom after a typhoon has devastated Guam, leaving them without electricity and without data for their cellphones. With some helpful guidance from their nånan biha (grandmother) they are reminded that there are still plenty of ways to have fun on Guam, even without their iPads or video games. Across the book, the children learn that through their island’s natural beauty, cultural and community, there are still plenty of ways to enjoy life. They participate in a village-wide chongka competition, they go hunting for duendes, they enjoy the beauty of a Guam sunset. They hear stories of ghosts and spirits and taotaomo’na. My personal favorite is when they say the rosary for their devices that are dead and no longer have any charge. While many people have ...