<\/p>\n
By Marvic Cagarangan<\/em><\/p>\n A host of cultural and educational activities are lined for the entire month, marking the 2012 Silibrasion Gupot Chamoru (2012 Chamorro Month Celebration) with this year\u2019s theme, \u201cGuaiya yan Agradesi I Lina\u2019la-ta, Love and Appreciate Our Livelihood.\u201d\u00a0The cultural celebration serves as a reminder that \u201cthe Chamorro spirit dwells within each of us every day,\u201d according to Lt. Gov. Ray Tenorio, who keynoted the occasion with a proclamation signing.<\/p>\n The annual celebration seeks to honor the ancient Chamorros who founded the customs, traditions, language and history that symbolize the Pacific islanders\u2019 unique identity, Tenorio said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is in the very heart and soul of each Chamorro where our culture truly lies.\u00a0We must appreciate how fortunate we are by protecting the Chamorro heritage and fostering this same love for our people through our children,\u201d stated the proclamation designating March as Chamorro Month.<\/p>\n Like other indigenous cultures, the Chamorro identity \u2014 its heritage, arts and language \u2014 is threatened by the impact of globalization. \u201cIt is my firm belief that knowing one\u2019s past and where we came from as a people strengthens our cultural identity and solidarity as a people,\u201d Won Pat said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut when we lose our language, we lose what is the soul of our identity, culture, and traditional practices. Worst, when we lose our language we forever become disconnected from the wisdom of our ancestors,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The Chamorro people, Won Pat said, are built strong by\u00a0ingenuity, values and family.<\/p>\n \u201cFor nearly four centuries, the heritage of the Chamorro people continues to thrive, surviving powerful influences, holding steadfast to unique traditions, protecting the ancient language of our people and adapting to change while remaining true to the Chamorro spirit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Government agencies and private organizations have scheduled a number of activities for the month-long celebration of Chamorro Month. Also on March 2, the Outrigger Guam Resort opens “Irensia,” an art exhibit featuring contemporary coconut leaf sculpture by Lia, Rita and Arisa Barcinas. The exhibit will run for the entire month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Marvic Cagarangan A host of cultural and educational activities are lined for the entire month, marking the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[551,501,552,524,521,600,520],"tags":[264,358],"class_list":["post-4543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activities","category-art","category-blog","category-community","category-culture","category-food","category-news","tag-blog","tag-guam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4543\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nBut Tenorio said the Chamorro culture is holding out as it \u201chas endured so much, and it will continue to endure because of our efforts today.\u201d
\nIn her weekly address, meanwhile, Speaker Judi Won Pat urged the community to participate in activities and programs dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about the history and culture of the indigenous people of the Marianas.<\/p>\n
\nEvery Friday starting March 2, live bands will perform at Chamorro Village from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.<\/p>\nChamorro Month Events\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n