In Guam, Marrying Past and Future through ‘Beautiful Gatherings’

 
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In Guam, Marrying Past and Future through ‘Beautiful Gatherings’

Vince J. C. Reyes, Director, Inetnon Gefpå’go, as told to The Ensemble

02-07-2024

“Inetnon Gefpå’go” are Chamorro words for “beautiful gathering.” Chamorro is the Indigenous language, culture, and people of Guam, a U.S. territory located in the Pacific Ocean, about 2,500 kilometers east of the Philippines.

Inetnon Gefpå’go is also the name of our program, whose dual mission is to promote awareness and pride in Chamorro heritage and to provide children and young people with inspiration, possibility, and excellence through traditional Chamorro performance arts.

Our story begins in 2000, when I first began to teach at a public school in Guam.  I had just come back from studying in the States, where I’d felt increasingly disconnected from my Chamorro identity, and I was teaching social studies and physical education.  I noticed that there were some kids who liked to hang out in my classroom during recess and lunch…

Inetnon Gefpa’go performs at the world-famous Festival Mondial de Folklore de la ville de Saint-Ghislain in Belgium.

So, I said to these kids, “There’s an island-wide Chamorro dance competition going on right now. Do you want to give it a try?”—and they said yes.  I didn’t even know the names of the dance moves I was teaching them.  But they were up for learning the moves.  We entered the competition, and we won!

Our achievement convinced the principal that I should create a class in Chamorro cultural dance for the school. Eventually, this led to the creation of Inetnon Gefpå’go as a nonprofit organization that engages children at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels, both in school and after school. Our curriculum is centered around the ensemble traditions of Chamorro music and dance and is strongly performance-based.  Creativity and public performance: these are rooted in our cultural heritage.

I’ve always had a strong passion about my culture, the Chamorro culture, and a deep interest in how we can empower our kids to find their identities as Chamorro and express themselves creatively in that identity—while, at the same time, continuing to evolve as unique individuals.  How do we find that balance between cultural and individual identity?

Inetnon Gefpa’go musicians perform for the Dandan Marianas Typhoon Relief benefit concert.

For us, the answer is that creating music pieces and dance pieces has to be done collaboratively with the students.  Teachers are their guides, but we always make sure that their voice, their perspective, is being expressed.  It’s exciting to see kids take our traditional music and repurpose it, combining it with hip hop, pop, and other music, so that resonates for them.

An essential element of our program is that we teach the Chamorro language in the context of teaching music and dance.  Fluent speakers plus creative outlets—that’s the goal.  People my age and younger didn’t grow up with the language; our parents wouldn’t speak it with us, because, in their experience, that could mean trouble. The emphasis was on acclimating to American society; colonial structures dictated what was deemed “worthy,” and what wasn’t.  We can see that for our students, reclaiming their cultural heritage is a way to address and heal transgenerational wounding.

Another essential goal of the program is creating economic pathways for our students beyond high school. We connect them to the University of Guam, and prior to the pandemic, students were able to enroll in the first Chamorro Performing Arts Certificate Track at Southern High School. Eventually, they come full circle, becoming assistant instructors and then instructors in the program.  We connect them with other jobs as well.  The hotel industry here is always in need of performers. There’s also a vibrant music industry scene.  There is a national dance company starting.  And I hope for more jobs teaching in schools and colleges.  The mentality is starting to change:  kids can actually work doing what they love.

As we get up and running again, our recent award from The Lewis Prize for Music enables us to think even more broadly.  We are reaching out to more schools and afterschool programs, and also to other kinds of entities, such as programs for homeless youth, where music and dance can help and heal. We need to explore online learning and social media as well—how do we use those platforms to continue our mission of using performing arts to reclaim our identity?

Throughout this process, our goal will remain the same: to create “beautiful gatherings” for young people to express themselves and reclaim our identity and culture.

Chamorro Performing Arts, Community Development and Creative Placemaking, Cultural Continuity, February 2024, Preservation, Restoration, University of Guam, Youth Employment and Career Pathways

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