(Press Release) — Roughly six years since the original founders envisioned constructing and showcasing the rich and enchanting cultures, language, and traditions of the indigenous Chamorro people of the Marianas Islands archipelago, the House of Chamorros, a 501(c)3 non-profit, is proud to announce that the Guma’ Chamorro will be christened at the grand opening scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the world famous Balboa Park in San Diego, California.
The grand opening and housewarming blessing will be in conjunction with the annual Hafa Adai Festival. On Sunday, August 21, 2022, the HOC/HAF raffle drawing will be held at 5 p.m.
Save the Dates! All roads lead to Balboa Park as all indigenous Chamorros in the Marianas, all Chamorro Diaspora living abroad and oversees, and citizens from everywhere in the world are invited to mark their calendars and join and attend.
The House of Chamorro or HOC is an integral program supported by the Chamorro Optimist Club San Diego in 2016, was accepted as a full member of the House of Pacific Relations or HPR that oversees the International Cottages campus in Balboa Park.
HOC also simultaneously joined the New International Cottages Committee comprised of HPR members interested in building their respective cottages. It hosts about 14 million visitors annually, including most notably 335,000 visitors in two days and two nights annually during December Nights festival. HPR oversees the International Cottages, a consortium of “houses” representing 33 countries, which were originally built for the 1935 World Exposition.
Balboa Park is the cultural epicenter of the world as a living lab and cultural resource that celebrates the cultural diversity of San Diego as a melting pot of world cultures coexisting in harmony, peace, and goodwill. The park spans 1,200 acres spread across an urban area of captive open community spaces, gardens, and walking paths with museums, theatres, and world-famous San Diego Zoo.
Upon opening its doors, the Guma’ Chamorro will offer visitors a glimpse of the rich culture, storied history, enchanting traditions, unique language, and magnificent sights and sounds of the lush tropical flora and fauna and alluring paradise of the Chamorro peoples’ cultural homeland from thousands of miles away. It will feature and showcase cultural art, information, and resource all afternoon on weekends year-round with volunteer hosts trained to answer questions, educate, and interact with visitors. It will also provide lawn cultural and tourism marketing programs, cultural performances and immersion through arts, folklore, music, dance, Chamorro language, and tantalizing indigenous Chamorro cuisine for the most spoiled of palates. Furthermore, it will develop and present historical and educational programs with exhibits, presentations, seminars, and workshops to promote and preserve the rich culture, traditions, and arts of the indigenous Chamorro people of the Northern Marianas and Guam. Construction was made possible through the gracious support and contributions of donors and benefactors from around the world.
The House of Chamorro is privileged to have a cooperative relationship with the Guam Visitors Bureau and the Marianas Visitors Authority as a strategic partnership to promote and market the majestic tropical paradise resort destinations of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands to the 14 million visitors of Balboa Park annually. This cooperation seeks to support Guma’ Chamorro in bringing cultural practitioners to present the Chamorro culture (and Carolinian for the CNMI) at Balboa Park and throughout San Diego County known to be the community with the largest diaspora of indigenous Chamorro (and Carolinians for the CNMI) anywhere beyond the shores of the Marianas archipelago.
Imagining the House of Chamorros being permanently housed at an internationally prominent location at the Hall of Nations Balboa Park, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres could not contain his excitement: “I Guma’ Chamorro is not just a physical structure that stands in the cultural epicenter of the west coast of the United States. More than that, it proudly stands as an edifice of lasting symbolism and tribute to the instinctual resilience and humble pride of our people of the Marianas together with Guam, showcasing our unique language, culture, tradition, arts, and food that will reverberate generation after generation in the years to come.”
The House of Chamorros is being stewarded under the dynamic and competent leadership team of Marianas’ sons and daughters no less than through its president, Jeffrey J. Macaraeg, HOC board of directors, HOC Guam and CNMI liaisons, and program chairs. The HOC-CNMI liaison are co-founder Dorisann Aldan-Atalig, co-founder Susan Castro-Cabrera, HOC-CNMI PIO John O. Gonzales “Bolis” and HOC-CNMI advisors/co-founders David DLG Atalig and Patrick D. Cabrera.
The Guma’ Chamorro will be a culmination of more than a decade of arduous and relentless planning, celebrating those pioneering visionaries of our past to date, whose legacy will forever be etched and captured in the hearts and minds of those visitors — Chamorro, Carolinian, and the like—for years to come, generation after generation. As our incorporating charter aptly captures the lasting impact of a permanent Guma’ Chamorro, “It isn’t often in life that you have a chance to be a part of something like this, that is the first of its kind and will educate so many and benefit so many.”
Front row, from left, MVA Managing Director Priscilla M. Iakopo, DCCA Secretary Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, House of Chamorro co-founder Dorisann Aldan-Atalig, co-founder Sue Castro-Cabrera, PIO John “Bolis” Gonzales, co-founder/advisor Patrick D. Cabrera. Back row, from left: Executive Assistant for Carolinian Affairs John I. Tagabuel, co-founder/advisor David DLG Atalig, Resident Executive Assistant for Indigenous Affairs Roman Tudela Jr., and governor’s Chief of Staff Will Castro.
