By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
HOUSE Floor Leader Marissa Flores is urging the Marianas Visitors Authority to take the lead in unifying the Commonwealth’s artists, musicians, and cultural practitioners under a single tourism-driven framework, saying the CNMI cannot market itself as a destination without elevating the people and traditions that define it.
Speaking during Thursday’s MVA board meeting, Flores said the long-standing separation of the Arts Council from the tourism agency has weakened the islands’ ability to present a cohesive cultural identity to visitors.
“I do feel at this time that the Arts Council should be under the purview of MVA,” she said. “You cannot sell Saipan and the Commonwealth as a tourism destination without what truly defines us: music, art, food, people, culture, and language.”
Flores, who chairs the House Committee on Tourism, said the current structure leaves many artists without a clear role in planning and shaping visitor experiences. While some are invited to participate in events, she said, others are left out entirely.
“I believe that artists should be involved in planning, designing, and engaging in conversations with MVA,” she said. “Artists and artisans in our community don’t really have a place. Under the proposal I am moving forward with, everybody — all artists connected to us by blood, heart, soul, and mind — would be involved in this process.”
She added that the CNMI’s cultural assets extend far beyond performances and food festivals, encompassing the islands’ language, ambiance, and everyday way of life.
“It’s more than just food,” she said. “It’s our language, it’s our ambiance — it’s all of that encompassed into one.”
Flores said she intends to introduce legislation or other formal proposals to consolidate cultural programming under the MVA, calling it a long-overdue shift that aligns with the agency’s mission and the Marianas’ branding as a destination that is “far from ordinary.”
Praise for outgoing MVA director
Before outlining her proposals, Flores delivered an emotional tribute to outgoing MVA Managing Director Jamika R. Taijeron, whose final day with the agency is May 31. Taijeron announced her resignation during the April board meeting, citing her family’s relocation to Guam.
“I must tell you I’m very moved by her passion and dedication to truly bringing the Marianas to its full potential,” Flores said. “Far from ordinary is really what it is. And it takes a visionary such as Ms. Taijeron to bring people together.”
Flores said Taijeron’s leadership through economic uncertainty, budget constraints, and post-typhoon recovery challenges demonstrated resilience and commitment.
“It wasn’t an easy task considering the circumstances and challenges you were faced with,” she said. “Thank you again from the people of the Commonwealth and the 24th House of Representatives.”
Call for long-term vision in tourism leadership
Flores also urged the board to consider hiring an external executive search or human-resources firm to help identify the next managing director, saying the CNMI must move beyond relying on the same pool of candidates for key leadership positions.
“At some point, we need to cut the umbilical cord and make moves that have greater impacts in the long term,” she said. “We cannot continue to expect different outcomes if we continue to move in the same manner.”
She said the next managing director should possess extensive tourism experience and a long-range vision capable of helping the Marianas compete more effectively in the Asia-Pacific region.
“I envision the Marianas 20 years into the future,” she said. “We’re going to need that vision if we want to continue to compete with our neighboring destinations throughout the Blue Continent and the Asia-Pacific region.”
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
