March 2024

March is Mes Chamorro for many fellow brothers and sisters of the Mariana Islands around the world. This is month to celebrate our unique heritage through artful expression, food, merch and more. I went down to Oceanside to partake in the Chamorro Cultural Festival hosted by CHELU, a non-profit based in San Diego that promotes and preserves Chamorro culture in the diaspora. This organization emphasizes the importance of culture continuity via community and is a haven for many who have left the islands for the US. 

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March is also usually the beginning of Spring, which brings a an abundance of flowers and other beautiful plants that remind me of home. I'm reminded of the vibrancy of home every time I find one that sticks out to me. It takes me on  ride filled with nostalgia. I can see the little version of me running around my grandma's property where she had a ton of tropical plants and flowers - I miss that village life.