Bring home beautiful works of art

STEP inside the doors of the former R&C Tours office in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Saipan in Garapan and you will get a rare treat — a smorgasbord of breathtaking works of art created by the island’s artists.

Allow your senses to roam and feast on the products the artists will be sharing to the public for a whole month. Take a tour and you will be transported from the past to the present through beautiful artwork as seen through the eyes of each artist.

Take home works of art to adorn your favorite spots in the house, made but the island’s traditional artists Martin Castro, Maria Camacho, Mariana Ebilane, Prescilla Pangelinan, Melchy Billy, Ginni Bachani, Rodney Camacho, Edward Terlahe, Priscilla Pangelinan, Vicente Duenas, Lucy Sablan, and Carmen Gaskins.

From stone mortars and pestle, mats and baskets painstakingly hand-woven from leaves, intricate wooden carvings where each piece tells and records interesting stories of the islands, knitted shawls and hanging decorations from indigenous materials, vases and household ornaments made out of recycled materials, and more.

All over the room are simple shells and stones found on the island’s beaches everywhere, but when they came through an artist’s hands, they come out as stunning pieces of necklaces, earrings, bracelets and other ornaments you would be proud to wear anytime.

Framed along the walls of the exhibit area are big and small paintings and photographs of the island’s inland, aerial and underwater attractions captured through the lens by the CNMI’s well-known photographers, and through the brushes of the skillful painters including Greg Elliot, Jack Hardy, Leslie Ware,  Lawrence Lee, Joseph Weaver, Ernie David, Maritess Sablan, and Rosana C. Villaraiz who generously share their talents through inspiring paintings and photos that you would want to bring home to hang on your walls.

These and more are available for viewing and for sale at the ongoing Cultural Heritage and Arts Pacifica Exhibit hosted by the Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture. It runs until September 30.

Visit the exhibit area anytime from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday for a real art feast for free.

The whole Arts Council family under its executive director Angel S. Hocog is inviting the public to come and support the local artists, and bring home a piece of these treasures with you.

For more information about the exhibit, call the Arts Council at 322-9982/3.

Bring home beautiful works of art | around-the-island.

Continuing a cultural tradition

SHOWCASED in shelves or spread out on any flat surface, they attract attention as spectacular works of art worn by cultural dancers on their necks, arms, hands, heads and ankles. Meticulously inserting the thread into the very small holes of the beads requires a near-perfect eyesight and patience of the saints, and choosing the colors and following designs require skills and artistic creativity before a piece of bead jewelry can be finished.
As more and more fashion jewelry and accessories emerge into the market, people are finding it not only easier and cheaper but more convenient to just pick up any piece of fashion jewelry to go with their daily clothes than buy the traditional beadwork done by local artists.
Bead making in the CNMI may become a lost art if those who are skilled on it will not pass their knowledge to the younger generations, according to Ann Billy, one of the local exhibitors who showcased a fine selection of beadwork jewelry at the 30th Flame Tree Arts Festival at American Memorial Park grounds onJune 9-12.
A piece of bead necklace for example takes from two to three weeks to finish, depending on the complexity of the design and the size of the beads.
“The smaller the beads are and the more complex the design is, the longer it takes to finish,” Billy said.
If the beads are a little bit larger and the design is simpler, a beadwork necklace may be finished in a week or so. The bigger pieces of beadworks fetch a higher price of up to even more than $200, but with the bad economy, local beadmakers have turned to fashioning simple necklaces, bracelets and other jewelry which they sell for affordable prices from $10 and up. These smaller items, Billy said, have become the most saleable ones lately.
The CNMI is beefing up efforts in preserving this cultural tradition by introducing this art to visitors to the island, by demonstrations of beadwork making at travel fairs and exhibits in other countries, by offering cultural classes such as the ones held at The Inetnon mot yan Kutturan Natibu/Mwiischil Safey me Kkoor Arasamal Falw (Association of Native Medicine and Culture) and by these bead artisans handing their knowledge to the younger generations.
Beadworks are available from local artists during exhibits at the Flame Tree Arts Festival, arts exhibits hosted by the Commonwealth Arts Council, and other events. Buying beadwork jewelry requires no sweat, but each piece has its own story to tell. Each piece portrays the effort and creativity of the artist before a piece is finally done and ready for selling. When you take home a piece of beadwork jewelry, you are taking home a part of the island’s culture and tradition, and most importantly, helping keep this cultural tradition alive.

Nenpou Shinkyou group holds memorial service in Marpi | local-news

MEMBERS of the Nenpou Shinkyou Buddhist denomination from Japan held a memorial ceremony for the casualties of World War II in Marpi yesterday morning.

CNMI officials joined the 66-member group who lighted candles, offered flowers, fruit, wine and prayers for the departed.

In separate ceremonies, Nenpou Shinkyou’s high priest Most Reverend Ryoyu Okeya led the offering of flowers and prayers at the Japanese Peace Memorial and threw bouquets of flowers at Banzai Cliff .

In his brief message on behalf of Gov. Benigno Fitial and Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos, Press Secretary Angel Demapan said: “We are proud to serve as the home of your organization’s first monument built outside of Japan.”

He said although the Battle of Saipan was not a long conflict, about 50,000 civilians and military personnel died in a span of 24 days, including Japanese, U.S. service members, Chamorros and Carolinians and other foreign nationals.

He said since then, there has been a constant reminder of the horrors of war through the war memorial monuments in Marpi and the annual pilgrimage of organizations such as the Nenpou Shinkyou who pray for world peace and for the souls of those who died during the war.

“Today, we are tremendously grateful that we continue to remain at peace with Japan…together we have achieved forgiveness and reconciliation and have rebuilt our devastated societies. We will never fail to remember how far we have come and where we came from,” Demapan said.

Pacific Eagle Enterprises,Inc. vice president Aya Matsumoto said the group will be leaving Saipan this afternoon.

On Saturday morning, the group conducted a cleanup drive around the Japanese Peace Memorial and at Banzai Cliff to prepare for the ceremony.

The Nenpou Shinkyo Buddhist denomination has about 88 shrines all over Japan.

The ceremony yesterday was also attended by Saipan Mayor Donald Flores, Marianas Visitors Authority Managing Director Perry Tenorio and wife Teresa Kim-Tenorio, Japan’s Consul General for the CNMI Tsutomu Higuchi and other guests.

Nenpou Shinkyou group holds memorial service in Marpi | local-news

Zumba Fitness: Moving toward a new beat | health-matters

THE lights flashed, the music started, and the enthusiastic dancers sauntered to the floor of GIG Discotheque in Garapan to sway to the beat of the island’s latest fad in fitness dancing — the Zumba.

The event was to officially introduce Zumba to Saipan and at the same time raise funds for the ongoing relief efforts for the victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami last month which claimed thousands of lives and left thousands more homeless in Japan.

“I am very excited about this new page in my life that can lead me and everyone who would like to try this new style of fitness to better health and happier days,” Zumba Fitness instructor at said Gold’s Gym, Elly Stoilova, who initiated the “Zumba for Japan” event on Friday night .

Stoilova said a friend introduced Zumba Fitness to her four months ago.

“A friend asked me to help purchase a Zumba Fitness DVD set online. I checked some videos to see what I was about to purchase. I fell in love with the music and the movements from first glance and ordered two sets, one for my friend and one for me,” Stoilova said. And thus began her enthusiasm for this fitness dance that has been becoming more popular all over the world.

Stoilova said she began doing the Zumba Fitness program at home as part of her personal weight loss program in conjunction with enrolling in the Gold’s Gym Challenge.

“As Zumba Fitness movements are dance-inspired and introduced at the basic level with step-by-step instructions, it took me several repetitions to start moving and getting the flow of the various dances,” she said.

The more she repeated the dance steps, the better she felt about how she moved and grew more confident in her Zumba Fitness dancing.

Last month, there was a Zumba Fitness Basic Training for instructors on Guam, and she attended the training together with Samantha A’ani Birmingham-Babauta. The two are the first Zumba Fitness instructors on Saipan. Stoilova also attended an Aqua Zumba Fitness training so she could teach Zumba in the pool.

Easy for beginners

Beginners or shy individuals need not worry because all the classes Stoilova and Sami will be teaching at Gold’s Gym are designed for beginners.

“For the first month, we will practice the basic steps of Merengue, Salsa, Cumbia and Reggaeton together with some other international dance rhythms, and introduce some easy combinations and choreographies,” she said.

Stoilova said she already conducted one test class last week and she was happy to see that most of the students learned the steps quickly.

“Even the shiest people in the class started smiling and enjoying the dances by the end of the session. Mastering the steps involves continuous repetition and adding some personal flair, based on mood and allowing the body to groove to the bustling Latin sounds,” she said.

There is no standard way to do Zumba Fitness as everyone will add his own personal style in time, Stoilova said.

“I truly believe that if we create a Zumba party one month from now, those students who participate regularly at the Gold’s Gym classes will let loose and go wild on the dance floor!” she added.

Frequency

How many times one needs to dance to keep fit depends on the individual’s personal health and fitness level. To stay fit, Stoilova said she would recommend mixing Zumba Fitness with other types of exercise along with eating healthy.

“Doing Zumba Fitness twice weekly for 45 minutes may be a good start for someone who is new to fitness, as this dance-like exercise provides cardio and works all muscle groups at the same time,” she said.

Compared to other forms of dancing for exercise, Zumba Fitness is an “effective, exhilarating, Latin-inspired, easy-to-follow, calorie-burning dance-fitness party that has taken the fitness industry by storm.”

“Zumba Fitness creator Alberto ‘Beto’ Perez says that Zumba Fitness is a way for people to exercise and to not know that as they dance and they have fun together. I would add that one doesn’t need to know how to dance in order to do Zumba. Follow and enjoy!” Stoilova said.

Benefits from Zumba

Stoilova said that Zumba Fitness was the perfect addition to her Gold’s Gym Challenge program.

“I did weightlifting, cycling, strength training using free weights and various machines at Gold’s Gym, stretching and pilates. It all worked as I could see myself losing pounds and shrinking in size each week. Zumba Fitness made my exercise routine fun, helped me lose weight and brought a lot of positive energy to my days,” Stoilova said.

If she does Zumba Fitness in the morning, she feels like she is dancing all day long!

“I smile, I laugh more and I feel alive. I haven’t been in a discotheque for about 8 years, as I thought I am a little old to enjoy the dance floor with teenagers. Zumba Fitness brought back the pleasure of dancing to my life and because of that, I love it!” she added.

Classes at Gold’s Gym

This week, Zumba Fitness classes will officially start at Gold’s Gym. Stoilova said a lot of people have already been inquiring about the classes.

“When something new and positive appears in our life, it usually brings excitement and gives us additional power to go through challenges. Use Zumba Fitness as a new platform that will help you become fit, learn to dance and enjoy dancing, overcome your shyness, meet new people and make new friends. Zumba Fitness made my life much more enjoyable,” Stoilova said.

Try it and see for yourself!

(This article was originally published at Zumba Fitness: Moving toward a new beat | health-matters)

Profile: Chefs Jojo & Guan Li: Running a restaurant in hard economic times | business-edge

RUNNING a restaurant and keeping it alive in these hard economic times on Saipan is very challenging, but this couple works successfully together to make ends meet and to continue serving delicious food to their clients in the island.

Jojo Li and her husband Chef Guan opened Royal Spring Taste House, a small but pleasant restaurant serving Chinese food on the ground floor of the Millennium Plaza at Coffee Tree Mall in Garapan in June 2009.

“When we opened the restaurant, we were still able to hire a staffer but later, we have to juggle all the work between us because times are really hard. Sometimes, our 17-year-old son helps us out when he is around,” Li told the Variety.

She said most of their customers especially at night are those who work at the massage parlors and bars in Garapan who would come for a bowl of hot soup or noodles, or get a real meal before going home in the early hours of the morning.

“Now it’s so hard because if they don’t have customers at the massage parlors and bars, they won’t get any tips and they won’t spend anything for food,” she said.

Work for the Li couple does not end. Although they open the restaurant at past 1 p.m. every day for a late lunch, they are open all the way until 2 or 2:30 a.m.

The couple buys ingredients on wholesale basis because they can save on trips to the store and on the individual price of commodities.

The couple’s day starts with preparing the basic ingredients, slicing and marinating meat for short orders, and cleaning and preparing the place for diners who come in for a late lunch.

The couple said the last time they were able to go home for a vacation in China was three years ago, before they opened Royal Spring Taste House.

With almost all restaurants in Garapan closing up at 11 p.m., Royal Spring Taste House has an edge because they stay open when most of the night spot workers go home from work.

“Things have really gotten worse these past years, not only restaurants but for other businesses, too but we manage to get by,” she said.

Now, higher bills to pay for rent and utilities, the escalating cost of ingredients, lesser customers, more restaurants and fast foods sprouting around the area, and the low cost of food they offer in their menu to customers, struggling to stay afloat is a real challenge, Li said.

Royal Spring delivers food orders for conferences and gatherings. Just place your orders at least two or three hours ahead of time. They also deliver short orders around Garapan area.

Royal Spring Taste House prices start from the budget- friendly level and up, depending on your order.

Both Jojo and Guan were originally from Guangzhou, China. They left their hometown over 20 years ago to seek greener pastures here. The two met and married here, and both have been witnesses to how the economy of Saipan bloated, flopped and finally torn to shreds but they are still here, trying to survive the everyday challenges of running a restaurant and feeding people delicious food “fit for a king,” as what the restaurant’s name suggests in the Chinese language.

They are also among the thousands of guest workers whose uncertain fate hangs in the balance since federal immigration law was extended to the CNMI.

Royal Spring Taste House accepts only cash for now. For a taste of the restaurant’s specialties, call 233-1668.

A trip back in time | around-the-island

A trip back in time | around-the-island

Chamorro/Carolinian cultural center opens on Saipan

Marianas Variety 

Monday, March 28, 2011 12:00AM 

 

A WEEK after Rota opened its Chamorro Village Cultural Center, Saipan also opened its own on Capital Hill on Saturday morning.

The opening was in partnership with the Indigenous Affairs Office and organizers said it marked a new era for cultural experts and the community.

The Chamorro/Carolinian Cultural Center is designed to preserve indigenous cultures and traditions and keep then alive for the future generations.

Inetnon Åmot yan Kutturan Natibu/Mwiischil Safey me Kkoor Aramasal Falúw, or IAKN/MSKAF, the Association of Native Medicine and Culture president Isidoro T. Cabrera said they will be adding more displays and exhibits at the newly opened cultural center.

The Center was funded by the grant from the U.S. Administration for Native Americans through IAKN/MSKAF, a non-profit organization created to support traditional healing and preserve indigenous culture in 2007.

The $245,385 grant was aimed to establish cultural village centers on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.

(Indigenous Affairs officials and island leaders cut the ribbon during the opening of the Chamorro/Carolinian Village Cultural Center on Saturday. From right- Cong. Greg Kilili Sablan, Administration of Native American grant consultant Lino M. Olopai, cultural expert Andrew Rapoulug, Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos, Indigenous Affairs resident executive Ignacio DLG Demapan, ANA Grant project director Manny F. Borja, and Association of Native Medicine and Culture president Isidoro T. Cabrera. Photo by Raquel C. Bagnol)

The center on Rota was opened on March 19. The one on Tinian may be opened next year, Cabrera said.

The cultural center, he added, will offer classes for weaving, wood and stone carving, preparing traditional medicines and on other subjects that preserve Chamorro/Carolinian culture and traditions.

The center has  invited local artist Noel Quitugua who arrived here from Washington last week and will be staying until May 12.

Quitugua, who created the miniature Chamorro house now displayed at the CNMI Museum, will be giving lectures to students, teachers and the community about authentic Chamorro houses, tools and canoes and how to make miniatures to preserve this craft.

The Saipan center is located at 1213 Capitol Hill Rd., across from the Workforce Investment Agency office and below the Board of Parole Office. For more information, call 322-0278.