STATESIDE Chamorro Ron Gallegos-Groppe is planning to come to Guam, retrace his Chamorro roots, and record his experience in a documentary he’s putting together.
The 36-year-old Pennsylvania resident is the grandson of former Guam resident Rosario Leon Guerrero, who left Guam after she married Gallegos-Groppe’s grandfather, David Williams, a merchant marine from Fresno, Calif., on Aug. 4, 1947. They moved to Fresno in the summer of 1959 and she passed away in 1969.
Gallegos-Groppe knows from his mother, Geraldine Gallegos-Groppe, that his grandmother was a teacher in Hagåtña when she met his grandfather. His grandmother’s parents are Rita Leon Guerrero (Cruz) and Pedro Leon Guerrero. His grandmother was born March 8, 1916.
“Once my grandmother passed away, all real ties with Guam was lost. My mother and my aunts and uncles were all children. There was no way to keep it going. It wasn’t until my mom and my aunts and uncles grew and were able to go out of Fresno that they were able to experience the culture,” he said.
As for the documentary, he said it’s something he’s wanted to do for many years.
“But I didn’t realize what vehicle I wanted to use. I didn’t know if I wanted to write a little synopsis about my family and talk amongst my own family members. But within the last year and a half, I have come around to deciding to make a documentary,” Gallegos-Groppe said.
Endangered
The idea for the documentary was developed after he came across an endangered project section being offered on Google.
“I was looking at the website, and I saw that Chamorro was an endangered language and I realized I need to get on this because in the next 50 years people won’t speak Chamorro anymore,” he said.
From there, he learned more about the culture.
“Growing up, I always knew about Guam. But I didn’t know anything about it other than what I read in text books. I found myself over the years looking at YouTube to try to understand more of the Chamorro culture and yeah, I decided this is what I need to do,” he said.
He added he is also doing the documentary for those stateside Chamorros in the mainland who don’t have a Chamorro community so they can understand more about Guam.
The name of the film is "Through the eyes of..." meaning Gallegos-Groppe wants to show the island through the eyes of Guamanians who live on Guam and abroad.
“I want to show the culture and language through the eyes of people who speak it fluently and through those who are just learning and even those that have no clue of it,” he said.
He understands there may be some negative reaction from some residents, especially since he is "Americanized," but he says this should not be an issue.
“At the end of the day, it’s really about understanding my roots and how to preserve the culture,” he said. “I think that most people will be more receptive.”
