The word fiesta conjures up images of music and merriment, of noisemaking and hoopla, and of marchers in the Mardi Gras. On Guam, the fiesta is a religious day which centers on a particular village whose patron saint is being celebrated with a Mass, a procession, and a prideful display of the best food the village has to offer its parishioners and visitors.

It is generally assumed that the fiesta tradition on Guam stemmed from the Spanish way of celebrating Saints Days, a practice that has been widely observed for centuries in Spain, Latin America, and the Spanish colonies. And how widely is this tradition observed on Guam? Our 22 villages observe 33 fiestas a year, an average of about three per month is the answer.

While some old traditions and cultural values of Guam have eroded and have been replaced by other social practices, the Guam fiesta has become stronger each year and serves as the focal point for the blending and bonding of members of the multi-cultural and multi-national communities that many villages on Guam have become.

Interestingly, although all villages observe their fiestas in a similar manner, there are variations in their celebrations, reflecting the village's personality, so to speak. While one village may highlight participation by school children during the Mass and procession, another village may focus on organizations such as the Knights of Columbus. In Mongmong's recent observance of the Nuestra Senor de las Aguas fiesta, it chose native cultural dancers for entertainment; on the other hand, Yigo's celebration of Our Lady of Lourdes fiesta included musicians and singers from various schools.

New dishes have become part of our fiesta tables. The Japanese delicacy, sashimi (marinated raw fish) wrapped with a corn tortilla is a great dish; similarly, Spanish red rice on the same plate as Korean kimchi is, at the very least, quite colorful! On our fiesta tables, there are only additions to the menu. There are no subtractions. I dare say that native dishes like fresh fish, chicken, poto, kalamai, pan saymada, and finadene will never be replaced.

While the community celebration is going on in the Church grounds, many families continue the old tradition of celebrating at home. There are usually many cooks at family celebrations. Indeed, some of them actually cook while others just look. When all is ready however, everyone gathers around the serving table. Well, not everyone. You see, the nice set-up is in the front but the good food serving is in the back. I mentioned earlier that it has been widely assumed the fiesta tradition was adopted from the Spanish. Historical accounts tell us, however, that as early as around 1600, the Ancient Chamorros celebrated certain days of the year much like the way they do today. The Franciscan friar who made this observation while he was temporarily living on Guam in 1602 described it as a fiesta, most likely because he was writing about a celebration that reminded him of his native Spain.

A few years ago, a friend of mine returned to the States after visiting Guam for a few weeks. I asked him if he enjoyed his stay. He was beaming as he told me that the loved the island, he loved the food, and he loved the people and was particularly impressed with the fact that there is a native language still in use. Then, just as we were parting company, he said, "You know, for a community so vibrant, I am surprised that the Guamanians have no culture.

I said nothing because my tongue was bleeding. Later on, I visited my High School dictionaryand this is how the word, culture is defined: "the cultural beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or special group."

I realized then that when my friend and I were talking, one of us was speaking broken English and, in this instance, it was not I. Ai adai no este y taotao san lago.