Nestled in a comfortable environment in the Chamorro Village is a small business called "Hale Guahan."
  Translated literally, Hale Guahan means the root(s) of Guam.  Owned and managed by artist and craftsman, Robert "Rumbo" Benavente, the small shop retails Chelu stickers, oil paintings, a variety of compact discs and cassette tapes of Chamorro musicians as well as many hand-made and detailed ornaments, pendants and earrings.
  Benavente is proud of his products because he uses natural materials in their creation.
  Using a variety of wood, stones, bone, coconut shell and seashell, Benavente meticulously designs and carves the Guam seal, taotaomona and Latte Stone pendants, latte earrings, seahorse and turtle earrings, hooks, oars and latte whistles.  These carved items are quite popular, particularly among the Chamorros visiting from the mainland.
  Benavente says 90 percent of his customers are local.
--- this story originally printed in the Pacific Milestones, July 8, 1997

    Once nestled in a comfortable environment in the Chamorro Village was a small and promising business called "Hale Guahan."
    Once owned and managed by artist and craftsman, Robert "Rumbo" Benavente, the small shop retailed Chelu stickers, oil paintings, a variety of compact discs and cassette tapes of Chamoru musicians as well as many hand-made and detailed ornaments, pendants and earrings.
    Benavente was proud of his products because he used natural materials in his creations. Using a variety of wood, stones, bone, coconut shell and seashell, Benavente meticulously designed and carved the Guahan seal, taotaomona and latte Stone pendants, latte earrings, seahorse and turtle earring, hooks, oars and latte whistles.  These carved items were quite popular, particularly among the Chamorros visiting from the mainland.
    Benavente said at the time of the original story in 1997 that over 90 percent of his customers were local.
    Since the story was first entered in Pacific Milestones on July 8, 1997, a lot has changed for the businessman known as Rumbo.
    Around the time that typhoon Paka was about to make her visit in Guahan, Rumbo was undergoing a business setback. At the high-point of his business venture, Rumbo was paying the Government of Guam a set fee for renting the little spot in the Chamorro Village complex for his Hale Guahan retail shop.  The fee which was based on how the the products were made, and who operated the shop, was less than a few hundred dollars within a years time frame. This fee was easily accepted by most Chamoru merchants in the Chamorro Village complex.
   Seeing that at the time the economic structure in Guam was ailing, an official appointed as the Chairperson of the Chamorro Village by the administration associated with the Department of Commerce elected to increase the rental fee for merchants with businesses in the Chamorro Village district in order to obtain more revenue for the government. The stipulation regarding the sale of Arts & Crafts products was intended to be "Tax Free." 
    The intent of raising the rental fee for all merchants with businesses in the Chamorro Village complex not just to gain more revenue for the government with an ailing economy, it was also intended to drive out business merchants that were supporters of the opposing party to the incumbent administration.
    Governor Carl T.C. Guiterrez has been said to have "intentionally forced out" non-supporters of his administration at all levels of government, to include the Chamorro Village in Hagatna.
    With this in mind, Rumbo elected to protest the raising of the rental fee to merchants in the Chamorro Village.  During , a Chamorro Village merchant meeting Rumbo announced;

"Why do we have to pay those higher fees when the products we sell, (including himself), use only local, and natural resources to manufacture their products without having to manufacture products from outside sources.  Unlike some of the merchants that actually have their products made outside of Guam in places like China, Korea, Indonesia,.. where the products are made cheap and produced by cheap, underpaid laborers..."

   Where ever you may be Rumbo, our spirits are always with you.
    I agree with Rumbo's sentiments.  Recently, according to sources, the Chamorro Village in Hagatna caters to many non-Chamoru merchants such as Filipinos, Asians, Micronesians, etc..     Why call it the "CHAMORU VILLAGE?"  Why not call it "Rainbow village?." If a German  from Europe came to Guam to visit and purchase some real Chamoru Arts & Crafts to take back home to show his/her family and friends, let's make sure that what they buy is made in Guam with resources indigenous to the island and that it be made by Chamorus.

--- April 28, 2000

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