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EScape

a Spanish Legacy far far from home

A magnificent blend of Spanish heritage and American culture make Guam a tropical paradise with a twist.

By Buzzy Gordon

The name of the governor of this tropical island is Felix Camacho; the lieutenant governor is Michael Cruz. The five most common surnames in the phone book are Cruz, Flores, Guerrero, Perez and Santos. Not surprising, perhaps, for a Caribbean enclave, but this island is nowhere near.
Smaller than Puerto Rico, Guam is a speck of an island in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles away from any Spanish-speaking country. In fact, Spanish is not even commonly spoken on Guam today. But for 330 years, Guam was a key possession of Spain—a vital anchor of the galleon trade route between Mexico and the Philippines. A lasting legacy of that period are the Spanish surnames of the islanders, known as the Chamorro people.
Guam was one of the discoveries of arguably the greatest explorer to have roamed the seas on behalf of the Spanish court—Portuguese-born Ferdinand Magellan, who landed on Guahan in 1521. In 1565, Miguel López de Legazpi officially claimed the Mariana Islands for Spain, who shortened the name of the cluster’s largest island to Guam for posterity. By the end of 1568, Guam was the seat of the first European government in the Pacific and Spanish was the official language of all 3,000 islands that comprise today’s Micronesia.
It was not until 1898 that control of Guam, along with the Philippines, passed from Spain to the United States as a result of the Spanish-American War. Guam was no less important as a strategic asset to the U.S. as it had been to Spain; it was from this bloody World War II battleground that American bombers took off for sorties against Japan. Even as other formerly Spanish Pacific island groups (the Carolines and Philippines) gained their independence in the second half of the 20th century, Guam and the Northern Marianas have remained United States territories.
Unfortunately, the destruction on Guam was so extensive during the war that very little physical evidence of Spanish rule remains today. The capital city, however, is much the same as it was under Spain. Its Plaza de España, with the typical Kiosco in the center, is the venue for gubernatorial inaugurations to this day.
Now, the Japanese are invading Guam again­—except these days they are welcomed with open arms. Guam is to Japan, Korea and Taiwan (the Republic of China) what Hawaii is to the United States: a tropical island vacation spot about four hours’ flight away. Tumon Bay is Guam’s Waikiki, with hotel after hotel built along a beautiful stretch of sandy beach. Thanks to Asian prosperity and a relatively weak U.S. dollar (Guam’s currency), vacationing on Guam is a pleasant proposition for holidaymakers and shoppers alike.
The entire island of Guam is a duty-free zone, with bargains on cheap goods and upscale merchandise alike. Guam boasts the largest K-Mart in the world, at which bus loads of tourists are disgorged 24 hours a day, seven days a week. At the other end of the scale, the most exclusive shops—from Dior and Ferragamo to Prada and Gucci—line the main drag of Paradise Island, the commercial district of Tumon Bay.
Add the island’s superb marine recreational attractions to gourmet restaurants and posh retail outlets, and you have the formula for the No. 2 tourist destination in the Pacific, after Hawaii. Located closer to the equator than Hawaii, Guam is blessed with abundant coral reefs and a wide variety of colorful tropical fish, which can be viewed up close by snorkelers, Scuba divers, and passengers on a submarine ride.
One can even stay indoors and enjoy watching the fish as Guam is home to the world’s longest tunnel aquarium. When a shark swims at you here, you can’t help ducking as the clear Plexiglas barrier guides the man-eater just barely over your head.
Another indoor diversion growing in popularity is spas in the leading hotels. Pampering treatments draw from traditions and ingredients throughout the islands of Oceania, from Balinese spices to Hawaii’s loma loma massage.
No visit to Guam would be complete without experiencing the weekly fiesta—yes, that is the word they use—held on Wednesday evenings at Chamorro Village, the cultural center of the island. Entire families turn out to stroll around the grounds, inspect the wares in the market stalls and view performances on the outdoor stage. The real hit, however, is the food: The wafting smoke of basted meats and freshly caught fish grilling over charcoal braziers competes with the complex smells of aromatic stews, making the culinary choices difficult. Be sure and save room for some of the local delicacies of kelaguen, ground fish, shrimp, chicken or pork marinated in lime juice; or tinaktak, ground beef simmered in coconut milk. You may also wish to sample the rice drenched in finadene, soy sauce infused with hot donne (pronounced doe-knee) peppers.
The fiesta is the one place and time that one sees U.S. military personnel in Guam, despite of the vast armed forces presence of the island’s large Navy and Air Force bases. They can be seen out walking with their children, like civilians.
The same location that has made Guam a strategic asset for great powers throughout the centuries has brought it a certain amount of prosperity as a military outpost. Fortunately, it has also managed to maintain the beauty and charm of a lush tropical island.