Word: pago
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...tree is "growing" in Pago Pago. Circling the sturdy redwood's trunk are writhing ancestral figures - slave, virginal taupou and high chief - and carved at canopy height are the words SAMOA MUAMUA LEATUA, God first in Samoa. Soaring above American Samoa's national museum and gallery, the sculpture - titled From Agony to Ecstasy - is the brainchild of local artist Tile Tuala. Scurrying around it on this warm winter's morning are the half-dozen assistants from other island nations whom the artist has enlisted to help with the finishing touches of his sculpture. "We love to work together with...
...Tuala's tree sculpture was created as part of the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts in Pago Pago during July and August. More than any other event, this festival (held every four years; the next will be in Honiara, Solomon Islands) has helped shape the region as an arc of creativity. "It's a positive thing," says Samoan - New Zealand hip-hop artist King Kapisi, "to have Pacific island communities meet up at one place and say, Listen, we're still here and giving respect to our heritage. Once you lose your culture, you don't know where you come...
...artists from 22 countries filled Pago Pago's Veterans Memorial Stadium for the July 21 opening, cultural diversity was everywhere on show - from the striking syncopation of Tahitian hula to folksy bamboo-flute-playing Solomon Islanders to the fierce bow-and-arrow dancers of Torres Strait. The stadium bristled with plumage, war paint and woven lava-lavas as the various island delegations (Papua New Guinea sent 170 people) vied for the audience's affections. "There was a highly competitive air," observes Wesley Enoch, artistic director of Australia's delegation, "especially around the dancing. They want to impress...
...Pago Pago, Tipoti's fellow Torres Strait Islander Joey Laifoo has been on his own voyage of self-discovery. Raised on Badu, Saibai and Thursday islands, this grandson of a pearl diver grew up with stories of how his grandmother's side of the family had migrated to Torres Strait from American Samoa; his grandfather's people originally came from Western Samoa. While his affinity with Samoan culture and language is hardly surprising - "I'm blending in really well" - there is still much to learn, he says: "So why did they move to Torres Strait and settle up there...
...lobbyist-paid travel. Until the scandal broke, it was fine for your Representative to take an all-expenses-paid trip to Pago Pago on behalf of the Alaskan Coconut Packing Council and do virtually no work upon arrival. Lobbyists proposed, arranged and paid for those trips--then went along to chalk up quality time. Now, under almost every proposal, Republican and Democrat, the junkets would be history. Chance of passage: 99%. Likely work-around: lawmakers will try to carve out an exemption for "educational" trips sponsored by policy groups and friendly foreign countries...