Jay Byrd 00:02
Hafa adai todo hamyo. I na'an hu si Jay Castro, guahu si Jay Byrd. I familia ku manginen Sicily, Italy yan Islas Marianas. Familian Jeje yan Piyu yu. Sumåsaga yu’ giya San Francisco Bay Area. Esta podcast is CHamoru red rice. Buenas! Yo that was the most CHamoru I've ever spoken at once. That's what's up. I'm like lightweight proud of myself right now. Anyways, well, folks, thanks for tuning in. My name is Jay Castro. Most people just know me as Jay Byrd. My family is from Sicily, Italy, you know the boot in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and also the Marianas Islands, which is in the deep, west Pacific Ocean. And I was born and raised, and currently live in the San Francisco Bay Area in a stateside island town called Alameda, and I appreciate my home. Alameda is a small US Navy town tucked between Oakland and San Francisco, where back in the mid 1900s, the US Navy brought over many migrating CHamoru after World War II. And one of those families was my dad's family, the Jeje's and Piyu's, my Nana Rosalia Garcia de la Cruz and my Tata Jose Rosario de Castro. He worked on the Navy ships in the kitchens. And together they brought the whole family over on a ship, the USS General Edwin D. Patrick and eventually called Alameda home, working on the Alameda Navy base and becoming a Guma—a place of safety a place of comfort and good food and laughter—for the other CHamoru families migrating to the Bay Area. And because of my manåmko' the elders—their investments, their hard work, resilience, determination and survival—my family can continue to call this place home. And we're here to stay. So shout out to the Ohlone people, the original caretakers of this land that I stand, Si Yu'us ma'ase', thank you. And like Guam, where my dad was born and the family come from, and Sicily where my middle name Ciro comes from, Alameda is a place where everyone knows your name. Especially if you're like me and you got hella family everywhere. It's crazy; walk down the street, family. You go to school, family. Go to the store, family. RAP: You got to the Duenas, Fernendez, Sablan, Aguon, Tenerios Santos, Manibusan, Babouta, San Nicolas, Pangalenin, Paulino, Camacho, and Cruz Castro just to name a few. Whoa. Where did that come from? I don't know. Sometimes I just rhyme and I can't stop. I can't help it. I won't do that again. Well, no promises. But what I do promise is that I invite you to a conversation with me through this podcast. As a first generation Stateside born CHamoru, I've got so much curiosity to dive into, and learnings to uncover. I'm part of a large and diverse community of diasporic CHamoru living with inafa'maolek, social harmony. And like Manny Crisostomo's visual documentary, Manaotao Sanlagu, we are Manaotao Sanlagu, our people over there, our people across the sea. And an important ingredient to the dish red rice and to this podcast is adding chenchule', social reciprocity. So you'll hear more than just me. Even I get sick of myself, you feel me? We'll all enjoy melodic intermissions, like this one "Source of Roots" on the Lava Flow album by CHamoru musician Sabyu. The name of this storytelling podcast pays homage to a staple of the CHamoru cuisine, hineksa' aga'ga. I'm probably saying that wrong. We call it CHamoru red rice. Guampedia.com has a great article on the significance of red rice to the Marianas Islands, from the history of it to how to prepare it, and everything in between. Check the link in the show notes. Rice is a staple to many Pacific Island diets, none more than the CHamoru in the Marianas Islands. Archaeologists have dated rice cultivation in the Marianas Islands back to the 14th century. Like all things, rice has evolved. Hineksa' aga'ga, CHamoru red rice, is so popular that even KFC, Kentucky Fried Chicken on Guam, serves it with it's fried chicken. During the early days of Spanish colonization in the Marianas Islands back in the 17th century, a lot of things changed. But we'll have to touch on that in another episode. Right now we're focused on one thing that they brought, that I can really appreciate. And it's the achote seed (or annatto). The achote seed most likely came from Mexico or somewhere in Central America. And was brought over as part of the trade winds or as part of their, you know, whatever the Spanish did in the Pacific Ocean at that time. And it comes from this small achote shrub with beautiful, red prickly flowers that grow seeds inside of them. You take those seeds, you soak them in water, and then the deep reddening of the water is what's added to the grains of rice as you cook it. It creates a distinct orange reddish colored rice with a very, very powerful and completely nostalgic flavor for me, I absolutely love it. There's dozens of ways to cook it, to prepare it, and to eat it. So everyone has their own way, every way is unique, and every way is delicious. You can add crispy bacon, some people add not-so-crispy bacon. You can add peas, you can add a whole lot of things to it. I just don't like to get it confused with Spanish red rice, very different than CHamoru red rice, I promise you. Okay, now I'm getting hungry describing this. The point I'm trying to make here is that this podcast is called CHamoru red rice. While this is not a food podcast, it is a podcast from the Indigenous perspective. And how food is the red thread that connects and weaves our stories together. And my wife Katherine, she actually inspired the name. Back in 2020 when I was in the early parts of forming a social enterprise we call Fina'denne', I needed an icebreaker to, well, you know, break the ice on the Zoom call with my new business partners, whom besides my brother, I'd only met each other on Zoom calls. We never met in real life. That was actually normal for a lot of people during the early days of COVID. So we're on the Zoom call with my brother Jeremy Castro, Benny Anderson, and Joanna Duenas. And I took my wife's advice, I asked the opening question. All right, here we go; How do you like your CHamoru red rice? And with that simple question came such complex answers, came so much backstory and understanding to who that person was, where they come from, and their connection to either the islands, their family, or just traditions. I learned so much. And so like the CHamoru red rice, and the many ways it's prepared and enjoyed, this podcast will explore the CHamoru culture and the people from the Marianas Islands. And when you add something like Fina'denne' on top of some red rice, maybe even didide’ na pika, a little spicy fina'denne'. It's amazing. It weaves stories together, it creates opportunities, it brings in the best of everything. And these stories are our stories, from our perspective. Maybe it's you who will be on the show with me in the future telling a story that creates connections with someone across the world, because they relate to your feelings or emotions, or family history. As a white and Indigenous person not born and raised on my ancestral lands, I find comfort knowing that I'm not alone, that there's other people out there just like me, mahalang. Yearning, yearning for something. So I invite you to this connection, and to this conversation, to cocreate something that honors the future generations, us in the present generation, and the generations that came before us. For me, CHamoru red rice is personal. I've been wanting to do this for a long time, I've been wanting to connect with people, share stories, share, and I want to express some creativity as well. CHamoru red rice will be experimental, which means I'm going to try different methods of storytelling and entertainment. I want to make sure that every minute you spend with me is worth your time. Because I value those minutes, and I appreciate your attention and support. And I also value the contributions that you made and continue to make to the community. You don't have to be CHamoru, you don't have to be an islander to connect with our stories. You just have to be open to empathy, and embrace curiosity. So I'll start, over the last week I called a few people—some family, some friends—and I asked them, "How do you like your CHamoru red rice?" Here's some of the responses that I got.
Dioni P. 09:28
Hi, it's Dioni, your cousin. So you ask how do you like your red rice? I like it red with lots achote (annatto). Some very sweet onions and just enough flavors to make me want to get another big, fat scoop with some fina'denne' and kelaguen.
Johna M. 09:52
I like my red rice anyway I can get it. But I do love an occasional pea and some bacon and onions in it.
Tori S. 10:01
Hi, this is Tori. I like it with fina'denne' of course, mixed in with my kelaguen and I kinda like to like mix it all together.
Sabyu 10:08
Hafa adai Che'lu. This is Sabyu. How do I like my red rice? You know, I just just like the onions. Lots of achote (annatto). I like it really red and leave the seeds in. No, I'm just kidding.
Dr. Anita B E. 10:21
Hafa Adai Jay. I love this. I love fina'denne' on my red rice.
Benny A. 10:28
Benny Anderson, how do I like red rice? Right out of the pot after it was just cooked with fina'denne' and green onions on top.
Ja’Aria M. 10:36
Hi, Jay. Ja’Aria speaking I like my red rice really, really red. And I like it when it's cooked with bacon along with the bacon grease
Tony A. 10:46
Hafa adai che'lu. How do I like my red rice? Oh my goodness, with bacon bits in it with some peas. Man, I like red rice anyway, actually.
Jeremy C. 10:58
I like my red rice with fina'denne', spam, eggs, in a bowl, on a plate.
Dr. Michael L B. 11:05
Hafa adai, Jay. This is Miget, Michael Lujan Bevaqua. I like my red rice ya hu hineska aga'ga, hengan guaha bula garlic. I like it with lots of garlic. Bula siboyas, lots of onions. I love it when you add some some cooking grease into it as well. One thing I should note is that I feel very nostalgic for red rice that has peas in it. But I would never, even under threat of my life, never make red rice that had peas in it.
Johna M. 11:40
How do you like your red rice?
Shakes 11:42
I like my red rice with bacon.
Sabyu 11:46
I'm a simple man. Not too big on the peas. Bacon is cool sometimes.
Auntie Patty M. 11:52
When I was growing up, the only time we had red rice is when my parents had parties when they were in the Guam club. I like peas in it. Now I do, but back then I didn't.
Ja’Aria M. 12:10
I also appreciate the occasional pea.
Janet C. 12:14
Hi, this is Janet. I like my red rice plain. No bacon. Not a lot of oil. But I don't like peas in it. I don't like bacon. I just like it plain and it has to have fina'denne' on top. Thank you.
Mila V. 12:33
Jay, hafa adai che'lu, it's Mila. I like my red rice well done. You know sometimes people might undercook it. When you cook the red rice on the stove, some of the old school cooks like the burnt ends on the bottom of the rice. you can't be late to the party, you might not get it. So yeah, I like the crispy rice on the bottom of the pot.
Jaryce N. 12:35
How do I like my red rice. I like it slightly burnt at the bottom. And here's why, the matriarch of our family Lolla San Nicolas Manibusan, and she had it down to science and perfected it, she would lightly burn the bottoms was nice and crispy and that allowed like that nice aroma throughout the rice. And then she also added peas which I don't believe is a traditional ingredient in CHamoru red rice however, it has become a staple ingredient in the Manibusan red rice.
Frank M. 13:01
Hi, this is Frank Manibusan and Barbara, my wife my lovely wife. How do I like my red rice made? I like it the way she makes it. And the way she makes it is, it's a combination
Barbara M. 13:48
Recipe of my grandmother and Frank's grandmother. I put their recipes together and then I added my little touch. What I do is I add a little chicken stock and then I
Frank M. 13:57
Use the achote too, not the powder.
Barbara M. 14:00
I use the seeds if I have them, if I don't then powder works too.
Frank M. 14:03
Yeah, and it's very, very good. And as far as a fun story. I don't have any. Oh, I just want to say we got a lot of red rice makers in our CHamoru family, so the competition is stiff but Barb's is best. Um, I'm telling you. It's just a lot of fun when I eat her red rice. Okay, Jay, love you boy.
Dioni P. 14:23
Who makes the best? I would say Auntie Clem, but my Nana and everyone who has come up out of that tradition makes some great red rice.
Tony A. 14:33
So it's kind of hard to mess up on the red rice man. Well, wait. I take that back. I take that back! I've tried some red rice that's like "What in the smack is this?" My apologies. Who makes the best red rice is my grandma.
Jaryce N. 14:49
My grandmother Lolla San Nicolas Manibusan.
Janet C. 14:52
Nana made it the best. I never really paid good attention to that one.
Dr. Anita B E. 14:58
The person I know that makes it, or made it, the best was my mother.
Auntie Patty M. 15:02
I think my mom made the best red rice or actually all the old people because they use the Japanese calrose rice, not the long grain rice. And it really makes a difference. Because it's a little stickier, and to me it has more flavor.
Sabyu 15:27
Gotta be my mom, got to be my mom. She's got a magic touch, easy. The only person that comes close is probably my Uncle Dave.
Mila V. 15:37
Who makes it the best? My mother-in-law makes it the best. My wife's close second.
Benny A. 15:43
My wife makes the best red rice.
Frank M. 15:46
Who's red rice do I like the best? I like my wife's red rice the best and that's not because she's sitting next to me.
Ja’Aria M. 15:52
I would say my auntie Karen or my auntie Barb make the best red rice. Honestly, at the end of the day, if it's red, it's fire.
Janet C. 16:04
Jackie makes it good, but she's never happy with hers. I always think it's great.
Jeremy C. 16:09
I like my red rice with my mom. With my dad. Made by my Nana, made by Jackie, made by Nikki. With whoever wants to eat it with me .
Katherine C. 16:20
Hafa Adai. Hola. Hello, my name is Katherine Castro. And my red price journey started when I married Jay Castro. And I realized I got promoted and became one of the Auntie's myself. Yet, every auntie brought in a skill, whether it was sewing, life advice, cooking, and I felt I need to contribute to this amazing wealth of knowledge. What can I contribute? What can sustain generations? And so I decided, I'm going to make red rice. And so my journey started with asking cousin Jackie, she has very specific steps. And I love that about her. So I knew "Okay, I want to have my own specific steps." The next person I asked was Auntie Clem (Duenas). Auntie Clem has a kit, and if you don't know what achote seed (annote) does to the kitchen or clothes—it stains. So I knew for sure I'm going to have a kit. My favorite red rice, well, it's a combo of other people bringing their own red rice. The combination is delicious.
Dioni P. 17:24
Why do I like it so much? I was raised with it. CHamoru parties.
Benny A. 17:29
I grew up with red rice usually served during celebrations and big events. So if I'm eating red rice, it means there's something special going on.
Tori S. 17:37
For me red rice is party rice. So that means we're all gathering, so I'm already in a great mood and I'm already happy to be with my family. So red rice is just party rice, so that means it's party and it means it's family time. So family time is the best time.
Mila V. 17:53
It's just delicious rice. It's a lot better than steamed rice.
Jaryce N. 17:57
It's a staple on a CHamoru plate. You know, you can't have one without the other. I mean, you certainly could, but it wouldn't make sense. So I think it kind of like brings everything together, brings the family together, brings all the dishes together. It just makes sense.
Dioni P. 18:16
And the most beautiful memory I have it is watching my Nana sift the achote in a little strainer over the sink and i used to like to watch her fingers. Another beautiful memory is the big, stainless steel pot that we had on top of the oven when it was cooking, and I can smell it throughout the Pacific house.
Benny A. 18:38
A fun story, growing up on Guam, my auntie Terry Mesa from Yona, had one of those big Navy pots that she would cook red rice in. It was so big they had to make a special place for it in their second outside kitchen. That's right, the red rice Navy pot had its own outside kitchen. The pot was so big they use endless amounts of big tangatanga wood just to keep it heated. As a kid the pot is scary big and black from all the fiesta it cooked red rice for. Whenever the family had a big party, everyone knew Auntie Terry was bringing the red rice. Her red rice was OG, straight up delicious. It was just rice, achote water, and firewood. Enough said
Jay Byrd 19:26
Thank you for listening. I am so appreciative, for real. Thank you, Si Yu'us Ma'ase . I can't wait to share more with you and learn more with you. We're going to meet entrepreneurs and artists with ties to the Marianas. We'll dive deep into a song, maybe even reproduce it all the way down to the percussions and the lyrics. We'll also hear the story of how Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson each got a sinahi, and we'll play some golf together. Thank you to Sabyu for providing the music for this podcast. Everything you heard today can be found on the Lava Flow album. It's one of my favorites I like to listen to when I'm riding my bike, I like to listen to it on walks, I really like to listen to it when I'm working and I need some focused music, background beats to help me get the job done. Check it out. Thank you to everyone who helped contribute to this, who helped inspire this, who helped motivate me to do this, and also picked up your phone and answered some silly questions. In order of appearance: Dioni Perez, Johna Manibusan, Tori Schuler Sabyu Matt Sablon, Dr. Anita Borja Enriquez, Benny Anderson, Ja'Aria Manibusan Munoz, Troy Aguon, Jeremy Castro, Miget Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua, Shakes, Aunty Patty Castro, Janet Castro, Mila Ve'e, Jaryce Manibsan Nobela, Uncle Frank and Auntie Barbara Manibusan, and my wife, Katherine Castro. If you want to contribute your red rice story, or what you like about it, or who makes the best in your life. You can do that at redricepodcast.com. And like Sabyu says, I'll catch you on the next wave of CHamoru red rice with me, JayByrd.
Kalani Joe C. 21:12
Hafa Adai. Thank you for listening to a Fina'denne' Podcast.
www.finadenne.com