About the wedding

It is Mr. Sablan’s prerogative to take sides with Ruth Tighe regarding my retort to what she said about me in her column. He has the right to freedom of speech through the First Amendment and voice his opinion about Tighe caring about the islands. However, he does not have the right to speak on my behalf in terms of how I feel and how much I care about the islands, Chamorro people, and culture. Moreover, I believe it was inappropriate for Mr. Sablan to mention “our people” and imply that I am an “outsider.”

Does Mr. Sablan think that anyone with Chamorro blood and heritage and not physically on the islands does not qualify to be within the category of “our people”? Mr. Sablan needs to look carefully at the definition of “nationality.”

With regard to the wedding last summer in San Diego, California, it is important to note that Mr. Sablan in one breath stated that my name was never on the list of the bride and groom’s registry of invitees and I “crashed the party”; and in another breath, he stated that “we were also hurt by the thoughtlessness of that person who invited Dr. Camacho to the function.” Clearly, Mr. Sablan contradicted himself with both statements.

For the record, I did not invite myself to the wedding in San Diego, California during the Summer of 2004. I was invited to the wedding by the brother of the father of the bride, as well as “godfather” of the bride. I accepted the invitation and drove 500 miles from my residence in central California to attend the wedding. As far as my name not being in the bride and groom’s registry of persons invited, I was unaware that it was not amongst the people invited to the wedding.

If my presence at the wedding was an issue with the bride, groom, father or mother of the bride, then why didn’t they and the security for the wedding have me removed? To my best recollection, I don’t believe I encountered anyone who made it evident that they did not want me there.

Mr. Sablan stated that my “presence ruined a once in a lifetime event for some who spent tens of thousands of long and hard saved dollars and flew thousands of miles.” Furthermore, Sablan said that I “brought suffering and painful memories to an otherwise perfect wedding event.” I would like to know who Mr. Sablan is referring to in the above statement? Moreover, did Mr. Sablan designate himself to be the spokesperson for all these people who had a once in a lifetime event ruined nearly a year ago? If Mr. Sablan cannot substantiate with a confirmation from all of the these people he is referring to, then I will have no other recourse than to be suspect of the negative impact of my presence at the wedding on all of the people he is alluding to.

Mr. Sablan said in his letter, “Dr. Camacho, true to his self-serving nature, took a seat next to Galvin Guerrero and his family.” As far as the seat at the dinner table prior to the wedding is concerned, I was asked by the godfather of the bride to sit at that particular place. Where I was seated happened to be adjacent to Galvin Guerrero and around his family. Since I was asked to sit at the same table with Galvin Guerrero and his family and did not presumptuously insist on sitting there, then Mr. Sablan’s comment is a fabrication and not a true reflection of what actually took place during dinner.

The dialogue between Galvin Guerrero and me at the dinner table did involve the presidency of NMC and my qualifications simply because the position was open and the BOR was looking to replace Kenneth Wright. Since Galvin Guerrero posed a number of questions regarding my background, I don’t believe Mr. Sablan’s assessment of being “self-serving” and lobbying hard for the job of president of NMC” is completely accurate. There was an exchange and was not “one-sided” like Mr. Sablan implied.

As far as what people think about the dispute regarding Ruth Tighe and I and my attendance at the wedding, I have no control over that. And since you “can’t be all things to all people,” I will not lose any sleep over Mr. Sablan’s insubstantial accusations that depict me as a forthright and presumptuous individual who does not care about the islands, people, and culture as much as Ruth Tighe.

If I offended the bride and groom and they were dismayed because I attended their wedding without receiving a formal invitation from them, I extend my sincerest apology. As far as Mr. Sablan is concerned, I don’t think I owe him an apology since the key people at the wedding were the bride and groom.

Dr. Jesus D. Camacho
Delano, California