{"id":310416,"date":"2019-10-21T06:06:50","date_gmt":"2019-10-20T20:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=310416"},"modified":"2019-10-21T06:06:50","modified_gmt":"2019-10-20T20:06:50","slug":"a-master-of-arts-and-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/a-master-of-arts-and-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"A master of arts and culture"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Eusebio Camacho Borja is named CNMI Master of Arts and Culture for his work in preserving traditional cultural practices by promoting the use of the traditional ox-cart (karetan guaka). (IVA MAURIN)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today\u2019s spotlight is trained on a man who actually needs no introduction. He is well known on the island. But then again, Eusebio Camacho Borja wants nothing more but to make everyone happy. \u201cI want people to be happy. I like to make people happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

He does this by sharing his passion for the CNMI\u2019s culture, like making available his ox-cart for bull rides, or volunteering with Cultural Immersion Projects as a way to teach the youth about the ways of the CNMI\u2019s elders and inspiring the manhoben (the youth) to be proud of their cultural and ancestral roots.<\/p>\n

His work in preserving traditional cultural practices, through the promotion of the use of the traditional bull cart (karetan guaka) and his talent in domesticating livestock, was recently recognized by the CNMI Legislature via House Commemorative Resolution 21-8, which was presented to him last Sept. 24 and named him a Master of Arts and Culture in the CNMI.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been working with bull carts since when my grandpa was alive. I learned a lot from him. He showed me my duties on a daily basis. I had to help him after school,\u201d Borja recalled.<\/p>\n

He learned how to build a karetan guaka under the guidance of his grandfather: how to build it by hand, using wood from tangan-tangan, and ironwood trees.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was hard because, way back, we had to carry [the wood], [there were no] machines, and only hands. It\u2019s all about muscle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Borja, the son of the late Eugenio Arriola Borja and the late Rosa Camacho, was born into a family who lived off the land. At a young age, he was instilled with a love of his culture through ranching, using the resources used by his elders in his youth, and taking care of the animals entrusted to his care.<\/p>\n

\u201cLater on, I started raising pigs, cows, goats, ducks, and every animal that I could raise,\u201d Borja said.<\/p>\n

That is when he decided to go back to when his grandfather showed him how to build a karetan guaka and started building one by himself. Borja started building bull carts on his own in 1994, but only just with his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cWay back in 1987, someone invited me to a show. I did not expect to win but I won $3,000 for a parade. I won again in another year, and then I realized, I wanted to showcase the bull cart to the people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That he did and the latest instance of such a grand event was when his karetan guaka took a prize at this year\u2019s Liberation Day parade.<\/p>\n

Borja recalled his daughter running for Liberation Queen in 1996, and him building a bull cart. \u201cWhen I look around, I do not see any people riding bull carts. I thought I can do a good thing where people would realize that [the bull cart used to be] our cars. So that is what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Borja currently has four cows, his favorite being a beauty whom he calls \u201cRose Camacho Borja.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is very tame. She can shake hands. Every time I made her shake hands at the July 4 [parade], people would be in awe, and would say \u2018Wow, a cow shaking hands.\u2019 Rose is my favorite because she has won so many prizes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Borja and his karetan guaka have become fixtures on the islands. He is regularly seen taking the bull cart to the villages and even along main thoroughfares.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeach Road is a little bit rough,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Going through Beach Road may be as slow as three miles an hour \u201cbut it gets you there,\u201d Borja revealed, and then jokingly added, \u201cI am going to put up a \u2018no need gas, the cow eat the grass, we smoke the grass\u2019 [sign] on my cart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Borja has big dreams for the karetan guaka. He would love for every village to have its own bull cart. \u201cI want to showcase this. \u2026If people don\u2019t have a cow or a bull cart, I can help them get a bull cart and cow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Borja reminds, though, that the cows must be trained and socialized, so it becomes used to the presence of people, and how to navigate traffic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is pretty hard because it takes me about a year, to two years [to train the cow to get familiar] with a lot of people around and the surrounding traffic, such as cars passing by. \u2026Usually, I ride on the side of the road and the fast cars passing by would shock the cow.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his wife, Margaret, and their four children, Borja continues to inspire the community with his passion for cultural preservation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to\u2026create something that the whole community can benefit. I want to bring back the days when people would gather on Saturdays, to do something [as a community],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

And, as if his passion and love for the community isn\u2019t already overflowing through his craft, Borja has this to say: \u201cWe have to understand that [despite our] suffering from all these typhoons, we have to cheer up ourselves. That we all love each other, help each other. Let us work together for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his talent, humility, and joyful disposition, the CNMI is truly blessed to have Borja as its own inspiration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s spotlight is trained on a man who actually needs no introduction. He is well…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-310416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310416\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}