What Guam’s new Chief Kepuha statue will look like

The famous Chief Kepuha statue pictures the first CHamoru to be baptized. The chief also gave a Padre Diego Luis de San Vitores the authority and land to start a Catholic mission in Hagåtña.

The Chief Kepuha statue in production in China in May 2024. Photo from Journal files.

A GMSI team placed the statue on its cap stone on March 12. Photo courtesy of GMSI.

Gov. Ricardo J. Bordallo erected the 11-foot statue depicting the chief in July 1976. For decades it stood as a familiar landmark at the Paseo in the island’s capital.

The original statue was replaced in 2016. There was already a plan to replace that statue when it was toppled during Typhoon Mawar in May 2023.

The current statue was prepared “with artisanal care in China,” according to Journal files.

The effort to return the statue to its rightful place first included a group of Landscape Management Systems, the Guam Chamber of Commerce and the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association, working in conjunction with the Government of Guam. That group planned on reaching out to the Guam Contractors Association when help was needed from its members, according to Journal files.

The effort has now drawn support across the island as the unveiling draws near.

According to the Office of the Governor in a March 12 statement to media, the efforts are supported by the Office of the Governor and the Office of the Lt. Governor, the Island Beautification Task Force, the Department of Parks and Recreation and Sen. Sabrina Salas Mantanane, (who previously worked at LMS and devoted time to the iconic project).

Also supporting the project, according to the Officer of the Governor, are the Guam Contractors Association, the Guam Chamber of Commerce, the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association, and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce Guam.

Private sector partners recognized by the Office of the Governor include Smithbridge Guam, Proferre Inc. (a local landscaping and maintenance company), Pacific Federal Management, and Guam Marine Services Inc.

Among other areas of specialty GMSI is known for skilled welding. The large tasa, the cap stone of the latte stone, already compliments the area where the statue will stand, and a GMSI team placed the covered statue in place on March 12.

“Details on the formal dedication ceremony will be announced soon,” the Office of the Governor said. mbj

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What Guam’s new Chief Kepuha statue will look like