“I am honored not just for the recognition of my dedication or skill, but more for the fact that I am given an opportunity to represent this once nearly forgotten practice in my culture and share its story with an even wider audience.”
Delores Taitano Quinata
Demonstrating the bilembaotuyan to students at the elementary school where I work as a Librarian. Photo courtesy of S. Unpingco..
Shaping pågu (wild hibiscus) to make the bow of bilembaotuayan. Photo courtesy of S.T. Calvo.
Recording the instrument for the book launch of a bilembaotuyan children’s book. Photo courtesy of S. Quinata.
Completed bilembaotuyans at my home studio. Photo courtesy of Delores T. Quinata.
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Making & playing the only CHamoru instrument
Delores Taitano Quinata is an indigenous CHamoru of Guahan (Guam), a Pacific island in the Marianas Archipelago. Quinata has always had a great interest in music. She enrolled in band classes during her time in school, piano class in college, and played saxophone in the Guam Territorial Band. As a child, she had heard about the bilembaotuyan, the only cultural instrument of the CHamoru people, but had never seen or heard it played live. When the opportunity presented itself for Quinata to learn how to make and play the bilembaotuyan from the last living master of the instrument, she instinctively jumped at the chance. After her mentorship with Tun Jesus Crisostomo, Quinata felt drawn to share her experience with the island community by providing presentations, demonstrations, and workshops to teachers, students, cultural practitioners, and a wide range of individuals curious to learn more about this traditional instrument. She has since gone on to represent this art form in various performances and festivals, including the 7th and 12th Festival of the Pacific Arts. Quinata has passed on her knowledge and experience to her three children, ensuring that this instrument will continue to be heard for generations to come.
What does the Taproot Fellowship mean to you and how will it affect your practice?
Being recognized as a Taproot artist is truly the honor of a lifetime. I am honored not just for the recognition of my dedication or skill, but more for the fact that I am given an opportunity to represent this once nearly forgotten practice in my culture and share its story with an even wider audience. Being a part of this Taproot community connects me with fellow artists committed to preserving our rich cultures, further inspiring me to continue my commitment to passing this knowledge for generations to come.
Meet more of our Fellows
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Delores Taitano Quinata
Bilembaotuyan Maker & Player
Hagatna, Guam
Lydia “Louise” Goings (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)
Cherokee Basket Maker
Birdtown Community on the Qualla Boundary (Cherokee, NC)
David Comingdeer (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma)
Cherokee Ball Stick Maker
Flint District of the Cherokee Nation (Stilwell, OK)
TJ Sgwaayaans Young (Kaigani Haida)
Haida Wood Carver
Hydaburg, AK
Van-Anh Vanessa Vo
Vietnamese Traditional Musician & Composer
El Cerrito, CA
Reba Jo Teran (Eastern Shoshone)
Traditional Shoshone Saddle Maker & Bead Worker
Fort Washakie, WY
Raymond Wong
Traditional Chinese Lion Dancer & Martial Artist
Chinatown, Washington, DC
Ramón Rivera
Mariachi Musician & Educator
Mount Vernon, WA
Omar Santiago Fuentes
Puerto Rican Troubadour, Improviser of Verse & Décimas
Hatillo, Puerto Rico
Manuel A Delgado
Old-World Luthier
Nashville, TN
Lani Strong Hotch (Chilkat-Tlingit)
Chilkat/Ravenstail Weaver & Textile Artist
Klukwan, AK
Kewulay Kamara
Mandeng Finah Poet & Storyteller
Jackson Heights, NY
Karen Ann Hoffman (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin)
Haudenosaunee Raised Beadworker
Stevens Point, WI
Inna Kovtun
Ukrainian Ethno-Singer & Folklorist
Portland, OR
Hamid Al-Saadi
Iraqi Maqam Vocalist
Brooklyn, NY
Elena Terry (Ho-Chunk)
Indigenous Chef
Wisconsin Dells, WI
Dena Jennings
Affrolachian Musician & Culture Bearer
Nasons, VA
Chum Ngek
Cambodian Musician & Ritual Artist
Gaithersburg, MD
Billy Branch
Blues Musician
Chicago, IL
Chef BJ Dennis
Gullah Geechee Chef & Cultural Bearer
Charleston, SC
Brett Ratliff
Traditional Appalachian Musician
Stamping Ground, KY
Bruce Bradley
Tap Dancer
Flint, MI
Annetta Koruh (Hopi)
Hopi Weaver
Village Bacavi, Third Mesa-Hopi land, Arizona (Bacavi, AZ)
Alejandro López
Chicano Muralist
Santa Cruz, NM
Wayne Henderson
Appalachian Luthier & Musician
Mouth of Wilson, VA
Willard John
Moko Jumbie Stilt Dancer
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Veronica Castillo
Mexican Polychromatic Ceramicist
San Antonio, TX
Theresa Secord
Penobscot Basketmaker
Farmington, ME
Stan Rodriguez
Kumeyaay Culture Bearer
Santa Ysabel, CA
Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto
Japanese Koto Musician
Oakland, CA
Shaka Zulu
New Orleans Black Masking craftsman & stiltdancer
New Orleans, LA
Sami Abu Shumays
Arab Musician
Queens, New York, NY
Roy & PJ Hirabayashi
Japanese American Taiko Musicians
San Jose, CA
Pedro Adorno Irizarry
Puerto Rican theater artist and director
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Ofelia Esparza & Rosanna Esparza Ahrens
Chicana Altaristas
East Los Angeles, CA
Meklit Hadero
Ethio-Jazz Vocalist & Composer
San Francisco, CA
King Khazm
Hip Hop Artist
Seattle, WA
Juan Longoria, Jr.
Conjunto Accordionist & Educator
Los Fresnos, TX
Jontavious Willis
Blues Musician
Luthersville, GA
Jesus M. Cepeda Brenes
Afro-Puerto Rican Musician & Folklorist
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Iris Brown
Puerto Rican Foodways & Agriculture
Philadelphia, PA
Gertie Lopez
Tohono O'odham Waila Musician
Tucson, AZ
Eva Ybarra
Conjunto Accordionist & Bandleader
San Antonio, TX
Dr. Dwayne Tomah
Passamaquoddy Language Keeper
Edmunds, ME
Deborah Gourneau
Anishinaabe (Chippewa) Culture Bearer
Belcourt, ND
Dani Pikolakitisaata Tippmann
Miami Plant Tradition-Bearer
Myaamionki (Fort Wayne, IN)
Bill Harris
Catawba Master Potter
McConnells, SC
Carolyn Mazloomi
Quiltmaker
West Chester, OH
Adrienne Benjamin | Amikogaabawiikwe
Jingle Dress Maker, Cultural Artist
Chiminising, Misizaagaiganing (Isle, MN)
Anwan “Big G” Glover
Go-Go Music Pioneer
Washington D.C.