Off The Press, Kabambannuagan: Our Voices, Ours Lives

Off The Press 

Kabambannuagan: Our Voices, Ours Lives 

Kabambannuagan gathers the meditations of young people of Philippine descent, who are residents of, or currently reside in, Hawaii and who share the passion for articulating the individual and collective experiences of children of immigrants.  

The book explores the complex dynamic of immigrant life, of home and homeland, and of the search for meaning in the new heartland. 

 The 14 vignettes in the book reflect the individual and collective experiences of young adults of Ilokano descent whose immigrant parents settled in the Kalihi and Waipahu areas on the island of Oahu. The collected essays—which include translations in Ilokano—explore the complex dynamic of immigrant and local-born youth, their reflections on home and homeland, and the challenges they faced searching for identity and meaning in a new heartland.

Jeffrey Tangonan Acido, program director of Nakem Youth   explains that the Ilokano word “kabambannuagan” in the book’s title refers to the “essence of youth, that point in time which can never be captured again. “It speaks to the critical consciousness you develop when you learn who you are, where you come from, discover knowledge about yourself in the context of ‘Ilokano-ness’ that no one can take away.”

Co-editors: Jeffrey Tangonan Acido and Aurelio Solver Agcaoili

       Publisher: Nakem Youth Press, in collaboration with TMI Global Press.

To order a book, call (808) 295-6787. For more information, contact Jeffrey Acido at  jeffrey.acido@gmail.com or  Donnie Dadiz at dmdadiz@hawaii.edu.