Mariquita, first published in 1982, has become the most widely read novel about the CHamoru experience during World War II on Guam. Author Chris Perez Howard chronicles his mother’s vibrant life before the War, her enduring strength during the Japanese occupation of the island, and her tragic death at the end of it. He also paints a vivid picture of life on Guam during these pivotal years. For this edition, Perez Howard revisits the story and adds more details, photos, and letters. It is a continuing tribute to a mother whose legacy lives on in the memories of all who read it.

• Chris Perez Howard, Author

  Chris Perez Howard believes that his adventurous spirit and endless curiosity are responsible for his unconventional life. Among his experiences, he served in the U.S. military; worked for the American Express Co. in New York; struggled as an artist in Rome, Italy; lived in Yap, the Seychelles, and the Philippines; and went to Africa to see wild animals in their natural habitat. In Guam, he has worked as a teacher, a news editor for the Guam Tribune, an assistant to the president of the Guam Community College, and a press secretary for the Governor of Guam. Academically, he attended the University of Alabama and Indiana University, and he graduated magna cum laude from the University of New Hampshire with a bachelor of fine arts degree. Chris is also a CHamoru rights activist, and is a former chairman of the Organization of People for Indigenous Rights (OPI-R) and has presented testimony before the United Nations and the US Congress. Presently, he is working on his novel – I Mestisan Engles.