"GRAN PUÑETERO!"

TORO

(Bull)

Puñetero in Spanish means someone annoying, bothersome; a pain in the neck. Be careful; in some Spanish-speaking countries, the word is stronger than that and can be very offensive. In Chamorro, it can also be considered an insult, depending on the tone of voice.

This story is taken from Guam's court records in 1902. Except for the line "Gran puñetero!" and what follows, the words are not quotes from the testimonies but the information is taken from the court documents.

Guåho si Mariano Perez Tenorio yan estague i estorian-måme yan si Vicente'n Kinto.

(I am Mariano Perez Tenorio and here is my story with Vicente'n Kinto.)

Un oga'an, humånao yo' para bai konne' i ga'-ho toro para i låncho giya Yigo. 

(One morning, I went to take my bull to the ranch in Yigo.)

Annai hu atan i trongko annai hu godde i toro, taigue i toro. 

(When I looked at the tree where I tied the bull, the bull was gone.)

Kada dia hu aligao i ga'-ho toro lao humåhnanao ha' ti hu sodda'. 

(Every day I searched for my bull, but I didn't find it.)

Gi mina' kuåttro dias, hu sodda' i ga'-ho toro na ma gogodde 

(On the fourth day I found my bull tied)

gi et mismo trongko annai eståba åntes de malingo. 

(on the same tree where it was before it went missing.)

I besinan-måme as Maria'n Fernandez sumangåne yo' na era si 

(Our neighbor Maria'n Fernandez told me that it was)

Vicente'n Kinto ni kumonne' i ga'-ho toro. 

(Vicente'n Kinto who took my bull.)

Poko dias despues, umasodda' ham yan si Vicente gi chalan giya Ungåguan. 

(A few days after, Vicente and I met on the road in Ungaguan.)

Hu faisen si Vicente kao magåhet na guiya kumonne' i ga'-ho toro 

(I asked Vicente if it was true that he took my bull)

ya ha oppe yo', "Gran puñetero! Yagin låhe hao, tunok gi ga'-mo guaka 

(and he answered me, "What a pain! If you are a man, get down from your cow)

ya bai puno' hao ensegidas!" Ya ha laknos i machete-ña ni ha kana' gi sinturon-ña. 

(and I will kill you right now!" And he took out his machete hanging on his belt.)

Hu desatiende este na sinangån-ña ya må'pos ha' yo' para i siudå. 

(I ignored what he said and I went to the city.)

Sigiente dia kumeha yo' gi tribunåt ya despues de ma imbestiga este na kausa, 

(The next day I complained at the court and after investigating this case,)

ma pongle si Vicente singko dias gi kalaboso.

(they put Vicente in the jail for five days.)

AUDIO

NOTES

Humåhnanao. This means "it kept on." The man looked, but the situation continued that he couldn't find his bull.

Poko dias. A Spanish derivative rarely ever heard today. It comes from the Spanish pocas días, meaning "a few days."

Yagin. An older form of yanggen, which means "if."

UNGÅGUAN

Ungåguan is a place in Barrigada which was one of the prime farming areas on island. It is located right below what we now call Barrigada Heights, to the south of it.

Map from the early 1900s

You can see that the trail leads from Hagåtña through Toto to Ungåguan.

Here's where Ungåguan is on a modern map of the area :