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Summary

In 1982, singer Flora Baza Quan released the album "Flora Baza: The Queen of Chamorro Music." It was recorded, produced and mastered in Guam by the Charfauros Brothers. 8 of the 10 tracks were written by Tun Jesus “Chamorro” Charfauros, the remaining two were written by Flora and her sister Janice.

Flora Baza: The Queen of Chamorro Music

In 1982, singer Flora Baza Quan released the album “Flora Baza: The Queen of Chamorro Music.” It was recorded, produced and mastered in Guam by the Charfauros Brothers. 8 of the 10 tracks were written by Tun Jesus “Chamorro” Charfauros, the remaining two were written by Flora and her sister Janice.

Flora had been singing publicly since she was a child either solo or in groups. Growing up in Sinajåña she was part of a group called the Judettes, who took their name from the village patron saint, St. Jude. Later in high school she followed a cousin in joining a group called the Hi-Tones. At this time Flora sang popular English language/American songs, but in the late 1960s she began to receive more requests to sing CHamoru songs as well.

In 1973, she recorded two songs “I Puti’on” and “Puti Tai Nobio” that were featured on the first CHamoru language compilation album “Casamiento” produced by Johnny Sablan. Throughout the 1970s Flora and other female musicians such as Terry Quitugua Heston or Doll Quichocho from Gus and Doll were featured on album singing with the likes of Johnny Sablan, the Charfauros Brothers or the Delgado Brothers.

The release of Flora’s album in 1982 however was the first solo release by a CHamoru female musician.

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In her first solo show, Julia Birn presents Chewing on Static. She regards this body of work as an exploration of what it means to live in a life that no longer feels entirely familiar. Ms. Birn uses her work as a way to consider what happens when something changes the way one moves through the world, the relationship with oneself, and understanding of the future, as a result of chronic illness. Her paintings emerge from this unresolved experience, giving shape to the feeling of living with something that cannot always be explained or communicated. Through abstraction, fragmentation, and restricted palettes, the works hold onto that tension, allowing forms to shift and remain ambiguous. What emerges is a reflection of what it is like to live with a reality that has become difficult to recognise. The title of the exhibit, Chewing on Static speaks to the mental noise that comes from searching for clarity, questioning one's own experience, and trying to communicate something that refuses to become simple or certain. It is about what happens when one is forced to construct a new understanding of oneself and continue living within something that is unchosen. Through her work, Birn asks the viewer to enter a space where certainty is difficult to find, and to sit with what cannot be resolved. Julia Birn is an accomplished artist, graphic designer, and entrepreneur, who has participated in multiple large and small group shows in Guam since 2022. She has recently earned her BFA in graphic design from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Summa Cum Laude. Follow her on Instagram @deafeningsilenceco or contact via email at deafeningsilenceco@gmail.com

Chewing on Static

Chewing on Static https://www.guammuseumfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Chewing-on-Static-INSTAGRAM_4K_H265.mov The next exhibit opening October 24, 2026 at the Guam Museum Cafe Gallery. In her first solo show, Julia Birn presents

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