• North America
    • USA
      • Arizona
      • Florida
      • Georgia
      • Hawai’i
        • Big Island
        • Oʻahu
      • Idaho
      • Louisiana
      • Montana
      • New York
      • North Carolina
      • South Carolina
      • Tennessee
      • Utah
      • Wyoming
    • Caribbean
      • Aruba
      • The Bahamas
      • Bermuda
      • Cuba
      • Curacao
      • Dominican Republic
      • Jamaica
      • Puerto Rico
    • Central America
      • Belize
      • Guatemala
    • Canada
      • Ontario
      • Quebec
  • Europe
    • Albania
    • Austria
    • Belgium
    • Bosnia & Herz.
    • Bulgaria
    • Croatia
    • Czech Republic
    • Germany
    • Greece
    • Hungary
    • Kosovo
    • Luxembourg
    • Macedonia (F.Y.R.O.M.)
    • Moldova
    • Montenegro
    • The Netherlands
    • Romania
    • Serbia
    • Slovakia
    • Slovenia
    • Turkey
  • New Zealand & The Pacific
    • Fiji
    • Kiribati
    • Nauru
    • New Zealand
    • Palau
    • Tonga
    • Tuvalu
A. Perez Voyages
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Support My Voyages
  • Contact Me
Select Page

photo with girls from kiribati and flag

by Anthony Perez | Dec 31, 2023 | 0 comments

facebookShare on Facebook
TwitterTweet
PinterestSave

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Anthony Perez

At 26 years old, I left my job and your average 9-5 life in South Carolina to travel the world. I spent 6 incredible months in Southern Europe and ended up becoming a nomad. Eight years later, I am still exploring, at 39 countries and then some. My goal is to listen, observe, learn, and respectful share all beautiful elements of the world, from beautiful destinations to beautiful cultural immersion. Read more here.

Support My Voyages

Become a Patron!

Categories

Recent Posts

  • TAPA :A Glimpse into the art of Hawaiian Kapa & Samoan Siapo🖌️
  • Wa’a: A Voyage Across the Pacific 🌊⛵
  • A Spiritual Journey to The Pageant | with Angel Vitale | American Samoa
  • The “Superbowl” of American Samoa (Voyage Sneak Peek)
  • Living Like A Hawaiian 🌺 One Month Later
  • Prepping for TOKELAU 🇹🇰 | Cultural INTENTIONS & Why I’m EXCITED to go🇹🇰
  • Living Like a Palauan (One Year Later..)
  • 2023 REWIND | The Realization of “One Ocean, One People”

Recent Popular Uploads – Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3s7zXpF-6U

Recent Posts

  • TAPA :A Glimpse into the art of Hawaiian Kapa & Samoan Siapo🖌️
  • Wa’a: A Voyage Across the Pacific 🌊⛵
  • A Spiritual Journey to The Pageant | with Angel Vitale | American Samoa
  • The “Superbowl” of American Samoa (Voyage Sneak Peek)
  • Living Like A Hawaiian 🌺 One Month Later
100 Years Later & Part of another Blessing🏝️ 100 Years Later & Part of another Blessing🏝️

Yesterday was a new milestone and celebration here in American Samoa, and that was the 100th year for Swains Island’s Flag Day & incorporation into the territory of American Samoa: 1925-2025. Many of you probably realized that in my long duration of stay here, this was my third official flag day celebration I’ve captured. 

As much as I can joyously talk about being a part of these milestones, there was something so much deeper about this celebration for Swains Island. And that was unexpectedly being a part of the humble, beautiful, and big heart that is the Swains community, Jennings family, and extended community.

What was initially a humble invite into a meeting to discuss plans to Swains, turned into a gathering for song & dance reflecting the deep rooted blended heritage across generations. Beginning as an innocent visiting of their fale in Pavaiai, turned into being welcomed into the community as one unit. 

I will have to admit spending the past year hoping and dreaming of visiting Swains, that of which it’s history is deep, both bright and dark. all of what i’m continuing to learn from the source. 

So after 3 weeks of integration into this humble community, trusting the process blessed me with warm embrace from elders to the youth.

As for Swains, Olohega, Olosega, I will continue to trust the process for the voyage that things will fall into place to make that voyage to the island sooner than later. Acknowledging the challenges that persisted throughout the years both politically & spiritually, that the coming years will be healthy, including the relationship that Alex himself wishes to have with the sister islands of Tokelau. I’ve heard nothing but incredible things about this tiny atoll,that this immense amount of effort and patience will be worth it times a million. It’s a feeling!

I want to take the time to thank representative and now friend, Alex Jennings for embracing this voyager into the community and entrusting my works and my heart to be with you all. I also want to thank Andy for opening the door to the community as this may not have even been part of the voyage and story, without him.

💙
A strong college degree, 14 years later 🥹 (refl A strong college degree, 14 years later 🥹 (reflection read)

Please, allow this story to be an inspiration for those who need it🎓

May 6th 2011, I considered and will ALWAYS considered to be day one of the life of my dreams. And that was to travel the world no matter what shape, form, or way I would do it? It was day one beginning with a grad week in Miami and the Florida Keys, to Central America, Eastern Europe, and the South Pacific, and still going.

But while I got the traveling dreams going, the career path lagged. Well that’s because the path of web development fell through, for all the right reasons I’d eventually realize …it wasn’t really meant for me. 

What I’d also realize, is that I had a passion all along that goes back to my childhood, and that was the art of visual storytelling. Capturing travels that began cringe at first but had the heart of what would eventually come to life over the years. 

10 years later thanks to  a pandemic, a few stimulus checks and an established comfort for travel, I took timeless knowledge from my college program and went to work on youtube and around the island of Oahu. 

A few years later, I built two documentary style projects that merged travel with cultural experiences. And this is referencing the journey up to the start of 2024.

It was all of 2024 to the moment I write this where Ive come full circle and proudly state that I’ve done my degree justice. As in the past year through my time voyaging within American Samoa, I’ve become a photographer and though I don’t like this word, a filmmaker & visual storyteller! 

While I humbly acknowledge the journey ahead of learning curves of mistakes and errors, looking at the trajectory of how thing how panned out, I see nothing but more shades of bright light of bigger and greater things to come that hopefully can pass on this inspiration to those in need of it. Especially young storytellers still finding their way into this world and do not know it yet like me.

For many years I kicked myself in the ass of shame to have went through college walked that stage and had a degree only to catch dust for a decade!

NOT ANYMORE❤️‍🔥

Here’s to day ones🧑‍🎓🎥
A night to remember... ✨ ...with memories that w A night to remember... ✨
...with memories that will last a lifetime! 💫

Though a chapter soon ends,
the journey ahead is just beginning. 

Here’s to the future for the Class of 2025 🎓✨
National Marine Sanctuaries: 🇦🇸🫂🇵🇼 National Marine Sanctuaries: 🇦🇸🫂🇵🇼

Yesterday, I FINALLY had the privilege of visiting Fagatele Bay, one of the beautiful National Marine Sanctuaries here in American Samoa. Though I didn’t get the chance to see the world below, the isolation still reminded me how important these places are.

Interestingly, I recall a poster at the Palau Aquarium in Palau back in 22’, which shared that the NMS of American Samoa is actually a sister sanctuary to the Palau National Marine Sanctuary, a bridge between two worlds I’ve experienced through One Ocean, One People. Having spend time across and in the massive lagoon of Palau to the shores of Manua and Tutuila is a blessing in itself.

For those who may not know, NMS are protected areas of the ocean, created to preserve areas of natural beauty & biological significance. They offer a safe haven for marine life and promote conservation efforts that keep the ocean ecosystem balanced. From coral reefs to fish populations, these places are vital to the preservation of marine biodiversity, which in the end allows land life to flourish because, cycle of life 🥰🐟🌴🌱

❤️‍🩹But in a time when political administrations are stripping away the importance of these bio-diverse regions, I recognize the importance of these sanctuaries.  Witnessing the devastating effects of environmental degradation and climate change on our oceans tears my heart to shreds being that eco resilience is one of the foundations topics of my, mission. NMS provide a much-needed shield, to protect delicate ecosystems that that also support coastal communities, economies, & cultures.

Though still in the process of fully understanding NMS, & learning about how they protect our ocean environment, I’ve come to realize how urgent it is for us to advocate for these kinds of spaces. As the world around us changes, the role of sanctuaries in ensuring the future of our ocean is more important than ever.

I encourage everyone to learn more about these sanctuaries & the incredible value they have to better understand our oceans and marine life. 

Stay tuned as this voyage will also be story gathering through connections with experts and visuals around the Moana.⛵️🌊
Searched for sun & shine, found paradise 💙 #ame Searched for sun & shine, found paradise 💙 #americansamoa #nationalmarinesanctuary
“237 years later and we still feel their pain!” 

Gratitude to Atonio Ioane & Aasu 💙
Yesterday confirms a new and future American Samoa project that will eventually come to life 🎞️ 

As everyone knows, mid march after a 3-4 month long effort, had the blessing to visit Asutuai, Aasu, or “Massacre Bay”. I firstly want to thank Atonio and Tina Ioane for being the bridge from a dream to a reality of having the opportunity to stand on those very shores on the backside of Tutuila. 

But I ESPECIALLY have to and want to thank from the bottom of my heart, the community of A’asu and Samoan community in general through Facebook who passed on word to allow the right connections to land in the right place and right time. I often say that I drive the vehicle, but the community fuels it and the direction it goes. This is literally the prime example of them all. 

As for what lies beyond the spirit of this mini voyage, is a project that I had in mind via an interview with historian Okenaisa Fauolo who mentioned a brief history of the infamous event that took place in 1787 between Samoans and the French. That spark of a vision naturally unfolded on those shores of A’asu, framing the blue print and “script” on a small notepad for guidance as I wanted whatever ideas I had to be right in line with what I felt in A’asu. 

Though I had that fulfilled with b-roll, drone footage, and a low key vlogging experience, it was my initial interview on the final day that resulted in a technical error in audio due to the rushed nature of leaving A’asu back to Fagasa. Enough for me to want to jump off a cliff!🥺

But as I always say, a storyteller always finds a way. And as of yesterday, Atonio and I were able to come together at his home near Pago Pago for an interview 2.0 that not only came out cleaner, but much more grounded in emotion and storytelling.

This is not a storytelling initiative backed by a media company or grant. This is backed by passion for interconnected storytelling. 

Though the future, eventual A’asu Bay project is a standalone one, it’s just as much interconnected as everything else ive captured in the territory and Oceania. 

#oneoceanonepeople
iPhone can work some magic too 💙 #americansamoa iPhone can work some magic too 💙 #americansamoa
“Can I share about the history of the fautasi?” 🚣

I want to express my gratitude to Launiusaelua Voloti Malietoa once again as I wrapped up a short story on the fautasi’s history and connections to the canoe while celebrating a sport of village pride. 

This was all thanks to Voloti’s openness and willingness to not only take time for me, but seeing the deeper and more expansive documentation this all is for the archipelago and greater pacific. I also will forever hold deep gratitude for the fautasi crew, leaders, and even the entire village of Aua for embracing this voyager at a time where I was a humble stranger and new face to the territory.

With this short story now up, I can’t help but appreciate Voloti’s eagerness to share the history and general story of the fautasi from it’s days as a traditional canoe, to war canoe, transport canoe, to sport today. While then I had no clue of it’s history back then, the information shared as he sat across from me made me realize, the fautasi was exactly the canoe story I didn’t know I was meant to capture in this cross Oceania initiative. Little do most know, the canoe is at the forefront of all of my Oceania storytelling initiatives!!

First Hawaii, now American Samoa, with an exciting onward voyage ahead, on voyaging itself 🙂 CHeeehoo

Check out the short on YouTube: (link in bio) 🚣‍♀️

#americansamoa #samoa #fautasi #oneoceanonepeople
Aua powerhouse ☠️🚣🏽‍♀️ x Tutuilas Aua powerhouse ☠️🚣🏽‍♀️ x Tutuilas beauty 🌅
#fautasi #americansamoa #asmr
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Newsletter

Designed by Mako Media, LLC for A Perez Voyages