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Permit for Animu statue in the works
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Posted on Oct 15 2015
The Saipan Mayor’s Office, together with the Liberation Day Committee and Skywalker Communications Group, is seeking permission to set up a statue of Animu, the Liberation Day mascot.
According to Mayor David M. Apatang, the committee and the group wrote a letter to the Department of Public Lands about this.
“We are communicating with Public Lands,” Apatang said. “We’re trying to find a place for it.”
The letter, according to Apatang, sought to set up an appointment with DPL to talk about the building of the Animu statue but the department cancelled the meeting.
“We’re supposed to meet and discuss but they cancelled and they said that most likely the Secretary [of Public Lands] will approve,” Apatang said.
Apatang wasn’t able to give specifications on the statue with regards to its size and what material will be used other than that it will be big and permanent.
“As long as they don’t deface it or anything like that,” Apatang said.
He said they are looking at the Paseo de Marianas in Garapan as the place where to have a statue or two of Animu.
“It’s the place where people go to. The tourists…can stand there in front of Animu and take a picture,” Apatang said.
Starting last 4th of July, Animu is and will be the Liberation Day mascot for years to come. It is a latte stone-shaped figure but personified and named after a Chamorro word for encouragement.
Apatang said Animu will not replace the Saipan-da mascot.
“We’re not trying to replace Saipan-da. Saipan-da is the CNMI mascot for tourism, this one is a Liberation Day mascot,” he said.
