Handpicked by Locals is a regularly appearing feature that takes readers on a trip to the favorite haunts of interesting county residents.
Oceanside has a Sister City connection with American Somoa and its capital. It’s something Grant Muāgututiʻa, assistant professor of linguistics at California State University San Marcos, takes great pride in because he was born and raised in Oceanside and is of Samoan descent.
“The Samoan community of Oceanside has a long history in the city going back to the early 1950s, where my maternal grandfather was amongst the first wave of Samoans who came via the military to be stationed at Camp Pendleton,” Muāgututiʻa said.
The best memories growing up were in Oceanside with his “ʻāiga,” (“family” in Samoan), he said.
“One of the highlights of the year was always the Oceanside Samoan Cultural Celebration,” Muāgututiʻa said. “This was a time that the Samoan community of Oceanside would come together to celebrate our culture through songs, dances, food, fellowship, sports and much more at the Junior Seau Pier Amphitheater. It continues to this day, over 36 years now, and I now serve on the organizing committee, so it’s been amazing to have that come back full circle.”
Muāgututiʻa also serves as a linguist for Disney and worked on “Moana 2.” He got involved with Disney in 2021, after playing music at Disneyland with his musical trio called Faiva, which preserves Samoan and Polynesian music by playing traditional songs and writing their own songs in Samoan.
“Disney has an Oceanic Cultural Trust made up of cultural experts and practitioners from Oceania in various fields (such as) archaeology, choreography, etc., and they were looking for a linguist,” Muāgututiʻa said. “They reached out to me to see if I’d be interested and available to help with the project, and it’s been an amazing journey ever since.”
As an assistant professor of linguistics at CSUSM, his research focuses on the languages and cultures of the Pacific Islands, specifically Polynesia. He chose this career path because he grew up in a multilingual environment and took an interest in languages from an early age.
“I was especially interested in Samoan, being of Samoan descent, but at the time, there were no resources, classes, or programs available for me to learn,” Muāgututiʻa explained. “I began to learn on my own by talking with the elders in my family and in my community in Oceanside.”
After graduating from high school, he pursued a degree in linguistics at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and at the University of Auckland in New Zealand.
“I hoped to one day come back to the Oceanside area and provide the resources to learn the Samoan language and other Polynesian languages that I wish I had when I was growing up,” Muāgututiʻa added, who has been at CSUSM since the fall of 2020.
“When I teach about the languages and cultures of Polynesia, I am always honored and humbled by the opportunity to do so,” Muāgututiʻa said. “I feel a sense of immense gratitude and responsibility to those that came before me, those that trusted me enough to this knowledge down to me, to those that took the time to document cultural and linguistic practices over the years, and to those that fought at tremendous sacrifice to ensure the survival of indigenous languages and cultures of Oceania into the present.”
Last year, Muāgututiʻa helped launch the first-ever CSUSM Samoan Language & Performing Arts Program in Oceanside, a five-week program open to the community for free.
“It was a surreal moment for me being able to come back and provide those language resources for my community that I wished I had so many years ago,” Muāgututiʻa said.
For The San Diego Union-Tribune’s series where locals share their favorite places in their city or neighborhood, Muāgututiʻa selected Oceanside.
Muāgututiʻa describes Oceanside as “a beautiful town nestled between peaceful lagoons in the south and open landscapes in the north with sandy beaches and picturesque sunsets. But its most distinctive feature is its vibrant community, a community that embodies the truest sense of fellowship, belonging, and service.”
Q: What is your favorite restaurant?
A: “Harbor Fish & Chips (because) it’s local, beach location, tasty and long established. I grew up eating there. For first-timers, I would recommend getting the fish baskets. It comes with one, two or three large pieces of fish and fries.”
Q: What is your favorite small retail business or pop-up vendor to ?
A: “Ula Love Sweets, a popular vendor at the Sunset Market (5 to 9 p.m. Thursdays). They have unique flavors, Polynesian-inspired dishes and it’s Samoan-owned. They sell all kinds of desserts, including a banana pudding, which seems to sell out every time I go there. There’s always a massive line.”
Q: Where is your favorite open space?
A: “Oceanside Harbor has open spaces, clear sidewalk paths, sand areas and a range of activities available like paddling, playground, fire pits, fishing, etc.”
Q: Where is the best piece of artwork?
A: “The John Landes Community Center has a relatively new mural that represents the multicultural makeup of Oceanside, including a portion inspired by the Polynesian community.”
Q: Where is your favorite entertainment attraction or historic landmark?
A: “The Oceanside Pier, including the Junior Seau Pier Amphitheater and Tālofa , a walkway from downtown (Oceanside) to the pier. It’s important for me because it displays the Samoan culture. Even though it’s a small Samoan community, we have been able to make our mark, like the amphitheater being named after Junior Seau and the Tālofa . The word tālofa means “hello” in Samoan.
