Why are you wearing a pepper?
One of the reasons for this blog is to dispel many of the Italian and Italian-American myths. It is troubling to me, therefore, when I fulfill some of the more common or even more crass stereotypes. Yes, I talk with my hands, and I have been known to greet someone with a “Hey, how ya’ doin,” although not as suggestively as Joey Tribbiani. What can I say? Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
If Italian-Americans aren’t Italian, what are they?
When I was a kid growing up in an Italian neighborhood in New York, we used to say there were two kinds of people in the world; Italians and those that wanted to be. When my daughters were just children, I told them they were very lucky little girls; not everyone gets to be Italian. Then I made my first trip to Italy. I started developing acquaintances with people born and raised in Italy, Italian Italians, not Italian-Americans. I was shocked by what I had learned. My daughters and I were not lucky. We were members of the second group, those that wanted to be. We weren’t Italian!
Are Italian-Americans Italian? Redux
I hate to admit being wrong, to publicly change my opinion, especially when that opinion is dear to me. I guess I could just cite the adage; to admit that you were wrong is to declare that you are wiser now than you were before. Maybe I should have started this post by telling you how much more wise I now am than I was in the past. See how I turned that around?
Who is your Favorite Guitarist?
If I were to ask you to name a great guitarist, who would you name? If you are from my generation, you might say Clapton or Hendrix. If you are old school, you might go with B.B. King or Les Paul. If, however, you are really old school, and I am talking 18th century old school, you’re going with Mauro Giuliani – no known relation to that other Giuliani.
An Italian-American Christmas
Several years back, an evangelical Christian co-worker was complaining about the secularization of Christmas. “Jesus is the reason for the season,” he declared, literally raising his arm, pointing to the heavens above. “What does Christmas mean to you? Is it a holiday or an holyday?” he asked, almost daring me to answer incorrectly, or at least what he thought was incorrect.
Sauce, Gravy, or Dante? (Part 1)
In 1954, Giuseppe Prezzolini, Italian author and historian of Italian literature asked; “what is the glory of Dante compared to spaghetti?” He went on to observe “spaghetti has entered many American homes where the name of Dante is never pronounced.”
The Feast of Seven Fishes, Why It is Important
For many Italian-Americans, the high point of Christmas is the Christmas Eve Feast of Seven Fishes. This custom, however, has a special added significance for me personally. It was my father’s last meal. On Christmas Eve 1977, after enjoying the traditional meal my mother had prepared, my father went to bed where he fell into a wakeless sleep. Since then, the Feast of the Seven Fishes was more than part of my Italian-American heritage, but a remembrance of my father.
Befana & the Epiphany
I love being Italian, well technically Italian-American. There are so many things about our cultural inheritance that enrich our lives. The food. The traditions. The music. From pasta fazool to Verdi’s La Traviata, I love it all. One of these traditions is the observance of the Epiphany and Befana. Growing up in the United States, the Epiphany passed without notice, with no mention of Befana.
Love Italian Style
It’s Valentine’s Day!! A day of chocolates, flowers, romantic dinners, and sexy lingerie. It is estimated that the average man will spend $300 to $400 on wooing his true love, or at least his current love. While I don’t want to appear as a Valentine’s Day cynic, I can’t help but feel that all this Valentine’s Day furor is more the result of effective marking than heartfelt expressions of devotion.
La Festa di San Giuseppe
Two days after Saint Patrick’s day, March 19th, after all my Amerighan friends have recovered from drinking green beer while eating corned beef and cabbage, is Saint Joseph’s day or more accurately La Festa di San Giuseppe. Throughout the world, you will find Italians celebrating La Festa di San Giuseppe to honor the patron saint of all father’s, Saint Joseph.
Italians, The First Latins!!
Several years back I was having dinner with a group of people. At one point during the meal, a woman at the table began to rant against Latins. The Latins this. The Latins that. All manner of shortcomings were ascribed to Latins. Clearing my throat, I noted that I was a Latin. “You’re not Latin! You’re Italian,” she snapped.
Are Italian-Americans Italian?
Are Italian-Americans Italian? People keep telling me we aren’t. When I say I am Italian, Italian-Italians, those born in Italy, look at me with suspicion and scoff. American Uber-patriots chide me, telling me that I am American. In their minds, to associate myself the culture of my forbears is close to treason. With so many people telling me that I am not Italian, I cannot help but wonder if Italian-Americans are Italian.
Mythical Italy
Have you ever run into someone you have not seen in decades? I have. Recently, via social media, I made contact with a childhood friend. We had not seen each other since I was 15. He was an old man; what little hair he had was white and his belly hung over his belt. What happened? It was disheartening to later learn that he thought the same of me.
Being Italian American During a Covid Christmas
I am not sure how to start this post, how to do something other than contributing to the happy-happy-joy-joy holiday messages with which we have all been inundated over the past few weeks. However, I do have something to say as I reflect on this time of year and its relation to my cultural heritage, especially in light of the Covid pandemic.