Latest news with #ItalianAmerican
New York Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Italian Americans, for and Against Mamdani, Square Off in New York
For a political protest, especially in the dead of July in New York City, the colorful demonstration on Monday outside of Zohran Mamdani's Assembly district office in Queens had it all. On one side, some members of an Italian American affinity group — which had taken offense at a recently resurfaced social media photo from 2020 showing Mr. Mamdani giving the middle finger to a Columbus statue — spoke of their umbrage, often in colorful terms. They vowed to fight Mr. Mamdani's bid to become mayor. Some pledged their allegiance to Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate in November's general election. One held a sign that was less committal, but just as dismissive. 'Anyone but Communist Mamdani,' it said. Across the street, counterprotesters, many also Italian Americans, amassed. Some wore pins from Mr. Mamdani's successful Democratic primary campaign (one woman wore a 'Hot Italians for Zohran' shirt), and held up signs like 'Fast + Free Buses for Nonna!', 'Paisans for Zohran!' and 'You Eat Jar Sauce!' The two groups steadily held their ground, about a dozen cops between them, until the arrival of an infamous interloper — a performance artist known as Crackhead Barney — seemed to reignite the fury of the anti-Mamdani group. Yet for all of the event's circuslike pageantry, it made no direct impression on Mr. Mamdani. He was more than 7,000 miles away, taking a vacation from the campaign trail in Uganda, where he was born. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CBS News
3 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Brooklyn's Our Lady of Mount Carmel Feast celebrates towering Giglio tradition
Under the blazing July sun on Sunday, more than 100 men hoisted an 80-foot wooden tower into the air, swaying to the rhythm of a live brass band. Known as the Giglio, the towering structure is the centerpiece of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Feast, a tradition brought to Brooklyn by Italian immigrants more than a century ago, and one that traces its origins back over 1,000 years to Nola, Italy. Head Capo Danny Vecchiano led the procession like a general commanding a small army. The capo's role is to coordinate the massive lift and guide the men carrying the several-ton structure through the streets of Williamsburg. "This is the epitome of being an Italian American in Brooklyn," Vecchiano said. "This is the greatest show of faith. This is the greatest show of family, of tradition, of our heritage." Supporting Vecchiano was a team of lieutenants, responsible for executing his commands and maintaining the Giglio's balance as it moved down the street. "The lieutenant's job is to take the directions from the capo, relay them to the men, and then help the capo direct the Giglio down the street, keep it straight and let the men know what's going on," said Mark Mascioli, one of the lieutenants. Vecchiano is a local high school principal. He said his students contributed to the towering structure that looks like a work of art. "I had students involved in painting the Saints on the Giglio and doing some work here in the church. They came here on Saturdays to help. So it was very cool," he said. Each capo serves a two-year term and is responsible for the design and operations of the Giglio. Many participants wait decades for the honor. This year marks the end of Vecchiano's tenure. Despite the oppressive summer heat, the lifters worked together to carry the structure. "My dad did when he was a kid, now me and my brothers, we do it in my family," said lifter Andrew Conce, explaining the intergenerational nature of the tradition. Hundreds of spectators lined the streets to watch the spectacle, which commemorates Saint Paulinus of Nola, a fifth-century bishop who, according to legend, offered himself into slavery to save a widow's son during a pirate invasion. "So many memories with our family and I'm so proud to keep this tradition going," said lifter Craig Addeo Jr. For Addeo and others, the event is more than a religious ritual, it's a celebration of identity and community. "My dad lifted the Giglio from 1940 to 1970," said Craig Addeo Sr. Attendees said the spectacle blends the sacred and the joyful. "There's something comical and also very beautiful about the whole thing," said attendee Matthew Falcone. "My parents got married right in this church, and we got married there as well. So it's just tradition and good food," said Susan Millan. "Every year is different. Every year you get the chills every time they sing the songs, so it's just amazing," added volunteer Angelina DiGioia. This year's final day of the feast also paid tribute to past capos, referred to as "old timers," and marked the ceremonial hand-off to a new leader. "This tradition will carry on long past us," Vecchiano said. Thousands of people with ties to Brooklyn, many of them returning from across the country, reunited in Williamsburg for what has become one of New York City's most iconic ethnic and religious festivals. Have a story idea or tip in Brooklyn? Email Hannah by CLICKING HERE.
CBS News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Italian heritage festival held in Newton amidst controversy about painted street lines
The streets of Nonantum in Newton, Massachusetts were filled with Italian flags, music, and celebration this weekend as the community marked the 90th annual "Festa" amid a controversy about painted lines in the street. The beloved event, a cornerstone of the neighborhood's Italian-American culture, drew large crowds with its street parade, carnival and public displays of heritage. "It's a tradition," said Newton resident Paul Camilli. "It brings the neighborhood together." The festival took on added significance this year following controversy surrounding Adams Street, where the city recently painted over the iconic red, white and green stripes traditionally displayed in the center of the road leading up to the event. The move upset many in the community, who view the flag as a vital symbol of their heritage. Now, the stripes have been painted back on in time for the weekend festivities, restoring a sense of pride for many. "We try to stay out of that stuff but when they come and bring it to us, we kind of have to fight back," said Newton resident Jason Riffe. "In this neighborhood, we always try and stay out of politics but in this day and age it's hard. We try to make it as non-political as possible, this isn't about that. So we just try and keep it to neighborhood and communities." For many families, the Festa is an annual homecoming rooted in generations of tradition. "For us, it's been just something we've been part of our whole entire lives," said Riffe. "When you grow up, this is kind of like your Christmas in July. We look forward to this more than Christmas and stuff like that." Residents say the event is a celebration of the immigrant roots that shaped the community. "The people that came here and built this neighborhood, it's really about them and honoring them," said Jason. "And where we came from in Italy. Like my mother is an immigrant from Italy. It's kind of like our whole culture, our heritage, our religion all put together and it all culminates in today. And this is a chance we get to celebrate all that." The Festa continues to serve as a symbol of unity and resilience for Nonantum's Italian-American community.
Malaysian Reserve
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Malaysian Reserve
Italian American Legend Connie Francis Belongs in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
The Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations (COPOMIAO) launches advocacy campaign on behalf of Francis, whose chart-topping ballads once ruled the airwaves — and now trend across TikTok by the billions. CLEVELAND, July 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — As the nation remembers Connie Francis, one question, amplified by disbelief, grows louder: Where the girls are? Everywhere but the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, it seems. 'The Rock Hall has faced ongoing criticism for under-representing early female pop vocalists and girl groups — many of whom, like Connie Francis, laid the foundation for pop and rock in the 1950s and '60s,' said COPOMIAO President Basil Russo. 'There's a strong case to be made that she deserves induction for her cultural influence and pioneering success as one of the first female pop superstars. Madonna — a successor to Francis in both Italian American heritage and chart dominance — was inducted in 2008. Francis's exclusion today appears indefensible.' Consider her legacy: 200+ million records sold worldwide First woman to top the Billboard Hot 100 Top-selling female artist of the 1960s 27 billion TikTok views featuring her music (and counting) 53 Billboard Hot 100 chart hits The voice of a generation, Francis broke through at a time when women were expected to sing, not lead. Born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in Newark, N.J., to Italian immigrant parents, she grew up speaking Italian and performing at local events by age 4. After years of grinding out talent contests and TV appearances, she exploded onto the scene in 1958 with 'Who's Sorry Now?' COPOMIAO is rallying the public to contact the Rock Hall and advocate for the recognition Connie Francis deserves. From there, she became a trailblazer: the first woman to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with 'Everybody's Somebody's Fool,' and the first to headline major tours across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. She recorded in over a dozen languages, starred in Hollywood musicals, and even opened for the Queen of England. By the mid-1960s, Francis had become not only a household name but also a symbol of Italian American pride. ABOUT COPOMIAO Formed in NYC in 1975, the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations (COPOMIAO) is a national coalition of 74 cultural, educational, fraternal and anti-defamation groups that advocate for the Italian American culture.
Telegraph
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The tragic truth behind Pretty Little Baby's Connie Francis
On her most famous song, Pretty Little Baby, the singer and actress Connie Francis – who has died aged 87 – sang 'Don't you know it's much more fun to love when the heart is young and gay?' She would come to know the truth of this all too well. During the nearly nine decades that she spent on the planet, Francis knew the most egregious extremes of fortune imaginable. She went from heady fame and hundreds of millions of record sales to personal tragedy so horrible that its accumulation seems almost unbelievable. Her life began well enough. She was born Concetta Franconero into an Italian-American family in Newark, New Jersey, and, from an early age, she had a natural aptitude for performing and singing, entering various local pageants and talent contests. Her first big break came in 1953 when she appeared on the NBC show Startime Kids under the stage name Connie Franconero. Although it took a considerable while for her to achieve success (now under the name Connie Francis), her great success came in 1957 when she recorded the single Who's Sorry Now, which would go on to top the UK singles charts, sell more than a million copies and propel her to worldwide fame. Francis was fortunate in that her perky, upbeat songs chimed perfectly with the optimistic mood of the Eisenhower-era country, and her versatility at singing them in other languages – she learnt fluent Yiddish in school to speak to her classmates – meant that they had a reach far beyond English-language audiences. Her best-known hit, Pretty Little Baby, was released in 1962, and became her signature tune, with its chirpy optimism appearing to chime with the offscreen persona of its performer. But the first suggestion that her previously charmed life might be rife with complications came when she met Beyond the Sea singer Bobby Darin, who offered to create songs for her. She was 19, he was 20, and the two started making another kind of music together. This outraged her staunchly Catholic father, who ran Darin out of the studio at gunpoint. Darin later sought solace in the arms of Sandra Dee, and Francis described not marrying him as the greatest regret of her life. She had a remarkable heyday, but it was also a brief one. By 1964, tastes in music had changed, thanks to the emergence of bands like The Beatles. In the early Seventies, she recorded the single (Should I) Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree, which she released to modest success – but then something horrific and traumatic occurred. While attending the Westbury Music Festival in New York in 1974, Francis was raped by a stranger at a motel, being held under a heavy mattress that nearly suffocated her. The perpetrator was never found. Although she was awarded £2 million in compensation from the motel chain for their inadequate security – and the only positive result of her hideous experience was that it strengthened previously lax motel security forever – it was a contributing factor, along with her declining popularity, in a mental breakdown that saw her become a pill-popping recluse for years. She made a tentative return to the recording studio in 1978, but after she underwent nasal surgery, she found herself unable to sing until 1981, a year that saw another seismic tragedy befall her. Francis's brother George Franconero Jr, who had been a confidante to her, was murdered by Mafia hitmen for having passed information about the workings of organised crime syndicates to the FBI. The event threatened to send her completely into a spiral of depression. Yet she then reconsidered matters and decided instead to have another go at reviving her career, saying that she felt 'angry, and angry is often a good catalyst'. She recorded two more singles, of which one, I'm Me Again, was a minor hit, but the trauma that she had suffered from a combination of her rape and her brother's death soon shifted into PTSD, and then a diagnosis of manic depression. She later told the Village Voice in 2011 that 'in the Eighties, I was involuntarily committed to mental institutions 17 times in nine years in five years. I was misdiagnosed as bipolar, ADD, ADHD and a few other letters the scientific community had never heard of.' She took lithium for it, but by her own admission, 'it made me a zombie because I didn't have bipolar [tendencies]'. By 1984, believing that she had nothing left to live for, she attempted suicide. She survived, and the same year published a bestselling, revelatory autobiography, Who's Sorry Now, that candidly dealt with the various horrors that she had endured throughout her life. By that point, she had been married three times – the first two marriages, to press agent Dick Kanellis and hair salon owner Izzy Marion, had both lasted less than a year – and her fourth union, to the television producer Bob Parkinson, would splutter to an end in 1985. It was unsurprising that her eventful life story nearly became the subject of a film, to be written, produced by and to star the pop singer Gloria Estefan. It would have been entitled Who's Sorry Now, and Estefan observed of her subject that 'She isn't even in the Rock and Roll Hame of Fame and yet she was the first female pop star worldwide, and has recorded in nine languages. She has done a lot of things for victims' rights since her rape in the 1970s.... There's a major story there.' Unfortunately, 'creative differences' led to the project falling apart, like so many other biopics. Francis commented sourly in 2009 that 'They chose to use amateur writers to write the screenplay… I'm sorry I wasted ten years with those people.' A particular blow was that Dolly Parton had also expressed interest in making a film of Francis's life, but her commitments to the Estefan project rendered such a thing impossible; both she and Parton had wanted to cast the actress Valeria Bertinelli as her. Francis had a deeply prudish streak and disliked the idea of any of her songs being used in sex or sexually themed scenes in films. She unsuccessfully sued the producers of the 1999 picture Jawbreaker for using her song Lollipop Lips in a sex scene, and complained that films such as The Craft made inappropriate use of her music, but her objections were overruled, not least because she did not own the publishing rights to the songs. Politically, she defined herself as a 'die-hard liberal', although this did not stop her accepting a position heading up a taskforce of Ronald Reagan's tackling violent crime, or recording a campaign song for Richard Nixon in 1968. It was entitled Nixon's the One and contained the lyrics 'Remember Dick Nixon/The man who is fixin'/To lead us to win in '68.' Nixon did indeed win the presidency, which fell into chaos upon his re-election and subsequent Watergate scandal; whether any credit, or blame, might be ascribed to Francis's campaign anthem is impossible to say. Towards the end of her life, Francis, who retired in 2018 shortly after publishing another memoir, Among My Souvenirs, found an unexpected surge of popularity when Pretty Little Baby became a big hit on TikTok. When asked for comment, the ailing Francis told People that 'To tell you the truth, I didn't even remember the song… [but] to think that a song I recorded 63 years ago is touching the hearts of millions of people is truly awesome. It is an amazing feeling.' Although she will inevitably be remembered as a tragic figure, her often undervalued achievements should be extolled after her death, and the miserable, unhappy events of her life placed in context with the music that gave – and continues to give – great pleasure to millions.
