Specials

I can be defined as an “urban” Italian. I was born and grew up in Naples, then I moved to Rome. So paradoxally I have had to wait until my first trip to New York  to look at Italian Folklore. In our big cities, in fact, tradition has almost disappeared and the patron saint’s day is not celebrated anymore.

People don’t go to work, shops are closed, there is a Mass but ­­ that’s all. As a result I never got the chance to enjoy a popular feast.

Even if New York is bigger than any city in Italy, its Italian/American community has been able to keep alive old customs. I had the proof of this on August the 16th, when I partecipated at the Saint Rocco Feast. It was a shiny Sunday morning, in full respect of the legend that tells that in 120 years of Saint Rocco’s celebration it has never rained.

Although the Mass would have started at midday, people began to crowd the area in front of  Saint Joseph’s Church since 10 o’clock. The first three-coloured strips appeared, the “dollars necklace” worn by the statue of the Saint was prepared, Tony &  Sons (the band) checked their instruments. There was a palpable enthusiasm, a diffuse feeling of joy.

The procession that has followed the Mass has been an unforgivable event for me. It was hot, there was a lot to walk, but people didn’t mind it. Even the oldest, even the ones on wheelchairs, did their best to walk with the Saint. Many devoted brought their “ex voto”(vow) to witness the help Saint Rocco gave them. But, apart from this, two things have really surprised me: the huge presence of young people and the participation of “multi-ethnic believers”. There weren’t only Italian/Americans (obviously they were the majority) but also people from all over the world.

During the 5 hours walk I got the chance to speak with a pied humanity.They were all proud of being Italian, they were all respectful of their roots, some of them also tried to speak with me in their old mother-tongue. It was so moving. It was so different from Italy. Surprisingly, in fact, I’ve discovered abroad that my country has lost a big part of its identity.

On the other hand, New York’s Italian/Americans  have strongly kept the link whit the country they come from. As Mark Pezzano, an Italian/American singer, told me: “we are easy-going people and  we live our religion in the same way”. With this state of mind they can live in the busiest crossroads of the world, they might be  important businssmen or well-known professionals, being able to keep, at the same time,  their  belonging. Living it with passion and serendipity, in a very natural way. It’s simply wonderful.

Article by Andrea Riccio
Photos by Tommaso Cuccia