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History Box.com's Website
Intro:
I have dedicated this section to the Italian
American people for their passion in preserving their traditions and
culture and to past /present residents of Italian Harlem.
(East Harlem) Despite
their struggles and despair, living in horrendous conditions
of tenement living amid the crime, filth and disease, the early
Italian immigrant worked extremely hard overcoming their
obstacles of discrimination, illiteracy and poverty giving place to
a new image of productive and successful Italian American citizens.
The Italian National Anthem
These are the dedicated
individuals to whom we have to be thankful for, who
are keeping the memories of the old neighborhood and
traditions alive of the Italian American people in
East Harlem.
Miriam Medina
Miriam Medina, is the website Administrator
of thehistorybox.com and author of the "Mimi
Speaks Blogspot". She was born and raised in
East Harlem (known then as Italian Harlem)
and lived at 1791 Lexington Avenue between
111th and 112th street. Having nieces
and nephews of Italian descent, Miriam has
dedicated this section to the Italian
American people for their passion in
preserving their traditions and culture.
Read her memoir of the old neighborhood on
the Neighborhood page. She is an active
member of the following societies: The New
York Historical Society, Urban History
Association, American Association for State
and Local History, the National Law Center
On Homelessness and Poverty, the National
Council for History Education ,The
Foundation For the National Archives ,
National Associate Member of the Smithsonian
Institute and
Member of the National Italian American
Foundation.
Section:
Al Guerra
Forty-three
year old , Italian American first
generation, Al Guerra, grew up in East
Harlem, who followed the feast every summer.
Although He currently lives in Florida with
his wife and three children, he still
travels to East Harlem every year for the
Feast. Al Guerra has managed to put together
a fascinating website about the Feast of Mt.
Carmel .This is a wonderful website
dedicated to the people who helped make this
great festive tradition possible. This
website portrays a yearly tradition that has
been in existence among the Italian
Immigrants since 1881 and will continue to
exist even into the future. Lots of research
, photos and valuable historical information
has been invested by its webmaster in the
preparation of this website. A definite must
see. Please visit their photo gallery for
pictures of the feast.
Bobby Maida
Another
important website which I would like to
mention that is dedicated to Italian
Traditions, the Giglio di San Antonio in
East Harlem, which is an Italian Festa in
continium since the early 19th century. Bob
Maida, who is an active member and
photographer of the East Harlem Giglio
Society has done a fantastic job of
providing pictures, current as well as
historical which can be viewed by the
public. Bobby also helps promote the
festival. Here is the link to the Giglio
Society of East Harlem.
Photo Gallery
Thank you Bobby.
Visit
Bobby's East Harlem Website, a
fantastic worthwhile learning experience of
visual arts and information.
Charles DeMonte
Charles
DeMonte was born in East Harlem, New York.
Known and loved by all his friends from the
old neighborhood, as Charlie D, he has
developed a fantastic site in such a short
period of time that has been overwhelmed
with past and present residents
visiting and talking about the good old days
in East Harlem., once known as "Italian
Harlem." Through Charlie's website "The
Old Neighborhood Online" he has
enabled people to reconnect with each other
on a daily basis. Charlie expresses his
thanks to the Giglio Boys and the East
Harlem Reunions for revitalizing the spirit
of East Harlem. Thanks Charlie for the
memories. M.M.
Many families from the town of Brusciano,
Italy migrated to East Harlem, NY to start
anew with other families and friends that
came before them. Although these Immigrants
brought little with them on their 30-day
long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in the
tight confines of the boat, what they did
carry with them were their beloved
traditions. For the people of Brusciano,
this included the yearly Dance of the Giglio
Festival in honor of Sant’Antonio.
Upon their arrival, the Italian immigrants
of East 106th Street in East Harlem decided
to initiate their beloved traditions by
building a Giglio and dancing it in the ‘New
World’. The Festival on 106th Street grew
for many years becoming one of the largest
street fairs in America.
NOTE
Per favore, se
qualcuno avesse un antenato in Brusciano e
il loro nome non è incluso in tali elenchi
di lettere A-G si prega di contattare:
miriam@thehistorybox.com modo che io possa
cercare il loro record di arrivo. Grazie
tanto.
NOTE: Please if anyone had an ancestor in
Brusciano and their name is not included on
these lists of Letters A-G please contact:
miriam@thehistorybox.com so I can search for
their record of arrival. Thank you so much.
September 11, 2001 A Day To Remember
"Honoring the Memory of 9/11’s Victims and
343 FDNY’s Most Bravest Fire-fighters."
New York City's
history of over 350 years deserves attention
as one of the world's most magnificent
cities, studied for its steady and rapid
growth, its material prosperity and its
generous representation of diverse ethnic
groups and religion. New York City has
unmatched theaters and museums and
architecture. It is the financial center of
the United States--some say the world--, as
well as the hub of American advertising,
fashion, publishing, and radio television
broadcasting. It is the concentrate of
industry, trade, communication,
entertainment, sports, and arts. It has a
positive effect on the creative abilities of
its inhabitants. New York is definitely not
one of the natural wonders of the world:
Millions visit the city each year to see
what humans, not nature, can achieve.
A perfect example of this was a specific
project for a World Trade Center complex to
be constructed. These plans for the WTC were
unveiled by principal architect Minoru
Yamasaki in 1964, which consisted of 15
million square feet distributed among seven
buildings. Groundbreaking for the
construction of the WTC took place on August
5, 1966. The two identical towers--at 1368
and 1362 feet and 110 stories each became
the tallest skyscrapers in the world until
they were surpassed by the Sears Tower in
1974. The total cost to the Port Authority
when the twin towers was completed was circa
$900 million. The World Trade Center
including the Twin Towers, and four other
buildings were officially opened on April 4,
1973."The complex was located in the heart
of New York City's downtown financial
district and contained 13.4 million square
feet of office space. The Twin towers was
once home to approximately 50,000 employees
until that fatal day of September 11, 2001,
where 2,750 people perished including 343
firemen.
It
began as a beautiful clear sunny morning
that catastrophic day of September 11, 2001 when
suddenly the sky turned into an endless
darkness from the ominous columns of fire
and smoke filling the air of lower Manhattan. Horrified
spectators watched in disbelief the
simultaneous intentional crashing of two hijacked
commercial airliners by terrorists, into the Twin
Towers of the World Trade Center in New York
City. Everyone on board was killed as well
as those who never had a chance as they were
saturated in flames dying instantly at their
desks in the moment of impact. The
high-speed crashes exploded into huge
fireballs of flame and smoke, releasing
blazing jet fuel, engulfing both towers in a
fiery inferno. Flames raced
throughout the maze of hallways and
stairwells inside the buildings. Terrified
trapped people in a panic would leap to
their sudden and violent death. Within two
hours both towers collapsed, an avalanche of
concrete and steel, crushing floors and victims below throwing enormous
clouds of debris to great distances. Thick smoke from
the intense inferno quickly filled the
atmosphere making breathing difficult.
Tornado clouds from the collapsing towers
barreled through the streets of the
financial district as people began
running for their lives, choking in the
dust, seeking a safe
haven from its terrifying path. Those that
were not able to escape succumbed to the
inevitable debris ash filling their lungs.
September 11, 2001, an unforgettable day in
the history of the United States, will be
forever etched in our hearts and memory as
the day that Three hundred and Forty three
members of New York City's Fire Department
died while making every attempt to rescue
those trapped in the devastating flames of
the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New
York. Courageous firefighters risking their
own personal safety as they advanced toward
the burning buildings, rushing up stairwells
filled with smoke and jet fuel, with no
regard for their own safety in search of
survivors who never materialized. The number
of fallen firefighters was staggering.
Entire companies were lost. These were
single and family men of all educational
levels and ethnic backgrounds, dedicated to
their intense passion of saving lives. The
pain, the suffering, the anxiety, and cries
of anguish of those they left behind, was
inconsolable, as the clock ticked away to
hours, days, and weeks hoping and praying
that somehow they would not find the bodies
or charred remains to match the names and
faces they held in their hands. The
emotional turmoil was overwhelming as
rescuers desperately sifted incessantly
through the horrifying twisted wreckage of
steel and cement. The shock of discovery
would hurl the families unexpectedly into a
bottomless grief.
New York City is a metropolis of substantial
magnitude, where great tension, irritability
and outright hostility exists. Nonetheless it
took a horrendous disaster like 9/11 to
awaken the spirit of unity among the
citizens of the city and the entire nation,
bringing everyone together as one mind, soul
and spirit mourning and comforting each
other in their losses despite their
differences, ethnic backgrounds or religion.
It was this terrible tragedy that initiated
endless acts of kindness demonstrated by
compassionate New Yorkers. It was a
catastrophe of historic proportions, that
prompted the response of 343 heroic
fire-fighters who gave their lives so others
may live.
Although nine years have since passed, yet
for many the powerful memories are still fresh. My
prayers go out to the families and friends
of these courageous fire-fighters, who will
endure an emptiness that may never be filled
in. .
May
these brave fallen heroes of 9/11 be forever
remembered in our hearts.
Numerous permanent memorials have been
established as a tribute to the innocent
victims and heroes of 9/11 demonstrating
their sympathy to the American people and
their opposition to the revolting acts of
terrorism. Brusciano, Italy has dedicated
their largest public square as "Piazza XI
Settembre," a symbol in spreading the values
of peace and international solidarity
between peoples and cultures.
Bruscianese Felice
Giannino author of the collection of poems,
songs and memoirs entitled "Land of the
Artists," has passed away. Felice Giannino
was one of the greatest artistic
contributor of lyrics and ballads to the
Feast of the Giglio in Brusciano, Italy.
His were the songs that the festivity
masters would turn to each year.
On August 4, 2010
I received a press release from my
journalist friend Dr. Antonio Castaldo, of
Brusciano, Italy which conveyed greetings
and best wishes to the Feast of the Giglio
of Sant'Antonio in East Harlem, New York
with also a reference to Miriam Medina,
Bobby Maida Phil Bruno, and the entire
Italian Community of East Harlem, from the
Mayor Dr. Angelo Antonio Romano, President
of the Giglio Feast Commission, Nicola Di
Maio and President of City Council, Antonio
Di Palma. I would like to share this press
release with you which I have translated
into English for your benefit..
The Mayor of Brusciano, Italy Dr. Angelo Antonio
Romano
Press Release: August 4, 2010
"Best wishes are extended
from the Administration and City Council of Brusciano to the Feast of
the Giglio of Sant' Antonio in East Harlem, New York."
Since the commencement of the last
century on the initiative of Bruscianese emigrants was born in New York
in the neighborhood of East Harlem the "Giglio Feast of Sant' Antonio.
Even today, the third and fourth generations born to these undaunted
immigrants practice the Feast of the Giglio along with Brusciano in
memory of their ancestors and of distant Brusciano.
This week, such festive event will
be repeated from August 5-8. To the organizers and the "Giglio Society"
are expressed with this statement best wishes and fraternal greetings on
behalf of the entire Community of Brusciano through Mayor, Dr. Angelo
Antonio Romano, President of the Giglio Feast Commission, Nicola Di Maio,
and President of City Council, Antonio Di Palma.
There are many innovations that
have been coming out in the course of studies, research, professional
contacts and sincere friendship between Antonio Castaldo, sociologist
and journalist, head of the Press Office of the City of Brusciano, and
Miriam Medina researcher and founder of the American history websitehttp://thehistorybox.com/
: Bob Maida webmaster of
www.eastharlemgiglio.com
and Phil Bruno descendant of the Vivolo Family
that immigrated to the United States in the early part of 1900. Just one
member of this family, Rocco Vivolo began circa 100 years ago, the Feast
of the Giglio of Sant' Antonio in East Harlem, New York. Another
historical capoparanza (leader of the lifters) figure in America is that
of Angelo Granata New York 1917-2001) last of nine children of parents
Annunziata and Antonio who left Brusciano in the early part of 1900.
This leader is remembered for his devotion to the saint and for his
technical capacity in managing the ballad of the Giglio of Sant'Antonio
in the Feast of Gigli in America.
The head of the press office,
Antonio Castaldo, informed Mayor Dr. Angelo Antonio Romano, President of
City Council, Antonio Di Palma and the President of the Feast of the
Gigli of Brusciano, Nicola Di Maio of this event suggesting the sending
of an Institutional greeting. This morning August 4, 2010, at the
beginning of the City Council meeting there was a salutation to the
Italian American community celebrating this weekend in New York, with
the Giglio of Sant'Antonio di Padova. Here is the text read by President
Antonio Di Palma:
"GREETINGS AND BEST WISHES ON
BEHALF OF THE CITY COUNCIL
TO THE FEAST OF THE GIGLIO DI SANT' ANTONIO DI PADOVA IN THE USA
TO THE "GIGLIO SOCIETY" AND
TO THE ITALIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY OF EAST HARLEM.
We express our brotherly greeting
and warm best wishes to the organizers, civil and religious authorities
and to the Italian American Community of East Harlem, New York among
which are many Bruscianese whose ancestors started the Feast of the
Giglio di Sant'Antonio di Padova in America. The pride of historical
affiliation and shared cultural and religious symbols binds us in time
for centuries despite the geographical distance. So with the embrace of
the whole Brusciano Community.
Responsible for this press release:
Dr. Antonio Castaldo Tel. 081.5218249
Fax 081. 5190191 e-mail:
stampa@comune.brusciano.na.it
Letter of acknowledgement from the Mayor
and City Council of Brusciano, Italy .
(Pending English Translation by Miriam Medina)
UFFICIO STAMPA E COMUNICAZIONE DEL COMUNE DI
BRUSCIANO
Responsabile dott. Antonio Castaldo Tel.
081.5218249 Fax 081. 5190191 e-mail:
stampa@comune.brusciano.na.it
Press Release: August
24, 2010
"Best wishes have
been
expressed to the Municipality of Brusciano
for their 135th edition of the Feast of the
Gigli from the American website "www.thehistorybox.com"
by Miriam Medina on behalf of the Giglio
Society of East Harlem, New York.
During
the City Council's last session which was
held on August 4th, Antonio Di Palma,
President of the Council
expressed, on behalf of Mayor Dr. Angelo
Antonio Romano, the municipal
administration, municipal councilors and the
entire Bruscianese community, good wishes
for the Feast of the Giglio of
Sant'Antonio in East Harlem, New York, which
is about one hundred years held at the
initiative of the descendants of the
Bruscianese immigrants in the USA in
partnership with the Italian American
community.
In
today's mail a letter of thanks was received
from Miriam Medina, a researcher of social
history and founder of the website "thehistorybox.com"
which houses among the others, a section
devoted to Italian Americans in East Harlem
and a useful contact with Italy communicated
through the Press Office of the City of
Brusciano.
Here
is the text of the letter:
"To
the Courteous Attention of: Mayor, Dr.
Angelo Antonio Romano; President of City
Council, Antonio Di Palma; President of the
Feast of the Giglio Commission, Nicola Di
Maio; Honourable Members of the
Administration and City Council; Director of
the Press Office; Antonio Castaldo; The
Gigli Association and the entire Community
of Brusciano;
I
would like to express to all of you, on
behalf of myself, Bob Maida, Phil Bruno; the
Giglio Society; the organizers of the Feast
of the Giglio of Sant'Antonio di Padova in
East Harlem, New York; civil and religious
authorities; as well as the entire Italian
community of East Harlem and New York; our
greatest appreciation for your warm
Institutional greeting and good wishes which
you have kindly sent us. We trust that
despite the geographical distance, we will
continue to preserve the pride of historical
affiliation as well as share in cultural and
religious symbols for years to come.
And for the 135th edition of the Feast of
the Gigli of Brusciano we reciprocate the
greeting.
Good wishes to all of you and to the
jubilant Bruscianese Community.
Once again, thank you. Good Feast of the
Gigli at Brusciano.
Founder of the website "thehistorybox.com
Miriam Medina
Mayor,
Dr. Angelo Antonio Romano has expressed "the
most vivid thanks and fraternal greetings
from all of Brusciano to the Italian
American Community and Bruscianese
descendants that have carried in their
hearts the symbols of faith and in the
social and cultural practices the
ancient tradition of the Giglio for
Sant'Antonio di Padova.
UFFICIO STAMPA E COMUNICAZIONE DEL COMUNE DI
BRUSCIANO
Responsabile dott. Antonio Castaldo Tel.
081.5218249 Fax 081. 5190191 e-mail:
stampa@comune.brusciano.na.it
Letter sent to Mayor Dr.
Angelo Antonio Romano and City Council of Brusciano,
Italy from the Giglio Society's Board of Directors
expressing best wishes for their feast of the Gigli
di Sant'Antonio, August 25-31, 2010.
TO THE
COURTEOUS ATTENTION OF:
Sindaco, Angelo Antonio Romano;
Presidente del Consiglio Comunale,
Antonio Di Palma;
Presidente della Commissione Festa del
Giglio, Nicola Di Maio;
Signori Membri dell’Amministrazione e
del Consiglio Comunale;
Responsabile Ufficio Stampa, Antonio
Castaldo;
Associazioni dei Gigli ed Intera
Comunità di Brusciano;
COMUNE DI BRUSCIANO-NAPOLI- ITALIA
The Board of
Directors/Capo Paranzas (Paul DelliCarpini,
Victor Dellicurti, Frank Fazzalari, Peter
Fazzalari, James Nunziata, Dominick Russello,
Thomas Russo, Frank Uvenio, Frank Uvenio Jr
and John Zangaglia) and all the Members of
The Giglio Society of East Harlem wish to
extend our warmest greetings to everyone in
Brusciano. We hope that your upcoming Feast
and the Dancing of the Gigli di Sant'
Antonio August 25-31, 2010 proves to
be a great success for all of you.
As you know, the origin of the Feast of
the Giglio di Sant' Antonio in America can
be traced back to immigrants from Brusciano
who migrated to East 106th Street in East
Harlem in the early 1900's. What they
brought with them to the new country was
their pride and devotion to the Giglio. It
should be noted that the largest Italian
American community in the history of America
was in the East Harlem section of Manhattan.
Many Italians migrated from different parts
of Italy to this neighborhood. Shortly after
the Annual Feasts began, the Italians from
these different parts of Italy also embraced
the Giglio tradition. Today, we can
definitely state that the Feast has
participation from descendents of immigrants
from each and every region in Italy.
We have the same passion, devotion and pride
in Dancing the Giglio di Sant' Antonio today
as did the early immigrants from Bruscian0.
We are very proud to state that we build a
truly authentic Giglio in America from a
size, height, and adornment of the face
perspective. We also build the entire
structure in wood.
We once again wish to extend our warmest
wishes to everyone in Brusciano and would
like to send our most sincerest regards to
everyone in Brusciano.
Buon Festa..........e' Viva Sant' Antonio
!!!
Note: Letter in Italian will be posted here after
released to the Italian Press
Note: I
had the pleasure of meeting Bobby
Maida in person at this year's feast which I
attended with members of my family "The
Giglio Feast of Sant' Antonio in East
Harlem, New York . It was amazing the energy
that this man projected non-stop as he moved
here, there, everywhere taking pictures of
everything going on in the feast. When you
look at the amount of excellent pictures
that he took this year as well as in other
years, displayed on his website, he is to be
highly recommended. May we all appreciate
his hardworking dedication, and passion to
preserving the traditions and cultural
history of the Italian heritage. Memories of
the feast are only vivid to those who
experience them. And for those who missed
the opportunity of attending the 2010 feast,
you can view those pictures at:
Bobby Maida's Feast
Photos .
A round of applause for the best of East
Harlem, New York.
Miriam Medina
From the Old Neighborhood of Italian Harlem
Lexington Ave.between a hun'twelve and a
hun'leven.
Best of
Brusciano, Italy
Dr.
Antonio Castaldo
Sociologist,
Journalist and Head of the Press Office in
Brusciano, Italy
Note:
I would like to
express appreciation on behalf of the people
of Italian Harlem, New York and myself for
the steady flow of information, which Dr.
Castaldo has so kindly provided
since August, 2009, keeping us abreast of
everything, thus preserving and
strengthening the connection between the
descendants of Brusciano and their beloved
ancestral roots. I am honored to
professionally know Dr. Castaldo. Many
of you are aware that around the turn of the
century, many families from Brusciano, Italy
migrated to East Harlem , New York bringing
their beloved traditions, culture, language
and religion which included the yearly Dance
of the Giglio Festival in honor of Sant'
Antonio. This is where the history of
Brusciano, Italy and the history of Italian
Harlem are inter-twined. Many Italian
Americans have their roots in Brusciano,
Italy. I am glad that through my website and
blog, I have been able to be useful in the
interchange of information between Italy and
East Harlem, New York. At the moment,
Brusciano, Italy is now celebrating their
"Feast of the Gigli in honor of Sant'Antonio
di Padova, August 25-31. Our journalist
friend will be providing interesting news
and pictures on this event, which will be
posted to the Brusciano Information Page. A
warm round of applause for Dr. Antonio
Castaldo, the best of Brusciano,
Italy.
Miriam Medina
Founder of the History Box.com
Mimispeaksblogspot.com
This Board is for Announcements Concerning Upcoming
Events and news exchanged between Italy and USA, for The Italian Community of Past and Present
Residents of East Harlem. If you have anything to
contribute, feel free to send it to
me, so I may post it.
The National
Italian American Foundation
1860-19th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
(202) 387-0600
NIAF 35th
ANNIVERSARY
October 23, 2010
GALA NOTICE
The
NIAF Washington Gala is part of a two-day
convention (October 22-23) in the nation's
capital that includes other special
receptions, entertainment and seminars. Your
participation guarantees that NIAF will
continue to serve as a unified voice for the
Italian American community. The NIAF's
mission is dedicated to preserving and
promoting the heritage and culture of Italy
and Americans of Italian descent while
offering educational and youth programs
including scholarships, grants, heritage
travel and mentoring to prepare individuals
to assume their roles as future leaders.
Please note that individual tickets and
tables are scaled from $400 to $2,500 each
based on location. These seats are
proportionally discounted for early
registrants.
For more information contact Jerry Jones at
jerry@niaf.org
Raccomando caldamente
questo sito, è assolutamente da vedere.
Potrete fare una valida esperienza educativa
ricca di arte e cultura. Esso contiene un
sacco di foto e di preziose informazioni di
storia e di cultura. I giovani curatori di
questo forum hanno investito tempo ed
energie per trattare i numerosi argomenti.
Un'occasione per tutti i visitatori di
scegliere e partecipare a questo
accattivante forum.
I have reserved
this section for Dr. Antonio Castaldo, Head
of the Press Office in Brusciano, Naples,
Italy. Dr. Castaldo from time to time, will
be sending me articles to keep the Italian Community in New York and
Elsewhere updated on current news and upcoming events that may occur in Brusciano,
Naples, Italy. I will be translating
it into English.
This is a new addition
to my blog "Mimi Speaks" for the benefit of
Italians and Italian Americans. My objective
is to stimulate interest in Italian culture,
arts, traditions and much more. There will
be articles in both languages, music and
other interesting topics that will be
published from time to time for all
visitors. If you have anything you would
like to contribute, please send it to me for
my review.
WORK IN
PROGRESS:
Besides providing you with current
News/Events from Brusciano,Italy which I
receive from Dr. Antonio Castaldo,
Journalist and head of the Brusciano Press
Office, which I have been translating into
English for your benefit, I am also creating a list
of Bruscianese Passengers that immigrated to
America via Ellis Island, from Brusciano,
italy , during the end of the 19th century
up until 1924. I am dedicating this list to
the descendants of these passengers. I have
done extensive research to locate these
names, so far I have about 500. If anyone
would like to share any information on this,
I would greatly appreciate it. This
list will be placed in the Immigration
section of Italian Harlem. To View:
Table of Contents
March 16, 2010
Cruisin' Through the
50s (see below for links to pages)
February 14, 2010
Slaves in the
Trenches 1888 (Italians who
worked like slaves and lived like pigs for
little or no pay.) Posted to the
Italian Community Page.
Read about the
Religious Feasts, of the Italian Community.
You-tubes of the Giglio Feasts in East
Harlem and elsewhere, pictures of the Feast
of Mt. Carmel. A worthwhile page visit
Become a member and help support the NIAF
defend the Italian American culture and
heritage. Let your voice be heard. Where
there is Unity, there is strength.
