L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano W e are not going to need this b u t j u s t in case… Our lives are unpredictable. So enjoy and make good use of every second of your lives. Give it value. Give it purpo- se. Don't let small things bring you down. Not worth it. I wish you all love, health and lots of joy. Never forget laughing, at life, at oursel- ves. Thank you for making my life rich and beautiful. Lorenzo Soria I t a l i a n j o u r n a l i s t a n d Hollywood Foreign Press A s s o c i a t i o n p r e s i d e n t L o r e n z o S o r i a p a s s e d away peacefully on Friday August 7th at his home in L o s A n g e l e s . H e w a s 6 8 . After discovering he had lung cancer in early 2017, Soria w r o t e a m e s s a g e f o r h i s family and his friends that was meant to be found and read after his passing; the letter sat in his drawer for more than three years, until his wife Lilla, his son Max and his longtime friend and fellow journalist Armando Gallo read it as an ode to him just after attending his fune- ral at the Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City. "Our friend Antonio tried to read it, Max tried too, but Lilla ended up reading it for us, she was the only one under- standing his terrible writing," Armando Gallo jokes as we sit and talk about Lorenzo with the purpose of remem- b e r i n g a n d h o n o r i n g h i s legacy and most of all, their f r i e n d s h i p . G o i n g d o w n memory lane for Armando is both hurtful and joyful as he and Lorenzo go way, way back, precisely to a rock and roll party they were both attending in Los Angeles in the summer of 1982. "I met him when I was 38. At the time I had just divor- ced so I was celebrating at this party my new celibacy. T h e r e w a s t h i s s p l e n d i d woman and I asked for her n u m b e r ; I r e m e m b e r s h e wrote it on the back of my card with her lipstick. I tur- ned to Lorenzo and showed him the card: 'See? This is h o w y o u g e t g i r l s i n California.' We instantly lau- ghed and that first connec- tion we had was the begin- ning of our friendship." Gallo has been a photo journalist since 1967, cove- r i n g t h e e v e r c h a n g i n g British pop/rock scene. He moved to Los Angeles from L o n d o n i n 1 9 7 5 t o c o v e r e n t e r t a i n m e n t f o r T V Sorrisi e Canzoni and joi- n e d t h e H F P A i n 1 9 7 8 ; L o r e n z o S o r i a b e c a m e a member when he moved to Los Angeles in the 80s and served as president two pre- vious terms before the pre- sent one, also serving as a c h a i r m a n o f t h e H F P A ' s board. He was re-elected president in 2019, and was half-way through his third term. "Lorenzo lived a full and rewarding life as a jour- n a l i s t a n d h u m a n i t a r i a n until his untimely death. When we met he knew me for my rock and roll journali- sm. We always had a feeling of mutual respect and appre- ciation." R e c a l l i n g a s p e c i f i c memory about his colleague (or, as Armando defines him, "a friend, a friend, a friend") is not that simple: he lingers and I see him smiling as he remembers when they went to Woodstock together. " L o r e n z o c a m e w i t h m e when he found out that I was going to cover the 25th anni- v e r s a r y o f t h e i c o n i c p o p festival. Last time we talked a b o u t t h a t s t o r y w e w e r e both in Taormina, Sicily, at a film festival, when Lorenzo told it to a journalist at the end of a lovely dinner." The story is about them, young and dirty in Woodstock. It was 1994. They were in the backstage by the press tent, soaked in rain and covered in mud, when a guy came up to them asking for a light. "He had a cool joint and as we were talking and smoking, this guy recognizes me and literally yells: 'Oh, you are Armando Gallo! I can't belie- ve it!' He had my book about Genesis, asked for an auto- g r a p h a n d t h e n a s k e d Lorenzo to take a photo of us. Well, Lorenzo's smile was so big just by seeing this g u y ' s h a p p i n e s s a n d m y instant claim to fame. It was a b e a u t i f u l m o m e n t a n d Lorenzo was literally happy for me. That in my opinion sums up his essence. He was very generous with every- body, he would find joy in other people's accomplish- ments." S i n c e m o v i n g t o L o s Angeles, Soria covered poli- tics, technology and society. He also wrote extensively about the Hollywood enter- tainment business. Born in Argentina, he moved to Italy at a young age. He started out as a journalist for the I t a l i a n n e w s w e e k l y L'Espresso and had been working for Italian newspa- per La Stampa since 1988. "Due to our job, we traveled to many places together; I r e m e m b e r t h a t w h e n w e went to Argentina for a film festival. As we were flying there, he told me it was the first time he was going back to Buenos Aires, where her was born, in 31 years. His dad had passed away when he was 11 and his mother and older sister had sent him to Milan to stay with his uncle." L o r e n z o a n d A r m a n d o shared more that just travels d u r i n g t h e i r l i f e i n L o s Angeles, as they not only Goodbye to a friend: remembering Lorenzo Soria with lifetime friend Armando Gallo SILVIA GIUDICI January 18 2017 worked side by side at the Foreign Press but also spent free time together as friends. "We were brothers from dif- ferent mothers and like all brothers we had fights and our ups and downs, but we laughed more than we screa- med. We had a double life: in our association he was very stern, very professional, he treated me as a member. He showed me integrity. And I must add he got some very b a d w o r d s f r o m m e . " Armando laughs, admitting t h a t n o m a t t e r w h a t t h e f i g h t s w e r e a b o u t , t h e y always shared a passion for their job. "I am trying to put together a book of my photo- graphs. And the cover will s a y : ' P h o t o g r a p h s b y A r m a n d o G a l l o , t e x t b y Lorenzo Soria.' Lorenzo was preparing the written part to go along with my pictures. I had this book in my head for years, and I wanted to share this project with him. We were always inventing." A n d w h a t m a d e h i m a A smiling Lorenzo Soria (Photo courtesy of HFPA) LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY Continued to page 20

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