L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 38 L'Italo-Americano T h e y w e r e j u s t kids when they a n d t h e i r p a r - ents frequented t h e I s o l e E o l i e Italian Club in Melbourne, Australia. Joe and his broth- e r C a r l o , w h o s e m o t h e r hailed from Stromboli and their father from Randazzo, Catania, befriended Andrew, whose family had emigrated to Australia from Lipari. "As children, we loved to tease our family members. We've always been obsessed with comedy," Joe Salanitri, a m e m b e r o f t h e c o m e d i c trio Sooshi Mango, tells m e a s I m e e t h i m i n L o s Angeles before their show, Off the Boat. A s a d u l t s , t h e y b e g a n filming videos of some of their characters, fictional but inspired by their rela- tives, and their popularity on social media skyrocketed almost overnight. "We grew u p i n M e l b o u r n e , w h e r e there's a large Italian com- munity but also Greek, Ser- bian, Croatian, Turkish, and Lebanese. Carlo suggested w e m a k e a v i d e o t i t l e d ' G r e e k s v e r s u s I t a l i a n s ' because, in Australia, Greeks a n d I t a l i a n s h a v e t h i s friendly rivalry, even though t h e y ' r e e x a c t l y t h e s a m e : we're paisani!" In just six y e a r s , S o o s h i M a n g o h a s amassed 2 million followers on Instagram and 1.6 mil- lion on TikTok, and their f a m e h a s l e d t h e m t o embark on their first world tour. Joe, your act delves into what's termed eth- n i c c o m e d y , d r a w i n g heavily on your family backgrounds. Could you expand on this for us? M y c h a r a c t e r , J o h n n y , who's always in pajamas, blends traits of my godfa- ther, my dad's buddy, and my dad himself. Carmela, p o r t r a y e d b y m y b r o t h e r Carlo in drag, channels our aunt, while Giuseppina bor- rows from our grandmother. I t ' s o u r w a y o f p a y i n g homage to them. After all, Italians, Greeks, and others have become so woven into the local fabric here. They've been part of Australia for so l o n g t h a t t h e i m m i g r a n t story often gets overlooked. D i d y o u e v e r t h i n k comedy could be your calling? We've always been jesters at heart; this time, we just happened to stand in front of a camera. As our videos gained traction, so we ven- tured into live theater, col- l a b o r a t i n g w i t h N i c k Gianopoulos, an Australian comedian with 20 years on the circuit. After two tours with him, we launched our o w n s h o w , t o u r i n g A u s - tralia's arenas. We even set a record at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena with three sold- out shows in a single run. W h o w e r e t h e c o m e d i c f i g u r e s t h a t inspired you? Growing up, Lino Banfi was a hero of ours. We used to watch his films with my dad, and I barely understood the dialogue, but I loved the way he acted, especially with P i e r i n o ( A l v a r o V i t a l i ' s famous character). I also liked Jerry Calà and Christ- ian De Sica. Beyond Italian c i n e m a , w e w e r e f a n s o f Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, and Laurel and Hardy. T h e m o s t c o m m o n f e e d b a c k y o u g e t o n your social media pages i s " W e h a v e t h e s a m e family." Why do people see themselves in your videos? A lot of people say that because they relate to our videos. They're universal, everyone has someone simi- lar in their family. Whether we're in New York, Boston, Chicago, or even Toronto and Montreal, the response is incredible. At our Vancou- v e r s h o w , o n e p e r s o n b r o u g h t a l o n g 1 0 f r i e n d s w h o h a d n e v e r h e a r d o f S o o s h i M a n g o . M e e t i n g them after the show, they shared that it was one of the best performances they'd ever experienced. They were amazed at how much they could see themselves in it and how much the charac- ters reminded them of their o w n a u n t s a n d u n c l e s . That's the highest praise we c o u l d a s k f o r , e s p e c i a l l y from people who came to our show without knowing us. Do you still find inspi- ration for your sketches when visiting your fami- lies? A l w a y s , b u t w e d o n ' t mimic them exactly as they are. We add a comedic twist. A s f i r s t - g e n e r a t i o n A u s t r a l i a n s , d o y o u return to Italy to visit relatives? I was back in Italy last Jul y. I pr obabl y go ever y seven or eight years because the 24-hour flight is quite a commitment. Part of this tour, aside from America and Canada, includes Lon- don, so we'll also be heading to Italy. We've got in touch with Lino Banfi, so we're planning to spend two days in Rome to meet him. S o , y o u ' r e a b o u t t o m e e t y o u r c h i l d h o o d idol? Yes! We might even make a v i d e o w i t h h i m . W e ' r e thrilled. B e s i d e s y o u r s h o w s and online videos, you a l s o h a v e a p o d c a s t , S a u c y M e a t b a l l s , a n d even your own restau- rant. How did these ven- tures begin? Yes, we run one of Aus- tralia's top podcasts. And we own an Italian restaurant named Johnny Vince and Sam's, after our characters. W e w a n t e d i t t o f e e l l i k e g r a n d m a ' s h o u s e : i t ' s a l l wood, with a china cabinet, carpet, tiles, curtains, old chairs, and tables, nestled in Melbourne's Little Italy. Our menu is 100% Italian. We serve stew, gnocchi, burrata, prosciutto, salami, and mor- tadella, all in a homemade Italian style. Dining with us is like eating at your grand- ma's and mom's. W h a t w a s t h e m o s t Italian thing about your childhood? Making salami and sauce at home was a very Italian e x p e r i e n c e . B r o a d l y , t h e most Italian aspects were food and family: our families were always together, gath- ering for lunch every Sunday and dining together every n i g h t . F o o d w a s t h e g l u e t h a t h e l d u s t o g e t h e r , whether it was a celebration, an event, or just a Tuesday evening. The dinner table was where everything hap- pened! Italian-Australian comedians bring their heritage to Los Angeles SILVIA NITTOLI Sooshi Mango at the AACTA Awards in 2021 (Photo courtesy of Sooshi Mango) LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY

• Cover