L'Italo-Americano

LA's Merry Feast of San Gennaro Last weekend, at the boister- ous intersection of Hollywood and Highland, thousands gath- ered for three days of live music, food, wine, rides, and games at the 13 th annual Feast of San Gennaro. The savory smells of Italian sausage and warm cheese melting on thin pizza permeated the air as guests indulged in baked clams on the half shell and sugar-powdered zeppole. The feast is modeled after New York's annual San Gennaro Feast celebrating the Neapolitan Saint Januarius, or San Gennaro. San Gennaro was the bishop of Benevento around 300 A.D. dur- ing the Christian persecution. He was arrested for boldly visiting Christian prisoners in jail and was brutally punished by Emperor Timoteo. Gennaro effortlessly dodged multiple tortures and murder attempts, including escaping from a blazing furnace unscathed. He was decapitated on September 19th, 305 A.D. and is honored as a fearless, heroic saint. A woman named Eusebia collected Gennaro's blood in glass vials and buried him in a secluded location. The persecu- tion of Christians ended with Emperor Constantine in 313 A.D., and Neapolitans shortly began collecting the remains of their martyred Saint, displaying glass vials of San Gennaro's blood in sacred places. In Naples on his Annual Feast Day, the activities begin at 9:00A.M. with a novena, followed by traditional ceremonies. A gold ring with a cross containing the martyred Saint's vials of blood are placed on the altar for all to see. Churchgoers then pray for the miraculous liquefaction of San Gennaro's blood. In America, we handle San Gennaro festivals a tad differently. The bigger, the better. The place was bleeding green, red, and white. There were five thousand Italian flags and shot glasses saying "Italia". We even had giant mozzarella and tomato mascots walking around in true Disneyland or baseball game fashion. Perhaps the most comic ensemble was the "Bada bing bingo" tables juxtaposed next to the fish eyed festival ride designed for five year olds, both sponsored by Uncle Frank's Helping Hand. L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2014 www.italoamericano.com 4 In addition to all the pizzazz, the LA Feast kept some of the classic meaningful stuff. On Saturday morning, many gath- ered for Catholic mass on the main stage with Monsignor Antonio Cacciapuoti. The elabo- rately designed bust of San Gennaro was on display for all to admire. When mass finished, the Grandsons of Italy hoisted the statue onto their shoulders and led guests in a traditional proces- sion along the festival. Everyone proudly marched to the beat of Italian chants, including the multi-lingual charter school kids from Glendale who per- formed. Vonnie at the "Italian Gifts and Novelties" booth describes the passion and intense dedication that go into the festi- val. "All the set up involved is like waiting and excitedly preparing for the birth of a child. It's so exciting. But then it's like a funeral when the feast ends. We are anticipating and waiting, then over three days it grows up and is beautiful, then dies," he said. "It's so important to our com- munity because we come here to connect with our roots. Most of us here are Calabrese and JANE HuSON Grape Stomp courtesy Dano Photography Sicilian, so it gives us a chance to reconnect like a family coming together," Vonnie expanded. The feast was indeed a great community affair, with many local businesses and volunteer organizations stepping up to sup- port Italian culture. Sponsors included the San Gennaro Society, Christ the King Church, Uncle Frank's Helping Hand Foundation, Be the Match Marrow Registry, and various local Blood Drives. The most prominent sponsor was Galbani Cheese. There was a grand cheese booth with moz- zarella, tomato, and basil kebabs, as well as a spinning cheese wheel with grand prizes. From actor Don Most of Happy Days, to popular Las Vegas vocalist Mark Giovi, who performed on Friday at the open- ing Prima Notte, the Feast fea- tured a wide variety of live per- formances to please the whole family. This fun-filled weekend included a "Gravy-Sauce" com- petition hosted by the Meatballs of Comedy, a bocce ball section, and a petting zoo for children. As Mons. Cacciapuoti said after Holy Mass, "Viva San Gennaro! Buona festa a tutti!" The Main Stage courtesy Melody Whitney Luca Severi and Valentina Martelli launched Ibiscusmedia to embrace American show business He is a director and editing expert; she is a journalist with a passion for show business. Together, their complementary talents help them pursue the same dream: to transform Ibiscusmedia into a great pro- duction house. Introducing Luca Severi and Valentina Martelli: the dynamic duo of the interna- tional production company, Ibiscusmedia, located in Rome, Berlin, and Los Angeles. Ibiscusmedia is a dream come true for the Italian pair. "I am from the province of Treviso, and it wasn't easy to tell my parents that I wanted to be a director," Luca recalls. "I began in Milan then moved to Los Angeles to work with TV, theater, and then education." "I've always loved journal- ism," says Valentina Martelli, "and that's what I do for Ibiscusmedia. We're a new com- pany where new ideas and expe- rience perfectly mix together. Many of our clients are located in Europe, so we opened offices in Rome and Berlin to maintain a good relationship with them all." Ibiscusmedia focuses on cinema, TV, and commercial productions. Luca and Valentina don't intend to put limits on Ibiscusmedia's future goals: "We are an American company with roots in Italy and Europe. It's an honor and source of pride to say that it works in America, because this means that we bring life to products with a precise and professional method," says Luca Severi. Severi continues, "Most American production companies have a specialization, while we offer diverse skill sets, broader capabilities, and inventiveness based on our Italian background. This mix has worked well with our Italian clients, who choose Ibiscusmedia because of our perfect fusion of originality and precision." "We are fortunate to work on diverse projects with impor- tant clients. For example, we completed a video for the California Science Museum of Los Angeles, for the anniversary of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. In five days, the video has been seen by over 4 thou- sand people and referred to by Reuters and CNBC. We also made a documentary with JPL NASA of Pasadena, which details the collaboration between the US and Italy on the space mission," adds Valentina Martelli. In collaboration with the General Consulate of LA, the documentary was also screened at the Italian Embassy in Washington. Ibiscusmedia has also pro- duced a reality-TV sports show entitled "Around the Clock: Il Settebello alle Olimpiadi" with Sky Sports. Luca Severi reveals, "We are working on a short ani- mated film called Mila with director Angelini, made with parts in 2D and 3D. The story is about a girl from Trento who lives in Italy devastated by World War II." Mila has gained international attention, and this type of recog- nition is what Italy should aspire towards. Valentina Martelli con- cludes, "To make young people regain their trust, the Italian government should invest more effort in thinking about what is good for the community." Ibiscusmedia hopes to inspire Italy to modernize and compete on par with international theater and film standards. NICOLA ALFANO Valentina Martelli Luca Severi

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