L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano Romina Car uana presents her debut novel The Dance of Souls, reaffirming her Sicilian identity From Sicily to Los Angeles, Italian actress Romina Caruana (Pots&Lids, Don Matteo, Turbo) is writing a new page of both her career and personal life experi- ence. The English version of her first book The Dance of Souls has been recently published by Mimi Tales Productions, and she is already working on a new amusing novel about the rela- tions hip betw een men and women, because "fact is stranger than fiction." At the same time, she is also playing the female lead in the American production The Italian, a movie by Michel Andre Constantin, filmed at the Joshua Tree National Park. You have so many interest- ing projects under way. Let's talk about The Dance of Souls, which has been presented on s everal occas ion s lik e th e Italian Opera Festival at Soka University Performing Arts Center and the book signing at Italian Tramer Art Lounge. It's having a great success, and this makes me very proud. I used to look at my life as a puz- zle whose pieces still needed to be put together, so that I could understand myself better. I've always liked to write, it's part of my education as an actress when I w ork on a character. Instinctively, I put my story on THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014 www.italoamericano.com 4 paper in just one month, without thinking of the consequences. Then I realized that it could be an interesting reading for other people who share similar experi- ences and struggle to get through them. So I approached a few publishing houses in Italy and, after a little makeover for the sake of fiction, it was published by CIESSE in 2012. The English translation is receiving huge attention as well, and it will become a film. Based on your personal his- tory, the book deals with a dif- ficult topic: autism. What is the message that you wanted to convey? S omebody defined T he A group of smart, beautiful, and socially active women, the D.I.V.E. of Los Angeles invited a g u e s t o f h o n o r t o t h e i r N o v e m b e r m e e t i n g : C o n s u l General of Italy Antonio Verde. His mandate in the U.S. has just begun, and all of the most influential associations of the local Italian-American commu- nity are eager to know him bet- ter. The extremely pleasant gath- ering took place on November 17, hosted by Marisa Antonini a n d o r g a n i z e d b y E l i s a b e t t a Ciardullo – who also coordinat- ed the catering -, Grazia Balini, Paola De Mari, Daniela Guerra, and Sisi Catalino. D . I . V . E . p r e s i d e n t L u c i a Peretti presented the new mem- bers and introduced the associa- t i o n s ' h i s t o r y , m i s s i o n , a n d future program of activities. As she reminded, the D.I.V.E. ini- t i a t i v e w a s s t a r t e d i n Washington DC in 2001 and replicated in L.A. since 2009. Its main objective is to help n e w c o m e r s i n t e g r a t e i n t h e local community by providing a network of female friends who share the same culture and lan- guage, as well as a deep knowl- edge of the American society. As of today, in Los Angeles there are over 100 members of t h e D . I . V . E . , w h o s e b a c k - grounds range from business to science and arts. Since its very foundation, the association has established excellent relation- s h i p s w i t h t h e l o c a l I t a l i a n SILVIA SIMONETTI Dance of Souls as a sort of "last will," and it actually is a summa- ry of all the things that I needed to say to my family, even if they wouldn't listen. In the beginning, I was worried about their reac- tion, fearing that they might be offended. They congratulated with me instead, and that was a turning point. I learned that my authoritarian father was actually the one who motivated me, and that my autistic brother was the most "normal" of the family members with his contagious enthusiasm and love for life. Y et autis m is n't the main focus of the novel, which rather narrates a girl's journey from childhood to adulthood through- out the vicissitudes of her dys- functional family. No matter how far we run, we can never escape our past, and we can't grow up as human beings if we don't face it. This is something extremely common, especially among those who left their home country, and allows the readers to identify themselves with the protagonis t. A s Lev Tols toy wrote in Anna Karenina, "Happy families are all alike. Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Was coming to L.A. your way of escaping? And how do you like it here? Yes, it was. First I moved from Sicily to Rome, and then Italy started to feel constraining in terms of career opportunities, as I didn't want to compromise. From the book I wrote a screen- play, with the aim of making a movie out of my studies on the subject, but nobody seemed to know what autism was when I tried to introduce it. Calling all my decisions into question, I moved to L.A. and the city wel- comed me very well, offering opportunities that give me new s trength every day, like the movie that I'm currently shoot- ing. And again, the farther I go, the closer I get to my origins: for years I've tried to conceal my accent, now I'm playing the role of a Sicilian woman who speaks the dialect in a few scenes of the film. In regards to the local Italian community, my relationship with it is controversial: on the one hand, I feel part of it as my fami- ly here; on the other hand, I know that I need to detach myself from it in order to move forward. Leaving Italy, one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and moving here to fulfill our dreams alw ays requires a big sacrifice. This is what makes all of us special. Romina Caruana Actress and writer Romina Caruana and composer Andrea Morricone The D.I.V.E. of Los Angeles welcomed Consul General Antonio Verde Institutions, and in particular with the Consulate General. Accompanied by Elisabetta Mauri, Consul General Antonio Verde expressed his apprecia- t i o n a n d g r a t e f u l n e s s t o h i s hostesses for such a warm wel- come. A long-time supporter of gender equality within the pub- lic administration, he praised the group's focus on communi- ty rather than individual values and its commitment to preserv- ing the Italian heritage. Asked about previous expe- riences abroad in his 25-year career with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Consul General mentioned his man- d a t e s i n T o k y o , M o s c o w , Sidney, and Strasbourg. He also worked at the Rome headquar- ters in different sectors, such as cooperation for development, the environment, and energy. Los Angeles represents for him a n e w e x c i t i n g c h a l l e n g e t o i m p r o v e t h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n between the Institutions and the community. B e f o r e e n j o y i n g t h e d e l i - cious dinner, all of the attend- ing members of the D.I.V.E. had the opportunity to shake hands, share thoughts, and take a picture with Consul General Antonio Verde. Lucia Peretti, Consul General Antonio Verde, and Marisa Antonini SILVIA SIMONETTI

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