L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 8 T he Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco recently welcomed Italian author Michele Cecchini who presented his acclaimed novel, "Per Il Bene Chi Ti Voglio" to a Bay Area audience. The novel, now in its fourth printing, speaks of the bittersweet experiences of the protagonis t, A ntonio Bevilacqua, as he emigrates from Lucca, Italy to S an Francisco. Antonio's journey explores the s earch for "his America". This year, 2016, w as Michele's second visit to San Francisco, the first being when he vis ited relatives in 1989. When L'Italo-Americano spoke with Michele during his recent visit, he was quick to say "Please don't be shy to correct my macaroni-grammar." This refers to "Italiese", a hybrid of English and Italian as spoken by some Italian immigrants to the United States. In San Francisco, this is often referred to as "North Beach Italian", still spoken in the City's original Italian quarter, Little Italy. What was the inspiration for and the idea behind your second novel? M y grandfather U mberto landed at Ellis Island in 1923 and he was one of those who ended up 'to pick and shovel'. My family members moved to San Francisco. They say there are much more people from Lucca in San Francisco than in Lucca itself. The novel is dedicated to this firs t generation of emigrants, to their courage, their resourcefulness and their chutzpah. Tell us about the novel's main character. The protagonist of my book, A ntonio Bevilacqua, is an immigrant but he departs from the us ual cliché of the immigrant. He moved to the United States not for economic reas ons but for artis tic reasons. He tries to succeed as an actor in the Off-Broadway theater circuit in San Francisco. I wanted to shy away from the cliché of the poor immigrant with a cardboard suitcase, of which so much has already been said and written. For example in the cinema, let's not think only of great pers onalities like Rodolfo Valentino, but also of the many humble and little- known laborers. One example is Vincent Pelliccione, from Abruzzo, who was the stunt man in many of Charlie Chaplin's masterpieces. Y ou d es crib e I talian immigran ts as b ein g in "limbo". Please explain. The firs t generation of Italians who emigrated were destined to remain in the middle, in a land that is a kind of limbo. S ome w ere able to integrate immediately, many were sent back while others were able to reconstruct the original cultural core overseas. My protagonist is isolated because he has to deal w ith A merica, the real America. He needs America and he pays the consequences, in terms of lack of acceptance and rejection. Let's think about the term "Dago" which was used by the A mericans to indicate Italians. It derives from Digger, or Dingo, or from "they go" or from "until the day goes ", because the Italians are hired only for a day, day by Parla Italiese, Please – Michele Cecchini's Newest Novel Explores the Italian Immigrant Experience Francis Ford Coppola's San Francisco Connection CATHERINE ACCARDI SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY day. Some immigrants remained in limbo, they are "no more" and at the same time "not yet". The hybridity of my character is evident from the name, Antonio Bevilacqua. In A merica he decides to be Tony Drinkwater (the trans lation of the name). The name change is a symbol, a sign of the effort to be integrated. Tell u s more ab ou t "Italiese". The Italiese language is one of the symbols of the "middle ground", of the "no man's land" in which they lived as the first generation of immigrants, who were no longer Italian and not even American. They are in a middle land, s o they s peak 'Italiese', an awkward mixture of Italian and English that someone defined "language of s urvival". They did not s ay "work", but "giobbo" (from job), not "s treet" but "s tritta" (street). At the end of the novel I put a small vocabulary 'Italiese- Italian'. I want to preserve this heritage which I think is very poetic becaus e it tells the des perate effort to become integrated. Why did you choose San Francisco as the setting for your novel? The A merican s ide of the book is set in San Francisco, described as a Mediterranean city. There is an undeniable relationship between Livorno and the U.S. historically, but also from the similarities that Livorno has with San Francisco: they are both located near an island that has a prison, they both have a port and (former) military bases, a funicular and cable car. "Per Il Bene Che Ti Voglio" has been described as the Italian- A merican s tory, a s tory that Michele has dedicated to the courage of our Italian immigrant pioneers as they dealt with the decades -old and s till quite current dilemma of immigration, integration and assimilation. I t has been over fifteen years since Francis Ford Coppola founded North Beach Citizens and sponsored the first Spring Dinner Celebration to raise money for San Francisco's homeless population. It began with Coppola cooking pasta for the community in the basement of Saints Peter and Paul Church in San Francisco's North Beach where the annual dinner is still held today. This year's dinner will be held on April 3, 2016. Participants will enjoy a lively night out with neighbors, com- munity leaders and notables fea- turing an auction, wine, local Italian cuisine by È Tutto Qua and music from the Ron Borelli Trio and DJ Dave Tutton. Tickets start at $175. Over 50% of North Beach Citizens' annual operating rev- enue is generated at this festive gathering of citizens who come together once a year to share a delicious meal and celebrate the gift of charitable giving in ser- vice to those who are homeless and disadvantaged. Event: North Beach Citizens' 15th Annual Spring Dinner Fundraiser Date & Time: April 3, 2016, 6:00 p.m. Location: Basement of Saints Peter and Paul Church, 666 Filbert Street, San Francisco Phone: 415-772-0918 Website: http://www. north- beachcitizens.org/events/ To purchase tickets go to https://northbeachcitizens.net- workforgood.com/events/89- north-beach-citizens-spring-din- ner-celebration-2016 Michele Cecchini autographs a book for Lawrence Ferlinghetti. photo courtesy of Catherine Accardi Francis Ford Coppola flanked by the chef and staff of È Tutto Qua from 2015 Spring Dinner. 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