L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2016 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 5 LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY A nn Potenza, President of F e d e r a t e d I t a l o - A m e - ricans of Southern Cali- fornia, has a clear and lucid vision of what the older genera- tions of Italian-Americans are currently lacking. That is, an up- to-date picture of today's Italy. Just to give you an example p e r t a i n i n g m y h o m e t o w n , R o m e i s n o l o n g e r t h e c i t y where everyone rides a vespa scooter and clothes are hung to dry on a string, stretched across one building to the opposite. T h a t r o m a n t i c i m a g e o f Rome was truthful between the 50's and 60's, when the box- o f f i c e h i t , R o m a n H o l i d a y , delighted millions of Americans. Today, that picture postcard is quickly fading away like the color of those bed sheets, left to dry under the sun. Getting to know Ann, I had the impression of someone who deeply cares about our Italian- American community. At the same time Potenza, despite being fully aware of Italy's current changes, betrays a relatable - as well as "hope- lessly" nostalgic - attachment to fading traditions, like Italian Bel C a n t o a n d h o m e m a d e f o o d , which were trademarks of the c o u n t r y , l e f t b y t h e o l d e r migrant generations. A l t h o u g h w i t h a h i n t o f melancholy and reluctance, Ann has recently embraced the lesson t h a t " e v e r y t h i n g n e e d s t o change, so everything can stay the same," which failed to be d i g e s t e d b y D o n F a b r i z i o Corbera, Prince of Salina (one of the Aeolian islands in Sicily), t h e p r o t a g o n i s t i n G i u s e p p e Tomasi di Lampedusa's best- selling novel, The Leopard. Indeed, despite our connec- tion evolving into virtual, we are still able to keep genuine and strong ties as a community. L'Italo-Americano welcomes these necessary measures – dic- tated by the relentless wheel of progress - towards building a n e t w o r k o f F e d e r a t e d I t a l o - Americans, primarily connected through the newest online and "social" channels. Please, introduce yourself. What's your cultural back- ground, also in terms of edu- cation? My name is Ann Potenza and I'm the President of Federated Italo-Americans of Southern California. My maternal grandparents hailed from Ischia and Naples ( b o t h i n I t a l i a n r e g i o n o f Campania), while my paternal o n e s c a m e f r o m P o t e n z a (Basilicata). I was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Las Vegas. T h e r e , I g r a d u a t e d w i t h a Bachelor's of Arts, majoring in P u b l i c R e l a t i o n s a n d Broadcasting Journalism, at the U n i v e r s i t y o f N e v a d a , L a s Vegas. U p o n m o v i n g t o L o s Angeles twenty-five years ago, for the last fifteen years, I've b e e n p a r t o f t h e I t a l i a n - American community in L.A. I first got involved, primarily t h r o u g h v o l u n t e e r i n g a t t h e " F e a s t o f S a n G e n n a r o " i n Hollywood. My commitment gradually grew and I became executive board member of Federated. For four years, I've been serving as president. Could you outline briefly the history of Federated Italo- A m e r i c a n s o f S o u t h e r n California? In 1947, a year after Italy became a Republic, different g r o u p s o f l o c a l I t a l i a n - Americans joined under this umbrella organization, founded by Louis J. Canepa. Originally, Federated aimed "to gather the strength of all Italian-American organizations and unify their efforts." T o d a y t h e r e a r e s o m a n y associations, that keeping all connected represents a chal- lenge. It's essential to have in mind, however, that ours is not a mega-club that governs the others. Our executive board is composed of leaders from the different entities. We strive to be as much representative of all the distinct voices as possible. We concentrate our efforts towards three focal dates on the calendar, Italian National Day ( a k a " R e p u b l i c D a y " ) , Columbus Day and the more r e c e n t l y e s t a b l i s h e d , I t a l i a n H e r i t a g e M o n t h ( t h a t i s , October). Under the spur of Councilman Joe Buscaino, and o t h e r m e m b e r s o f t h e l o c a l institutions, Federated has been appointed as "spearhead" in r a i s i n g a w a r e n e s s a b o u t October's celebrations. Part of our official role is to welcome the Consul General of Italy, at the beginning of its mandate, and to bid farewell at the end. Our ultimate goal is to build an inclusive community, which shares a common Italian her- itage. W h a t a r e y o u r d a i l y r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s a n d c h a l - lenges, as head of the organi- zation? W e u s e d t o m e e t o n c e a month at "Casa Italiana" (St. P e t e r ' s C h u r c h h a l l ) , i n Downtown L.A. Currently, I oversee the Vice President of Republic Day and the VP of Columbus Day in the organizations of the galas and the celebrations. Last year, since the members of the various organization had a hard time getting together, I've been expanding the virtual connection through our website and our social media presence. T h e c o r e o f o u r w e b s i t e , which is undergoing a substan- VALERIO VIALE Federated Italo-Americans of California President Ann Potenza Ann Potenza: Building a Virtual "Little Italy" in LA tial update, is the calendar sec- tion, where all the distinct orga- nizations are able to post their events and regular activities. The main challenge is to let people outside of our communi- ty know about our existence. Because there is no a physical "Little Italy" in L.A., we have to build a virtual one. We have also to face a radi- cal shift within clubs and soci- eties, which formed in the '50s and '60s, with a regional con- nection. In fact, as their mem- bers have grown older and there is no a real generation turnover, those are now fading out. While some older clubs are losing members, others, newly f o r m e d , l i k e C o m m i s s i o n e Giovani, have very different needs compared to the tradition- al ones. Lastly, we need to find ways of involving the newest genera- tions, which may not be one h u n d r e d p e r c e n t I t a l i a n - American, but they're still will- ing to connect with their roots. T e l l u s m o r e a b o u t Commissione Giovani and the initiatives underway to include t h e n e w e s t g e n e r a t i o n s o f expatriates. In this regard, music gives us a perfect example of the genera- tional gap. F o r i n s t a n c e , m o s t o f t h e attendees at the Feast of San Gennaro identify with the oper- a t i c m u s i c a n d f i g u r e s l i k e Andrea Bocelli. Another portion of the audience loves Italian- A m e r i c a n m u s i c f r o m t h e ' 5 0 s a n d ' 6 0 s , i n p a r t i c u l a r s o n g s b y F r a n k S i n a t r a a n d Dean Martin. The newest generations listen to a different type of music, either rock bands, DJs, or pop singers, who come from Italy, but struggle to catch on in the US. Sara Scorcia, a young lady w o r k i n g w i t h C o m m i s s i o n e Giovani, introduced me to musi- cians and singers popular among young people. I made the exper- iment to invite some of these performers to the Feast of San Gennaro, but the audience had a hard time to see those as Italian artists. We, as Italian-Americans, make often the mistake to think as if Italian culture has been kept frozen, without evolution and transformation. Commissione Giovani might be the perfect vehicle to fill in this cultural gap and present an "updated" version of Italy to the US. How do you see Federated in five years from now? M y g o a l i s t o e x p a n d Federated as an interstate net- work, so that people no matter where they live, are able to join local Italian-American organiza- tions. We are experiencing a transi- tioning phase, in which people need to adjust to a bigger scale, virtual form of communication. My vision of how Federated might become is somewhat sim- i l a r t o t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s o f America, that is many strong, individual groups, all unique in identity, yet all united under a common umbrella for a greater good. Through social media, we p e r p e t u a t e o u r c u l t u r e a n d remind everyone of the histori- cal significance of the National I t a l i a n D a y , a s w e l l a s Columbus Day and the Italian Heritage Month. A source of controversy has a l w a y s b e e n a n d s t i l l i s Columbus Day. The point of v i e w o f N a t i v e A m e r i c a n s c l a s h e s w i t h t h e I t a l i a n - A m e r i c a n , o r e v e n t h e o t h e r immigrants' one. A c o u p l e o f y e a r s a g o , a councilmember wanted to abol- ish this celebration. We, as a community, joined forces and petitioned against that. Finally, he dropped the decree, realizing how our group is very much alive. Right now another council- man in Los Angeles wants to r e p l a c e C o l u m b u s D a y w i t h Indigenous Peoples Day and, a g a i n , u n i t e d w e s t a n d u p against this unfair disposition. My last point on the agenda is to schedule an annual, day- long symposium, in which all of us get together and can discuss our current state of affairs. G i v e n t h a t y o u r f i r s t cousin, Jimmy Kimmel, has reached a wide popularity, w h y n o t e m p l o y h i m a s a spokesperson for the benefit of our community? Jimmy was the one who, in 2002, kicked off the Feast of San Gennaro, together with a couple of colleagues. We all come from New York, where the Feast is a "big thing." Jimmy loves to cook and, literally, used to throw parties in his backyard with Italian food and wine. From these humble origins, the Feast in Hollywood grew up and now features food booths, music, and traditional Italian games, like bocce. Kimmel was the host of the celebration for twelve years and contributed enormously to pub- licize the event. Now that Jimmy's responsi- bilities, as comedian and TV host, have turned more demand- ing, he is not able to be physi- cally present at the Feast.

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