Italian American Girl

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Rick Steves: Florence, Italy: Michelangelo's David

Monday, September 5, 2011

Raising Second Generation Italian American Children in the USA

A guest post this week from Italian American Girl's sister, Maria.....

As a first generation Italian American raising my children I feel so honored to share so many special traditions and cultural knowledge with them. Growing up in a first generation household I learned the importance of art, history, cooking, traveling and most importantly- family. As I became a mother myself it never was a question of passing on all the beautiful and intense things I learned growing up.

I spoke Italian with both my children from birth instilling the gift of a second language and the flexibility to learn more than one language by the age of two. My children travel yearly to spend their summer on the breathtaking southern Italian beaches of the Mediterranean, indulging in the local cuisine, life style and building life-long relationships with all my relatives. The beauty is that it is all very normal to them to see a diverse lifestyle than here in the states and become educated on the vast culture Italians have shared with the world.

Cooking is an integral part of my children being raised Italian American, we follow traditions year round and indigenous recipes and tastes are always on our menu, not to mention the luxury of home-made, healthy foods, which are delicious! The kitchen is our meeting place and all family meetings are conducted around the table, not to mention my children appreciate wonderful baked goods we make regularly to pair up with our “coffee,’ which is a staple in our home.

My children are exposed to organic gardening by my father daily and appreciate the love and dedication it takes to nurture a delicious fruit or vegetable, they share the experience of loving the earth and nature with their Nonno and Nonna.

But for us the most important part is family, we support each other through thick and thin, we eat together, we cry together, we laugh and love together. We never think twice to help each other out if one of us needs a hand, my children are taught to share and give love unconditionally, which comes naturally because we lead by example showering them with love and support.

I am so proud to share all these wonderful things with my children and know that it will have a positive impact on how they interact in the world as adults.

-Maria

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Popular Italian Rock Star - Zucchero Set To Debut North American Tour

(New York, NY) -- Zucchero ("Sugar") is Italy's most beloved rock star and one of the top Italian artists worldwide, having sold 40 million records over three decades. As a singer-songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist, Zucchero has collaborated with the royalty of international rock, blues, R&B, jazz and classical music – from Bono, Sting and Eric Clapton to Miles Davis, John Lee Hooker and Solomon Burke to Luciano Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli. On October 4, 2011, Decca Records releases the North American edition of Zucchero's Chocabeck, a recording that is simultaneously a concept album about his roots in traditional village life and a milestone in his exceptional international career. Chocabeck – co-produced with Don Was (the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan) and Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen) – includes English lyrics by Bono, Iggy Pop and Roland Orzabal of Tears for Fears. Chocabeck will also be released as an all-Italian, stand-alone album on October 4th.

Zucchero's autumn/winter tour on behalf of Chocabeck includes a handful of dates in select cities across North America including Toronto, Montreal, Detroit, Chicago, New York and Boston to name a few (for a complete list see below). Asked to describe Zucchero, his longstanding collaborator Bono said: "My friend Zucchero has had Italy singing and dancing for years. . . His boyish smile makes him the most charming man in Italy, that smile that just runs all over his face. But the voice is the sound of aged oak, like an old, oak-aged whisky. . ."

I think it's pretty exciting to have one of Italy's famous Italian popular rock artists here in the states.. I say rock, but what makes Zucchero so unique is the way he can rock out and infuse a blues vibe. One of the greats.

Catch one of Zucchero's concert here in the USA and Canada:

ZUCCHERO FALL 2011 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR:

Friday, 10/14 St. Catherines, ON Brock Center For The Arts
Saturday, 10/15 Toronto, ON Massey Hall
Sunday, 10/16 Montreal, PQ St. Denis Theatre
Tuesday, 10/18 Ottawa, ON Centre Point Theatre
Thursday, 10/20 Edwardsville, IL Southern Illinois University
Saturday, 10/22 Chicago, IL Park West
Sunday, 10/23 Cleveland, OH Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Tuesday, 10/24 New York, NY Beacon Theatre
Thursday, 10/27 Cranston, RI RI PAC
Friday, 10/28 Collingswood, NJ Scottish Rite
Saturday, 10/29 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center

For more information and tickets:
http://www.zucchero.it/eng
http://www.deccarecords.com

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Photo of the Day: Reggio Calabria, Italy

Reggio Calabria, Italy -- a great photo from the hill top on the country side closest to the beach. With all extreme weather we are experiencing here on the East Coast in the United States, this image can let you visualize calm and beauty.

@Copyright ItalianAmericanGirl.com 2011 - Italian American Girl -- You must ask permission to reuse this and all images on the IAG site. Grazie.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Podcast Interview On 'Tandem With The Random' Show With Italian American Girl -

I'm sharing this great interview I did with a fellow journalist; Brian Kelley founder of "Tandem with the Random" podcast show. Brian and I went to Rider University and shared many communication classes together. Brian contacted me via Twitter and he informed me that he was following me on Twitter and asked if I remembered him? I said, "Of course!" -- So from there, we coordinated a podcast interview focusing on cultural blogging and the history and launch of the Italian American Girl site. Thank you Brian!

Listen to this amazing interview here:

http://tandem.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/tandem-with-the-random-014-08-22-2011/#comment-485

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Il Divo - Hallelujah (Alelujah)

Saturday, August 20, 2011

What You Don't Understand About The Italian American Family..

Today is one of those days where I have to express what I'm feeling when it comes to family. Many people or maybe I should say non-Italians might not understand the bond or understand why we do certain things or sacrifice a lot of our selves for our family members.

I grew up with the belief that you always help or support your family. In my family we aren't one of these units that each family member lives across the country or in another country, but rather we live close in proximity and at times are sometimes up each other's a@@. I admit --I do complain that in my family we lack boundries, but really do boundries exist in Italian families? For example, if I'm in my sister's neighborhood, nine times out of ten I don't call before I show up, I just knock on her door and she opens it. Then we have coffee, even if she was busy.

Lately, more than one of my family members have been going through some tough times, and I have to say rather than just going about my business, we all come together and form a strong support system for each other. If you ask anyone outside of my family, they might say you should each do your own thing and not worry about what the other is doing, unfortunately (and I say this sarcastically) that does not exist.

I love my family, and no matter what -- we are here for each other, a strong support system on all ends. No outside influences can throw us off track from the real love and support we give each other. I know this to be true of our Italian family, perhaps it may exist with other cultural families as well, but I know for certain this is our Italian cultural and traditional belief. - family is everything.