Introducing our New Italian American Girl T-Shirt With Our New Design!

I'm really excited to announce we just updated our site and also redesigned our new Italian American Girl T-Shirts to match our new logo!  I absolutely love the design and could not be happier with the quality! You can purchase the T-Shirts here:

http://www.italianamericangirl.com/p/italian-american-girl-t-shirts.html




Thank you everyone for your support!

Baci- xoxo 
~Margaret Tweet

Italian American Girl Goes To Rider University - All about Media & Writing

It's been almost 4 years since I launched the Italian American Girl site and since then amazing things have come from this labor of love.  I've been asked to participate in national commercials, been invited to celebrity events, asked to guest write for other amazing influential websites and most importantly guest speak at my Alma mater, Rider University.  Of all the events, this is one of my most favorite things to do.  To share what I know about something I love so much, which is producing, writing, social media and mainstream media.  Not to mention, I love my college and any opportunity to go back and actually teach, a serious dream come true.  I connected with Professor Kathy Magrino (a fellow Italian American Girl ) on social media one day when she posted an interactive question on Twitter for her class at Rider; it caught my attention and I wrote her back saying 'whatever I learned at Rider, has been applied to my real life career in so many ways..tell your students to pay attention..it will all matter once you get  a job in the work force...."  She immediately responded back and so we began an interactive engaged conversation on Twitter where then Kathy invited me to come speak about the Italian American Girl site and my experiences with my career.   The main focus of my talking points are to discuss the real elements that go into producing this site.  Writing is extremely important and you really have to be in the mood to write from experience and make it compelling enough so your readers don't get turned off.   What I think the students were most surprised about is that SPELLING AND GRAMMAR count.  When I went to college ( oh God I sound old) we were just getting savvy with Spell Check, now if you publish something with a mistake, it's really your own fault.. of which I have made plenty of those, but reading your work out loud will always help and re-reading is also important.

At Rider University

The biggest take away to writing is actually writing about what interests you, your passion.  My site, Italian American Girl is my passion, my goals are combined in the production of the entire site - video, writing, photos, social media these are the elements that help create the success of my site. 

Sometimes when you are caught up in your career, the daily grind, and deadlines you sometimes forget the joys of what make you tick and for me it's the success of this site- the media elements.  Being a guest speaker with such bright students who have such huge dreams recharges me and inspires me to want to do more with my own site and including my career. 


An amazing experience, and I always look forward to sharing my knowledge with such wonderful students and a great professor! Thank you Rider University! Tweet

Passione - A Film By Italian American Director & Actor John Turturro

John Turturro directs the sequence for 'Don Raffe'.

'Passione' a film by Italian American actor and director John Turturro, an amazingly 'passionate' documentary on the regional history of Neapolitan music.  If you've ever been to Italy you know that every region has it's own dialect, music, dance, food, etc.. so when you really dig down to the origins and history of the musical evolution you can really be left wondering --how can so many cultural influences be present in Italian regional music?  As an American you might say it's Italian music--but as you delve further into the film you meet other home grown artists, who tell their stories how Neapolitan music influenced their particular styles, such as famous Italian Neapolitan musician James Senese. Life and love are truly raw in Italy.. there is almost no filter to what people feel there-- so the title, 'Passione' is a great word for this film because it really describes the raw passion in Neapolitan music.  

As many of you know, I am Calabrese, but I love Neapolitan music. There is something so beautiful and deep in how these musicians deliver their songs that you want to hear more. Naples is unique, it has a long history of war, crime, and economic hardship, but like this famous quote -- "Vedi Napoli e poi muori!  (See Naples and then die)  --Really explains that Naples is so full of beauty that there is nothing else after that...  -- A little dramatic but true for many reasons. ) Throughout the film, John Turturro narrates and then participates in different musical scenes, which I found to be incredibly wonderful - not only did it show his diverse talents, but also gave the film a sense of raw musicality.

Overall, a fantastic film directed by Italian American actor John Turturro, you have to watch it for yourself and it's definitely an educational film even if your origins are not from Naples. Italy is one big history book, Naples is a very important chapter. This film was well done and I was left feeling that I learned more about Naples it's people, music and regional culture. 

Visit John Turturro's 'Passione' site for more information and how to order the film on iTunes, Amazon, etc..
http://www.passionefilm.com









 

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The Italian Culture of Coffee - Conversation, Family and Love

Enjoying a cup of Lavazza espresso with my family --made with my new Philips Saeco Espresso Machine

What is it about espresso and Italian families?  The one food element in an Italian family that often brings us together and gives us a sense of comfort at family dinners, occasions and most events.   Since I was little, growing up in our Italian household --I always thought coffee was normal where even kids could drink it.  I remember my father even putting a little bit of coffee in my bottle as a baby. Granted I may have been a hyper baby, but ask any Italian and they say they put a little coffee in the latte.    As I got older,  you realize that having a cup of espresso is really a lifestyle.  There is style, etiquette and a lot of emotion that goes into espresso.  Often when we would visit my family in Italy over the summers, I remember my Uncle Franky taking such pride in boiling the espresso, waiting, stirring the sugar and then serving it right away so it wouldn't lose it's savory taste or heat.    Not only did making espresso at home become such an important element in our family, but it also signified a time for family to gather, talk,  digest and really slow down to enjoy the moment.  You think -- 'Really does espresso do all that? I say, yes... if you go to Italy and someone invites you for an espresso,  you better accept!  If you deny someones invitation for an espresso at home or at an espresso bar you're basically saying 'I don't want to invest in that slow down or in conversation or time with you.' -(Yes --That is the translation--no, not really literally but Italians can get dramatic..)  I laugh as I write this, because to someone who doesn't know or understand the Italian culture you could say, wow Italians take their espresso as serious business.  I confirm that! 

Recently, I received a Philips Saeco Syntia Espresso Machine along with Lavazza coffee beans from the awesome teams at both companies.   I have to be honest with you,  I've never made espresso in a machine like this, espresso was always made in the old school pot called a 'bialetti.' The only time you would see an espresso machine would be if I went to an Italian coffee bar.  

My first time experience with making the espresso in this machine was beyond any appliance experience, the machine is so easy to use, it tells you exactly what to do, what you need and it respects the process of making espresso so much, that you end up respecting the machine.. it sounds silly, but I honestly want to spend a lot of time now really perfecting and make variations on my espresso.  

I was unsure how I was going to make the espresso,  let's be honest, when I make espresso I'm usually in company-- and by company I mean by my loud, overly involved family. So I wanted to wait when I knew I could share my espresso first time experience with my family.  I'm not kidding.   In setting the machine up I had my mother and father in on it too, my mother really loved looking at all the intricate details of the machine and was so impressed with the taste and 'crema' of the espresso. 

The quality and taste of the espresso was beyond my expectations and my family's.  Let's be honest as Italians we are very critical of food and especially the holy espresso. My sister, Maria was so in love with her cup that she asked if she could take my espresso machine home with her.. of which I said no, but she can come over when she wants.  My brother Santo, wanted to try the cappuccino variation and asked me "Marg, what do we need, what kind of milk should we go buy so it comes out perfect?" I mean this Philips Saeco espresso machine turned my family into a competitive bunch of baristas -- of which I have to laugh.. my family is a sit-com in itself.   So, I had to fight everyone off not to take my machine home with them, now they're begging to use it or for example my brother is moving into a new home soon and gently hinted "you know Marg, that would make a nice house-warming gift.."  I told him .."Sure Santo..." --yeah right.. you're not touching my machine." 

So what turned out to be a first time experience using my Philips Saeco Espresso Machine, turned into a night of conversation, family and lottttssss of love.  I love my new machine, the coffee beans from Lavazza were also as my mother says, "speciale"-- the brand Lavazza is something we grew up using our whole lives, so when I told my family I have Lavazza beans to use in the machine, they all immediately nodded with approval, because any Italian knows and uses Lavazza coffee.   Lavazza is also history to me -it's a familiar staple in the Italian family.  Overall, if you're going to invest in a way of etiquette for espresso making the Philips Saeco 'Espresso Perfetto' machine will fulfill your needs and supersede your expectations.  Grazie a Philips Saeco e Lavazza! 

To learn more about the Philips Saeco machine visit:

http://www.saeco.philips.com/

To learn more about Lavazza:

http://www.lavazza.com

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JOVANOTTI, ITALIAN ARTIST, TO TOUR THE U.S - Fall Dates Announced!

Culminating a lifelong love affair with America, Jovanotti (Lorenzo Cherubini) is now engaging professionally with the U.S. as never before. ATO Records is determined to introduce American audiences to him with today's release of Italia 1988-2012, a career retrospective including four new tracks.

In October, the Tuscan artist, who has sold over five million albums in his native Italy, will tour this country, performing in sizable venues nationwide. Please see below for an itinerary including the fall tour and shows this month in San Francisco (at the Outside Lands Music Festival), Los Angeles (an in-store performance and CD signing at the legendary Amoeba Music in Hollywood), Vancouver, Seattle and Portland, OR.

Italia 1988-2012 is the artist's first physical album of studio recordings to be released in the U.S. In fact, very little of the material has been released here in any format. The album has garnered pre-release acclaim from The New York Times http://nyti.ms/N60i3e , NPR, The New York Daily News and others.

Jovanotti Summer U.S. Dates

August 16 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
August 18 Seattle, WA Neptune Theatre
August 19 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater

Jovanotti Fall U.S. Tour Announced

October 1 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
October 2 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero
October 5 Boston, MA Royale
October 6 New York, NY Terminal 5
October 8 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
October 9 Orlando, FL House of Blues
October 10 Miami, FL The Fillmore Miami Beach
October 12 Austin, TX ACL Music Festival
October 14 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater
October 15 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
October 17 Chicago, IL The Vic Theatre
October 18 Detroit, MI Saint Andrew's Hall

See you there!

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Italian American Grandchildren Understanding Their Culture

Anthony & Gianna

Yesterday, my nieces and nephew were eager to help my mother collect the ripe tomatoes off the plants my parents had growing separate from the garden. My mother had done it earlier and the kids went crazy, asking 'Nonna, why did you do that without us?' She had to think quick and tell them OK, we have the other plants you can collect from -- she saved the day otherwise there was going to be trouble. As I stood there watching and laughing at their enthusiasm, it made me so proud. They listen to every word my mother says, on how and which tomatoes to pick, the kids understand that growing your own garden is second nature and they know Nonna makes the most amazing tomato salad with the tomatoes and basil fresh from the garden. Sometimes, I think will my nieces and nephew have the same passions as Italian Americans like my siblings and I do? Today it's harder than ever to raise kids to know or even understand their background. We're so saturated with technology and lack of culture in suburbs or maybe even in the cities - there is an disengagement factor that happens and it's not on purpose. My nieces and nephews get their education straight from Nonna and Nonno, which I think is amazing. They know they're Italian American and they know my parents came from Italy. They understand the struggle and learn more about our traditions as they get older and become more aware of their identities. I'm so happy the kids get this pure exposure to their culture. Growing up Italian American can not be compared to anything else. Tweet

Digital Diary - Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy - 7 Days, 7 Artists, 7 Videos...

I was contacted by one of the producers of the Digital Diary series when they first produced the first video in Basilica, since then they've produced a newer one in Friuli Venezia Giulia - it's by far one of the most interesting takes on showcasing Italy and it's amazing regions. They have 7 artists, (producers & camera people) travel within 7 days of their designated project and shoot their 7 videos, which then becomes the digital diary masterpiece. Here's a bit of their explanation on what they do:

'7 Artists. 7 Days. 7 Videos.
We’ve imported some of the most creative minds around to work on our Digital Diary of Italy. We’ve got young photographers, video makers, animators on the project to give us their impression of Italy.
Totally subjective. Undemocratic. Creative."

Learn more here: http://www.cantforget.it/artists

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