TH
# 57 • APRIL 5 , 2015
# 57 •APRIL 5
Your family is from Sicily. Is
there something that makes
Sicily and Hawaii similar, because they are both islands?
Absolutely, we’re in the middle
of the Pacific Ocean! It’s literally
on the other side of the world,
it takes 23 hours of flying from
Hawaii, at least. I generally fly
from Honolulu to Tokyo, and
then from Tokyo I go to Rome.
Sometimes when I come back
I do another route and pass
through New York. The downside of this is that you cannot
spend with your family the time
you would like to the family. I
have a family in New York, but
it’s a long way from Hawaii, too
and I don’t see them as much
as I’d like. That’s ok, because
you do ok with your friends ...
but as an Italian American, you
don’t have the family to get together on Sunday, like many
Italian Americans still do ... so
things change.
My wife’s family is wonderful to
me and I love them. Besides,
I have a son who’s studying
at John Cabot University in
Rome, he’s getting his degree
just in a few days.
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I think there are some similarities. Sicily is much bigger than
Hawaii, and is more ancient in
terms of history and culture.
But the climate is similar, people are into food and music,
both have volcanos and of
course beautiful beaches, the
population is good looking
and also healthy looking ... yes,
definitively there are similarities with Sicily.
Is Made in Italy appreciated?
Are there sectors better than
others, fashion, cars, design,
food?
Let’s start by saying that is very
cool to be Italian these days.
I mean, I don’t want to sound
presumptuous in any way, but
it always happens to me to be
noticed because of course I
look different than the majority of the Hawaiians, who have
an Asian heritage ... and when
they know where I come from,
everybody always say “Oh,
you’re Italian! I love Italy, please tell me about Italy”.
We’re very proud that Ansaldo
Honolulu is designing and building the rail cars for the new
Honolulu Rail Transit Project.
Italian food is very popular here. We have a five stars
shopping center, very elegant:
all the big Italian fashion names are there. Italian design
is a must: when people wants
to be at the top, they look for
Italian design. We have a large
Fiat dealer: I have a Fiat 500!
Being Italian is very cool, not
only in Hawaii but in general in
USA. Actually, I think that happens in the entire world. The
Italian culture is getting more
known and appreciated in the
mainstream, especially thanks
to the food.
TH
2015
read more about #Italian Traditions
ITALIAN TRADITIONS:
EASTER IN ITALY
By www.italia.it
A visit to Italy during the Easter holidays is an
experience of a lifetime: from north to south,
cities and towns throughout the Peninsula are
celebrating during this time, with processions,
religious rites, holy representations, sagre or
food fairs, and folkloristic traditions that center
around the Passion of the Christ.
Holy Week marks several important events for
the Christian faith: the Last Supper, the Washing of the Disciples’ Feet, Jesus in the Garden
of Gethsemane, the kiss of Judas, the Calvary,
the death of Christ, Deposition, Burial and Resurrection.
ster lamb, and enjoy candy eggs and dove-shaped sweets. The egg, symbol of fertility, of life
and its renewal, is strongly linked to Easter and
the beginning of spring, the blooming of nature.
Easter celebrations throughout the Bel Paese
are many and diverse.
First off, in the north, Bormio (Sondrio) offers a
sort of atonement rite as part of its Easter tradition, welcoming spring by blessing five lambs
and holding races and contests among the city’s quarters.
On Maundy Thursday (on March 28th this year)
is the evening dedicated to the Eucharistic Feast, with the Sepulchre or Tomb visits that take
place in every parish (a reproduction of the
tomb of Christ), in remembrance of the Last
Supper.Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last SupperGood Friday, then, is the day for mourning and
sorrow, while the city streets are illuminated
with torches that procession along the Stations
of the Cross.
On Holy Saturday, at midnight, church bells announce the Resurrection – moment of great joy
that finally finds its culmination on Sunday. After
the long phase of Lent, the faithful eat their Ea-
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