th
# 74 •nECEMBER 14 , 2015
co and no Italian Cultural
Centers. This is something
that I’ve dreamed of and
worked toward for many
years – a central gathering place with facilities to
show films, conduct meetings, hold events. Again,
the difficulty arises from
the huge distances between towns and cities.
One of the most important events regarding our
country in your state is the
annual NM Italian Film &
Culture Festival...
on family names like Menicucci and Rinaldi. In fact,
countless members of the
Rinaldi family have, for generations, served the town
of Bernalillo and Sandoval
County as County Commissioners, Town Administrators, Superintendent
of Schools and District
Court Program Coordinators – establishing a Rinaldi Italian family tradition!
44 | WE THE ITALIANS
www.wetheitalians.com
Concerning places of importance to our Italian
communities, they are
spread far and wide like
the Italian communities
themselves. They exist as
buildings that house Italian American clubs, or
bocce courts in public
parks where Italians, and
others, gather to play.
There are currently no
Little Italies in New Mexi-
The NM Italian Film and
Culture festival will celebrate its 9th year in 2016.
It’s a multi-day fundraising
benefit for the University
of New Mexico Children’s
Hospital. As such, it’s a
meaningful way for Italians and lovers of all things Italian to give back to
the state while exploring
and celebrating Italian
cinema and culture. The
festival is the largest, longest running Italian event
in the state, always much-anticipated and extremely popular. 2015 was a
record year for the festival
in both attendance and its
donation to the hospital –
now at a cumulative total