Panoram Italia Vol. 1 No. 1

T H E C O M M U N I T Y Q U A R T E R LY M A G A Z I N E T H AT I S M A I L E D T O E V E RY I TA L I A N H O M E

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Publisher’s Note

Nota dell’editore

It is with great pleasure and pride that I bring to you our new publication, Panoramitalia Quarterly.

Inspired by Panoramitalia, the yearly coffee table magazine that most of you are familiar with, this new publication comes with a different look and a very different mission.

While taking advantage of the reputation of our yearly publication, Panoramitalia Quarterly aspires to become the ultimate method of communication for the Quebec Italian community. Written in English, French and Italian, Panoramitalia Quarterly’s format is simple and to the point.

Firstly, we will bring important community issues to light with the hope of creating fruitful discussions. Secondly, we will cover as many local events as possible (complete with pictures and highlights of these events) so that we may foster a stronger sense of community. Thirdly, we will write cultural and life style articles aimed at celebrating our wonderful Quebec-Italian culture. And finally, we will introduce you to young, up-and-coming members of our dynamic community.

In order to accomplish our goals, we have decided to mail this community magazine, free of charge, to the 50,000 Italian households and 5,500 businesses owned or managed by Italians that make up our community in the greater Montreal area. The magazine will be mailed every three months and possibly more frequently as we gain more support. Our mailing list consists of all the Italians listed in the white pages. If you know of someone that did not receive the magazine at home, please send us their coordinates and we will make sure to add them to our list for future issues.

Since this initiative is purely supported by advertising revenue, we encourage businesses that rely upon our community for their livelihood as well as those that want to reach out, to purchase an ad. Panoramitalia Quarterly is the only vehicle of its kind to access the entire Italian community and as such we have created an exciting and unique opportunity for businesses that historically have had difficulty making inroads.

Circulated entirely by Canada Post, this magazine aims to strengthen communication links for our many associations and institutions. These organizations hold many, many events during the course of the year but often are disappointed by poor attendance and participation. The most common cause is that people simply were not informed of the event. Panoramitalia Quarterly aims to change this fact. An example, with which most can identify, is our annual native village association party. This event is becoming a struggle for most to organize simply because we can’t seem to find the extended families. Panoramitalia Quarterly will not only announce these events but will also cover them so that we may give our younger generation the desire and incentive to participate in future events.

Panoramitalia Quarterly hopes to become the magazine for Montreal’s Italian community and as such we welcome all suggestions and ideas for future issues.

È con grande piacere ed orgoglio che vi presento la nostra nuova pubblicazione, Panoramitalia Trimestrale. Ispirata da Panoramitalia, la rivista patinata annuale nota alla maggior parte di voi, questa nuova pubblicazione si propone in veste rinnovata e con una missione del tutto differente. Pur avvalendosi della fama di cui gode la nostra rivista annuale, Panoramitalia Trimestrale vuole diventare il più importante strumento di comunicazione per la comunità italiana del Quebec. Pubblicata in inglese, francese e italiano, Panoramitalia Trimestrale presenterà un formato semplice e diretto. Innanzitutto, daremo risalto ad importanti questioni che interessano la comunità, nella speranza di dare adito ad utili dibattiti.

Secondariamente, cercheremo di dare spazio a quanti più eventi locali possibili (corredando i testi di immagini e illustrando i punti salienti di tali eventi), nell'intento di promuovere un senso di comunità sempre più forte. In terzo luogo, ci impegneremo a scrivere articoli a sfondo culturale e di lifestyle, al fine di celebrare la nostra meravigliosa cultura italiana nel Quebec. Infine, vi presenteremo giovani membri emergenti della nostra dinamica comunità.

Per favorire il raggiungimento dei nostri obiettivi, abbiamo deciso di inviare gratuitamente questa rivista alle 50.000 famiglie italiane e alle 5.500 attività possedute o gestite da italiani che formano la nostra comunità nella vasta area di Montreal. La rivista verrà spedita ogni tre mesi; ci auguriamo tuttavia di poter aumentare la frequenza di invio qualora riuscissimo ad ottenere maggiore supporto. La nostra mailing list include tutti gli italiani i cui recapiti sono presenti sulle pagine bianche. Se conoscete qualcuno che non ha ricevuto a casa la rivista, vi preghiamo di farci avere le sue coordinate affinché possiamo aggiungerlo alla lista e fargli pervenire le edizioni future.

Dal momento che questa iniziativa è finanziata esclusivamente tramite introiti pubblicitari, incoraggiamo a contribuire le aziende per cui la nostra comunità costituisce una fonte di reddito, così come tutti colori che desiderano offrire aiuto, acquistare o fare pubblicità. Panoramitalia Trimestrale è l’unico strumento di questo tipo in grado di raggiungere l’intera comunità italiana, motivo per cui riteniamo di aver creato un’opportunità tanto interessante quanto unica per le aziende che in passato hanno incontrato difficoltà nell’imporsi in modo diretto e incisivo.

Questa rivista, che verrà diffusa interamente per opera di Canada Post, si prefigge di potenziare i canali di comunicazione per le numerose associazioni ed istituzioni che operano nella nostra regione. Queste organizzazioni promuovono moltissimi eventi nel corso dell’anno, ma spesso rimangono deluse a causa della scarsa affluenza e partecipazione. Nella maggior parte dei casi, questo avviene solo perché la gente non è stata informata dell’evento. Panoramitalia Trimestrale vuole invertire questa tendenza. Un esempio in cui sicuramente molti lettori si ritroveranno è la nostra festa annuale dell’associazione paesana. L’organizzazione dell’evento sta diventando per molti sempre più ardua, e questo solo perché non riusciamo a raggiungere le famiglie estese. Panoramitalia Trimestrale non si limiterà soltanto ad annunciare anticipatamente questi eventi, ma li presenterà in modo esaustivo nell’intento di infondere nei nostri giovani il desiderio di prendervi parte con entusiasmo.

Panoramitalia Trimestrale auspica di poter diventare “la” rivista della comunità italiana di Montreal, saremo quindi lieti di accogliere qualsiasi suggerimento o idea da parte vostra per le edizioni future.

I hope you enjoy this first issue.

Antonio Zara, publisher

Vi auguro una buona lettura, con l'auspicio che questo primo numero sia di vostro gradimento.

Notes de l’editeur C’est avec grand plaisir et avec fierté que je vous présente notre nouvelle publication intitulée Panoramitalia Trimestriel. Tout à l’image de Panoramitalia, ce magazine annuel grand format bien connu au sein de la communauté, cette nouvelle publication dégage toutefois un nouveau style et remplit une mission fort différente. Tout en bénéficiant de la réputation de notre publication annuelle, Panoramitalia Trimestriel vise à devenir le moyen de communication de premier choix parmi la communauté italienne du Québec. Panoramitalia Trimestriel est rédigé en anglais, en français et en italien, sa présentation est simple et son contenu, pertinent. En premier lieu, nous aborderons des questions importantes touchant la communauté en espérant susciter des discussions productives. En deuxième lieu, nous traiterons autant d’événements locaux que possible (en incluant les faits saillants et des photos des événements) afin de favoriser notre sentiment d’appartenance à la communauté. En troisième lieu, nous vous présenterons des articles à propos de la culture italienne et de la vie au Québec.

Finalement, nous vous présenterons des jeunes à l’avenir prometteur qui sont membres de notre communauté dynamique.

Pour atteindre nos objectifs, nous avons convenu de poster gratuitement ce magazine communautaire aux 50 000 résidences italiennes et aux 5 500 entreprises qui sont la propriété ou sous la direction de membres de la communauté italienne de la région métropolitaine de Montréal. Ce magazine sera expédié par la poste à tous les trois mois et possiblement plus fréquemment si nous obtenons le soutien nécessaire. Notre liste de distribution inclut toutes les personnes d’origine italienne répertoriées dans les pages blanches. Veuillez nous faire parvenir les coordonnées de toute autre personne intéressée à recevoir cette publication à la maison et nous nous assurerons de les ajouter à notre liste de distribution pour tout envoi futur.

Cette initiative est réalisée grâce aux revenus générés par la publicité uniquement, nous invitons donc les entreprises dont les produits et services sont axés aux membres de notre communauté et celles désirant rejoindre notre communauté à y acheter un espace publicitaire. Panoramitalia Trimestriel est le seul moyen de communication dans son genre à rejoindre l’ensemble de la communauté italienne; par conséquent, ce magazine offre une occasion unique et fort intéressante aux entreprises éprouvant des difficultés à percer ce marché à s’y faire connaître.

Distribué uniquement par Postes Canada, ce magazine vise à améliorer les liens de communication de nos nombreuses associations et institutions, lesquelles organisent une multitude d’événements au cours de l’année et se retrouvent souvent déçues du faible taux de participation, souvent simplement parce que les membres de la communauté en ignoraient la tenue. Panoramitalia Trimestriel veut changer cette situation. Un exemple, que plusieurs d’entre vous ont probablement constaté, est la fête annuelle de l’association de votre village natal. L’organisation de tels événements devient souvent complexe en raison de la difficulté à rejoindre les familles élargies concernées. Panoramitalia Trimestriel annoncera ces événements mais en fera également le reportage afin d’inciter les générations montantes à participer aux prochains événements.

Panoramitalia Trimestriel compte devenir LE magazine au sein de la communauté italienne de Montréal et à ce titre, nous accueillons toute suggestion et tout commentaire relatif aux prochaines publications.

J’espère que vous apprécierez ce premier numéro.

Beaucoup plus

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C O N T R I B U T O R S

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PANORAM

I TA L I A

MARIO DI FLAVIO

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LAURA CASELLA

JOEY FRANCO

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MASSI MILIANO

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GABRIEL RIEL-SALVATORE

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Editorials

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Wine

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Calendar

PUBLISHER AND EDITOR Tony Zara EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Filippo Salvatore MANAGING EDITOR Mario Di Flavio

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Sports

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L'edizione trimestrale di Panoramitalia presenterà nei prossimi numeri in prima pagina una figura della comunità italiana di Montreal per far conoscere meglio i volti degli anziani ed individuare le persone affermatesi o emergenti nei diversi campi.

L'édition trimestrielle de Panoramitalia présentera à la une une personnalité de la communauté italienne de Montréal afin de rendre hommage à la vieille génération ou bien signaler les figures qui ont réussi ou sont en train de s'affirmer dans différentes activités.

Stéphanie Lanza is the 22-year-old daughter of an Italian Canadian father and French Canadian mother. Lanza was born and raised on the West Island and is proud of her roots. “I am equally happy with the heritage on both sides of my family,” she explains.

Education has always been important to Lanza who has already earned a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing at Concordia University in Montreal. “I’ve always loved school and plan to continue my education, probably pursuing a career in the field of event planning,” she says. Although she is quite young, Lanza believes in upholding the customs and values, such as the importance of family and culture, which unite the Italian community. “The first two languages that I learned were French and Italian, and like so many other children, I attended Italian school every Saturday morning growing up. I think it’s necessary not to lose those things that make us who we are. We shouldn’t settle for being happy to be Italian simply because it’s an “in” thing,” she affirms.

What does being Italian mean to Stéphanie Lanza? “It is a beautiful combination of love of family, pride, hard work and most of all sharing our culture with everyone. After all I’m living proof of that!”

Stéphanie Lanza è una ragazza ventiduenne di padre italo-canadese e di madre franco-canadese. Lanza è nata e cresciuta nel West Island (zona ovest dell’isola) ed è orgogliosa delle sue radici. “Sono contenta del retaggio che mi viene da tutte e due le famiglie,” spiega . L’istruzione è sempre stata importante per Lanza, che si è già guadagnata una prima laurea in Marketing all’università di Concordia. “Mi è sempre piaciuta la scuola e intendo continuare gli studi, per poi probabilmente perseguire una carriera come organizzatrice di eventi,” continua Stephanie.

Nonostante sia abbastanza giovane, Lanza crede nell’importanza di sostenere costumi e valori, come per esempio famiglia e cultura, che unificano la comunità italiana. “Le prime due lingue che ho imparato sono il francese e l’italiano e, come molti altri bambini, ho frequentato la scuola italiana ogni sabato mattina.

Penso che sia necessario non perdere quelle cose che ci rendono quello che siamo. Non basta essere contenti di essere italiani semplicemente perché è chic.” Che significa essere italiana per Stéphanie Lanza? “È una squisita combinazione di amore per la famiglia, di fierezza, di lavoro e, principalmente, di desiderio di condividere la propria cultura con gli altri. Dopo tutto, ne sono la prova vivente!”

Stéphanie Lanza, 22 ans, est née d’un père Canadien italien et d’une mère Canadienne française. Elle a grandi dans l’Ouest de l’île et est fière de ses origines. « Je suis aussi fière de mes origines italiennes que de mes origines québecoises », explique-t-elle.

L’éducation a toujours été d’une grande importance pour Stéphanie Lanza qui a obtenu un baccalauréat en marketing de l’Université Concordia à Montréal. « J’ai toujours aimé étudier et je prévois poursuivre mes études, probablement dans le domaine de la planification d’événements », dit-elle. Malgré son jeune âge, Stéphanie Lanza croit qu’il faut perpétuer les coutumes et les valeurs telles que l’importance de la famille et de la culture qui unit la communauté italienne. « Les deux premières langues que j’ai apprises sont le français et l’italien et, comme beaucoup d’autres enfants, j’ai fréquenté l’école italienne chaque samedi matin au cours ma jeunesse. Je crois qu’il est essentiel de conserver les valeurs qui sont au cœur même de notre identité ». Selon elle, nous ne devrions pas nous contenter d’être Italiens simplement parce que c’est à la mode. Qu’est-ce que signifie être Italienne pour Stéphanie Lanza? « C’est une merveilleuse combinaison d’amour de la famille, de fierté, de travail assidu et, surtout, c’est le partage de notre culture avec les autres.

Après tout, j’en suis la preuve vivante! »

Photo: Geraldo Pace

Every three months the Italian community of Montreal will feature one of its own on the cover of Panoramitalia Quarterly. Our intention is to introduce ourselves to all and each other, allowing everyone to see the faces of our past, present and future generations.

Mario Di Flavio, Managing Editor

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EDITORIAL

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editoriale

Dichiarazione d’intento I giornali in lingua italiana a Montreal esistono da oltre un secolo, da quando cioè verso il 1880 si è cominciato a Di Filippo Salvatore

parlare di una comunità italiana. Il giornalismo in una lingua non ufficiale in Canada come l’italiano, ha svolto un ruolo sociologicamnete utile; è stato cioè l’espressione pubblica delle battaglie che in quasi un secolo e mezzo gli immigrati italiani ed I loro discendenti hanno combattuto per farsi accettare e per esprimere il loro desiderio di appartenenza alla patria d’adozione. La stampa ha svolto quindi un duplice ruolo: di formazione e di informazione. E’ innegabile, però, che spesso si è trasformata anche in veicolo di protagonismo fasullo e di interesse personale,oppure in cinghia di trasmissione acritica di propaganda, soprattutto durante il regime fascista.

La seconda ondata immigratoria,avvenuta nel ventennio 1948-1968, ha vista aumentare in modo massiccio la presenza italiana in Canada che da poco più di centomila nel 1945 è cresciuta in modo esponenziale e si cifra al giorno d’oggi a poco meno di un milione e mezzo. Qui a Montreal la comunità di origine italiana è di oltre 250,000 persone.

Nel 2006 l’italianità canadese è arrivata ad un bivio. Deve cioè scegliere I paradigmi che costituiranno la sua identità presente e futura ed accantonare I residui folkloristici che non corrispondono più alla realtà urbana di cui siamo parte. Noi, come italo-montrealesi dobbiamo cioè, assumere le nostre responsabilità di established community, ossia di una componente minoritaria del popolo canadese.

Nessuno si sognerebbe di negare il nostro diritto di appartenenza alla nazione canadese e, nel nostro caso specifico, quebecchese.Questa legittimità di appartenenza deve manifestarsi in modo maturo e responsabile.Ed è proprio per farsi portavoce di questa nuova esigenza di maturità e respons-

abilità che vede la luce il mensile Panoramitalia.

Questa nuova pubblicazione ha una grande ambizione: diventare il veicolo e lo specchio di quello che noi, italo-montrealesi, siamo stati, siamo, e vorremmo diventare.

E’ arrivato il momento di parlare con la nostra propria voce, quella di una comunità adulta che rifiuta di delegare agli altri il diritto di interpretarci e di interpretare la società in cui viviamo ed operiamo e di cui ci sentiamo parte integrante.

Panoramitalia aspira ad essere l’espressione oggettiva di quello che siamo, nel bene e nel male: un veicolo per difendere la nostra integrità morale collettiva, contro I facili stereotipi criminali latenti che ad ogni occasione propizia immancabilmente riemergono. Panoramitalia sarà, però, anche la voce che condannerà le manchevolezze e gli egoismi che ancora esistono tra I montrealesi d’origine italiana.. Sarà inoltre anche un mezzo per far emergere il nostro talento collettivo puntando sulle innumerevoli risorse umane che le giovani generazioni incarnano e desiderano esprimere e far fruttare

Informazione, formazione, difesa della nostra dignità collettiva, sottolineatura della nostra indiscutibile legittimità di appartenenza, rivendicazione di diritti evasi o negati, condanna dell’arrivismo comunitario fasullo e della facile prepotenza, incoraggiamento della gioventù a far fruttare il proprio talento in tutti I campi, (economico, culturale, politico, artistico, sportivo): ecco in poche parole i principi ai quali si ispirerà questo nuovo mensile.

Panoramitalia userà l’italiano, l’inglese ed il francese come veicolo linguistico per rimanere un pontetra la patria d’origine, l’Italia e la patria di adozione o di nascita, il Canada.Ogni tre mesi ogni famiglia italo-montrealese o I tantissimi italofili riceveranno a casa una pubblicazione graficamente piacevole, contenutisticamente seria e provocante, specchio e proiezione di quello che la comunità italomontrealese è e si augura di diventare.

Nos intentions La presse en langue italienne à Montréal existe depuis plus qu’un siècle. On parlait déjà vers 1880 d’une “ communauté italienne. Depuis ce temps-la le journalisme dans une langue non officielle au Canada comme l’italien a joué un rôle sociologiquement utile : il a été l’expression publique des batailles que les immigrants italiens et leurs descendants ont combattues depuis plus qu’un siècle pour se faire accepter et pour exprimer leur volonté d’appartenance a leur patrie d’adoption.

La presse a ainsi joué une double fonction : d’information et de formation. Il est indéniable, cependant, qu’elle s’est transformée aussi en véhicule en protagonisme faux et en intérêt personnel, ou bien en courroie de transmission acritique de propagande, surtout pendant le régime fasciste.

La deuxième vague d’immigration, qui a eu lieu de 1948-1968, a permis une croissance remarquable de la présence italienne au Canada. En 1945 elle consistait de presque 120.000 unités. Aujourd’hui elle se chiffre à presque un million et demi.

Ici à Montréal la communauté italienne est d’environ 250.000 personnes. En 2006 l’italianita’ canadienne est arrivée à un carrefour. Elle doit, autrement dit, choisir les paradigmes qui vont constituer son identité actuelle et future. Elle doit d’abord écarter les résidus folkloristes qui ne correspondent plus a la réalité urbaine a laquelle elle appartient maintenant. En tant qu’italo montréalais nous devons assumer nos responsabilités de communauté établie,c’est-à-dire d’une composante minoritaire du peuple québécois et canadien. Personne peut nier notre droit d’appartenance à la nation canadienne. Cette légitimité doit se manifester

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EDITORIAL

our collective dignity, underlying of our indisputable legiti-

Our intentions

macy of belonging, claim of our forgotten or denied right,

It is more than a century that Italian language newspapers are being published in Montreal. At around 1880 one began speaking of an existing Italian community.

Publishing in a non-official language like Italian in Canada, played a sociologically useful role. It has been the public expression of the fights and the causes that immigrants from Italy and their Canadian born descendents were engaged in for more than a century in order to be accepted and to express their wish to belong to their new adopted country.

Italian language press played thus a double role: information

condemnation of selfish careerism and of taken for granted bullying, encouragement to the young to foster its talent and achieve lofty targets in the economic, cultural, political, artistic fields as well as in sports. These are in a few words the principles that will inspire and guide this new quarterly.

Panoramitalia will use the Italian, English and French languages as vehicles, depending on the nature of the topic in order to remain a bridge with Italy, our mother country and with Canada, more precisely French Canada, our country of adoption for the older amongst us and our

and formation. Unfortunately, however, some of the publications became mere vehicles of fake, selfish careerism or an acritical transmission-belt of propaganda, especially during the fascist regime.

The second immigration wave from Italy took place during two decades :1948-1968. At the end of the second world war the Italian

Cette nouvelle publication a une grande ambition : devenir le véhicule et le miroir de ce que nous, gens d’origine italienne du Québec, avons été, sommes et aimerions devenir.

presence in Canada was almost

d’une manière mure et responsable. C’est justement pour se faire

120,000 strong. Since then it has

le porte-parole de cette nouvelle exigence de maturité et de responsabilité que voit le jour le trimestriel Panoramitalia Cette nouvelle publication a une grande ambition : devenir le véhicule et le miroir de ce que nous, gens d’origine italienne du Québec, avons été, sommes et aimerions devenir. Le moment est venu de parler avec notre propre voix, celle d’une communauté adulte qui refuse désormais de déléguer aux autres le droit de nous interpréter et d’interpréter la société dans laquelle nous vivons et operons et dont nous nous sentons partie entière.

Panoramitalia se veut l’expression objective de ce que nous sommes, dans le bien et dans le mal, c’est-à-dire le moyen pour défendre notre intégrité morale collective contre les stéréotypes criminels faciles et sous-jacents qui resurgissent immanquablement a chaque occasion propice. Panoramitalia sera, toutefois, aussi la voix qui condamnera les manques et les égoïsmes qui existent toujours parmi les italomontréalais. Il sera en outre le moyen pour faire émerger notre talent collectif en soulignant les innombrables ressources humaines que les jeunes, la nouvelle génération, incarnent.

Information, formation, défense de notre dignité collective, insistance sur notre indiscutable légitimité d’appartenance, revendication de nos droits dénies. Condamnation du faux arrivisme communautaire et des abus faciles, encouragement de la jeunesse à faire fructifier son talent dans tous les domaines : voici en peu de mots les principes qui vont guider ce trimestriel.

Panoramitalia va utiliser l’italien. Le français et l’anglais comme véhicule linguistique afin de rester un pont avec la patrie d’origine, l’Italie, et la patrie d’adoption ou de naissance, le Canada. A chaque trois mois chaque foyer de la grande région de Montréal, ou bien les très nombreux italophiles, vont recevoir chez eux une publication agréable graphiquement, sérieuse et provocante en ce qui a trait au contenu, miroir et projection de ce que la communauté italo-montréalaise est et souhaite devenir.

grown exponentially and the last census figures put it to 1,3 million. Here in Montreal the Italian community numbers over 250 000 members.

This new magazine has a lofty ambition: it wishes to become the vehicle and the mirror of what we as Italo-Montrealers have been, are

This new magazine has a lofty ambition: it wishes to become the vehicle and the mirror of what we as Italo-Montrealers have been, are and would like to become.

and would like to become. The time has arrived to speak with our own voice, the voice of an adult community that refuses to delegate to others the right to interpret us and to interpret the society in which we live and work and of which we constitute an integral part.

Every three months every household of Italian origin, as well as the very many Italophiles, will receive in their mail-box a graphically appealing, and thought-provoking

Panoramitalia aims to be the objective expression of who and what we are, both good and bad. It wishes to be a vehicle to defend our collective moral integrity against the facile, latent criminal stereotypes that inevitably resurge whenever the occasion lends itself to it. Panoramitalia will also be, nonetheless, the voice that will condemn our shortcomings and egotistical pursuits that still exist amongst Montreal Italians. This quarterly will be as well a means to let emerge our collective talent focusing on the rich human potential that the younger

native land for the younger generations.

generations

embody and express. Information, formation, defense of

magazine, Panoramitalia, mirror and projection of what the Montreal Italian community is and hopes to become.

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EDITORIAL

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Bandiere ed identità

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Di Filippo Salvatore

Domenica 9 luglio 2006 la squadra nazionale italiana ha vinto per la quarta volta il titolo di campione del mondo di calcio. La sofferta vittoria degli Azzurri contro la Francia nella finale di Berlino, arrivata alla fine dei rigori, ha suscitato un entusiasmo enorme sia in Italia, sia presso le numerose comunita’ italiane residenti all’estero. Per limitarci qui a Montreal il Boulevard Saint Laurent nella Piccola Italia, come pure i quartieri di Riviere des Prairies, di Saint-Leonard, del West Island, di NDG, del centro della citta’ sono stati invasi e ricoperti di bandiere tricolori. Per un pomeriggio il bianco, il rosso ed il verde sono stati i tre colori dominanti.Cosa veramente rara da vedersi in una realta’ come quella del Quebec dove per anni il fiordaliso bianco e blu e’ stata l’unica bandiera che veniva sventolata in pubblico.

Come interpretare questa ventata di patriottismo italico che e’ letteralmente esploso, e che ha anche fatto storcere il naso ai nazionalisti puri e duri?

Alla gioia per la vittoria degli Azzurri hanno partecipato diecine di migliaia di persone, dai piu’ piccoli ai piu’ vecchi.

Ma sono stati soprattutto i giovani , maschi e femmine, a gridare a perdifiato e con ritmo cadenzato I-ta-lia, I- ta- lia, I-ta-lia.

C’e’ voluto un avvenimento di portata planetaria, che ha fatto della squadra italiana i campioni del mondo, per risvegliare e fare esplodere ll sentimento di appartenenza di milioni di oriundi. I tifosi piu’ sfegatati erano i giovani nati qui in Canada che in un misto di dialetto e di inglese o francese gridavano la loro esultanza.

Certo il tifo e’ contagioso e quando si e’ in gruppo prevale il desiderio di aggregazione collettivo.Ma non tutti avevano portato il cervello all’ammasso. La gioia era

genuina come pure il sentimento di sentirsi italiani.

Si e’ trattato di un semplice fuoco di paglia?

Oppure la vittoria ai mondiali del 2006 e’ stata la rinascita della moribonda italianita’ di tante comunita’ ormai stabilite permanentemente al di fuori dei confini nazionali italiani?

I risultati dei censimenti dimostrano che l’uso della lingua italiana in Canada e’ in declino e che fra una generazione si rischia di perdere definitivamente per i piu’ la capacita’ di sapersi esprimere nella lingua di Dante.

C’e’ da chiedersi in cosa consistera’ l’italianita’ se non si parla o non si capisce l’italiano e poco o nulla si sa della illustre tradizione culturale del Bel Paese. Si ridurra’ ad abitudini alimentari e ad una serie di cliche’, spesso imitazioni di personaggi imposti dal cinema americano?

Va anche sottolineato un fatto fondamentale per quanto riguarda le bandiere. Per la prima volta la bandiera tedesca e’ sventolata sia in patria sia all’estero.Era ora che finisse il legame tra sano orgoglio collettivo ed associazione ai fantasmi del nazismo. Dopo sessant’anni i tedeschi hanno riscoperto la loro bandiera e sono ridiventati – almeno c’e’ da sperarlo- un popolo normale. Cosa che era successo in Italia nel 1982 quando l’Italia aveva vinto il suo terzo titolo mondiale in Spagna. Fino ad allora sventolare il tricolore aveva una chiara connotazione ideologica: si era fascisti. Questa riscoperta della normalita’ da parte dei tedeschi e’ forse il risultato piu’ significativo di questo campionato del mondo.E’ bene che sia avvenuto, anzi era ora che avvenisse.

Ma ritorniamo a noi.La vittoria azzurra avra’a un vero e duraturo significato se costituira’ l’occasione in Italia per una profonda trasformazione del mondo del calcio.Dopo l’operazione “ mani pulite” nel 1992, c’e bisogno di un’operazione “calcio pulito” che dovra’ colpire i colpevoli e ridare allo sport il suo vero significato:una sfida leale che permette al migliore di vincere. Cosa difficile da fare poiche’ intorno al mondo del cal-

cio bazzica tanta gente e girano interessi economici enormi.

Per quanto riguarda la nostra italianita’ la domanda da porci e’ questa: la vittoria degli azzurri avra’ un vero significato se non si traduce in sporadiche manifestazioni di orgoglio collettivo, ma in un quotidiano desiderio di ognuno di noi dimantenere viva la linfa spirituale che produce l’identita’ della persona. E si badi che restare fedeli alle proprie origini non significa affatto rinunciare alla piena partecipazione nella societa’ in cui si vive. L’identita’ e’ un concetto che ognuno di noi deve inventarsi quotidianamnetee non e’ mai una conquista definitiva.

Sapranno e vorranno i tanti giovani che con tanto orgoglio ed a squarciagola hanno gridato il 9 luglio scorso Ita- lia, I-ta-lia mantenere vivo il legame alla terra dei loro antenati? Solo il tempo ce lo dira’.

F.S. Invitiamoi lettori a rispondere via e –mail a queste domande:

Siete disposti a fare uno sforzo particolare per mantenere viva la lingua e l’identita’ italiane in Canada? Ne vale la pena oppure siamo condannati inesorabilmente all’assimilazione? Si’, No. Votate e rispedite la risposta all’indirizzo elettronico della rivista Panoramitalia. info@panoramitalia.com

Flags and identity

Drapeaux et identité

Le dimanche 9 juillet 2006 l’équipe nationale italienne a gagné pour la quatrième fois le titre de champion du monde de football.

La victoire tourmentée des « Azzurri » contre la France dans la finale de Berlin, achevée au terme du match par l'épreuve des tirs au but, a suscité un enthousiasme extraordinaire, soit en Italie, soit chez les nombreuses communautés italiennes résidantes à l’étranger. Pour nous borner ici à Montréal, le Boulevard Saint Laurent dans la Petite Italie, de même que les quartiers de Rivière des Prairies, de Saint Leonard, du West Island, de NDG et du centre ville, ont été remplis et submergés de drapeaux tricolores. Pendant un entier après-midi le vert, le blanc et le rouge ont été les trois couleurs dominantes. Chose très exceptionnelle à voir dans une réalité comme celle du Québec, où la fleur-de-lis a été, pendant des années, le seul drapeau publiquement exposé.

Comme faut-il interpréter ce vent de patriotisme italique qui est, littéralement, éclaté et qui a même fait tordre le nez aux nationalistes les plus intransigeants?

L’enthousiasme pour la victoire des « Azzurri » a atteint dizaines de milliers de personnes, des plus petits jusqu’aux plus âgés. Mais les jeunes, surtout, garçons et filles, ont crié à tuetête et de façon rythmée « I-ta-lia, I- ta-lia, I-ta-lia ».

Il a fallu un événement de portée planétaire, qui a permis à l’équipe italienne de devenir champions du monde, pour éveiller et faire éclater le sentiment d’appartenance de millions de personnes originaires de l’Italie. Les supporteurs les plus acharnés étaient les jeunes nés en Canada, qui hurlaient leur enthousiasme dans un mélange de dialecte et anglais ou français.

Sans doute, l’exaltation pour une victoire est contagieuse et, lorsqu’on se trouve dans un groupe le désir de s'assimiler est très fort. Mais parmi tous ceux-là, il y avait des personnes qui n’avaient pas perdu complètement la tête. La joie était authentique, de même que la conscience de se reconnaître italiens.

On Sunday, July 9th, 2006, the Italian national team won its fourth title of soccer world champion. The Azzurris’ hard-fought victory against France in the final match in Berlin–a victory won at the end of the penalty round, made fans rejoice not only in Italy but also in the numerous Italian communities abroad. A case in point is Montreal, where Boulevard Saint Laurent in Little Italy, as well as many central neighborhoods such as Rivière des Prairies, Saint-Léonard, West Island, NDG, were invaded and covered with tricolor flags.

For a whole afternoon, green,white, and red were the dominant colors –a very rare event in a place like Quebec, where for years the only flag flown in public places has been the white and blue fleur-de-lis.

How are we to interpret this wave of Italian patriotism that literally burst out and that made the pure and hardcore nationalists turn up their noses?

Tens of thousands of people –from the youngest to the oldest– joined in the celebration of the victory of the Azzuri.

But it was the young –male and female– who began to scream rhythmically, at the top of their voices, I-ta-lia, I- ta- lia, I-ta-lia.

It was only after this world-wide event, which made the Italian team world champions, that a feeling of belonging was stirred and exploded within millions of Italian descendants. The most passionate fans were the young people born here in Canada, who displayed their great joy in a mixture of their dialects and English or French.

Naturally, enthusiasm of this kind is contagious and, when people are together, the dominant desire is one for union. But not everyone had renounced independent thinking. The joy was genuine, as was the feeling of being Italian. Was it just a flash in the pan? Or did the 2006 victory mark the rebirth of the moribund Italianicity found in so many communities which have permanently settled outside the Italian national borders?

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EDITORIAL S'est-il agi d’un simple feu de paille? Ou bien, au contraire, la victoire à la Coupe du Monde 2006 a-t elle été une renaissance pour le moribond esprit italien de tant de communautés établies, de façon désormais permanente, au dehors des frontières italiennes?

Les résultats des statistiques montrent une décadence dans l’utilisation de la langue italienne au Canada et envisagent que, dans une génération, la plupart risque de perdre définitivement la capacité de s’exprimer dans la langue de Dante.

Il faut se demander quoi deviendra, alors, l'esprit italien, si personne ne parlera ou ne comprendra plus l’italien et si l’on ne connaîtra que peu, ou rien du tout, de la glorieuse tradition culturelle du « Bel Paese » (Beau Pays). Serat-il réduit aux traditions alimentaires et à une série de clichés qui, bien souvent, ne sont rien d’autre que des imitations des personnages du cinéma américain?

Il faut, en outre, remarquer une question fondamentale à propos des drapeaux. Pour la première fois le drapeau allemand a été agité, soit en patrie, soit à l’étranger.

Finalement il n'existe plus de lien parmi un sain orgueil collectif et l'évocation des fantômes du nazisme. Après soixante ans les allemands ont redécouvert leur drapeau et ils sont devenus à nouveau - il faut, du moins, l'espérer - un peuple normal. La même chose s’était passée en Italie en 1982, lorsque l’Italie avait gagné son troisième titre de champion du monde en Espagne. Jusqu’à ce moment-là, le fait d'agiter le drapeau tricolore avait maintenue une claire connotation idéologique : il signifiait qu’on était fascistes. Cette redécouverte de la normalité, accomplie par les allemands, est, peutêtre, le résultat le plus significatif de la dernière Coupe du Monde. Il est bon que les choses en soient ainsi, ou mieux, on ne pouvait tarder d’avantage.

Mais revenons à nous. La victoire des « Azzurri » aura une signification véritable et permanente, si elle sera l'occasion pour une profonde transformation du monde du soccer en Italie. Après l’opération « mani pulite » (« mains nettes ») en 1992, on a besoin d’une opération de « calcio pulito » (« football net »), qui devra être en mesure de punir les coupables

et de ramener le sport à sa vraie signification : un défi loyal qui permet au meilleur de se proclamer vainqueur. Chose très difficile à accomplir, puisque beaucoup de gens et des énormes intéresses économiques entourent le monde du football.

Pour ce qui est de notre esprit italien, la question à nous poser est la suivante: la victoire des « Azzurri » aura une véritable signification seulement si elle saura aller au-delà des manifestations d’orgueil collectif épisodiques, en générant, en chacun de nous, un désir quotidien de maintenir vivante la lymphe spirituelle qui donne naissance à l’identité de l’homme. Et il faut souligner que le fait de se maintenir fidèles aux propres origines ne signifie nullement renoncer à participer pleinement à la société dans laquelle on vit. L’identité est une conception que chacun de nous doit renouveler journellement et elle n'est jamais une conquête définitive.

Les jeunes, qui si fièrement ont crié à tue-tête « Ita-lia, I-ta-lia » le 9 juillet dernier, sauront-ils et voudront-ils maintenir vivant le lien avec la terre de leurs ancêtres?

Uniquement le temps pourra nous le révéler.

Census results show that the use of Italian is on the wane in Canada and that most of the next generation will most likely be unable to express themselves in Dante’s language.

This begs the question of what ‘Italianicity’ means, if Italian is not spoken or understood, and little, if anything at all, is known about the illustrious cultural tradition of this beautiful country. Will ‘Italianicity’ be reduced to eating habits and a series of cliches –often mere imitations of characters imposed by American movies?

One more comment is in order regarding flags.

This is the first time that the German flag has flown both in Germany and abroad. It was about time that the relationship between healthy collective pride and association to the ghosts of nazism came to an end. After sixty years, the Germans have rediscovered their flag and have become again –it seems– a normal people. The same thing happened in Italy in 1982, when Italy won its third world championship in Spain. Up to then, flying the Italian flag had a clear ideological connotation: fascism. That the Germans have regained normalcy is perhaps the most notable result of this year’s world championship. It is good that it has happened; in fact, it was about time that it happened.

Back to us, the victory of the Azurri will have a true and long-lasting meaning if it spurs a deep transformation in the soccer world in Italy. After the “clean hands” operation in 1992, a similar operation is in order in the world of soccer; such an operation should strike the guilty and restore its true meaning to soccer: an honest challenge that allows the best to win. Naturally, this is not an easy task to accomplish, as there are too many different people and huge financial stakes around the world of soccer.

Regarding our Italianicity, we should become aware that this year’s victory will only have meaning if it does not translate into sporadic manifestations of collective pride, but rather into a daily desire on the part of each individual to keep alive the spiritual lymph that produces one’s identity. Bear in mind, however, that remaining loyal to one’s origins does not entail renounc-

ing participating fully in the society where one lives. Identity is a concept that each one of us must invent daily; it is not a final attainment.

Whether all those young people who on July 9th screamed I-ta- lia, I-ta-lia at the top of their voices with such pride will be able and willing to keep alive the newly found link with the land of their ancestors remains to be seen.

F.S. Nous invitons nos lecteurs à répondre par courriel aux questions suivantes:

Êtes-vous disposés à accomplir un effort spécifique pour maintenir vivante la langue et l’identité italiennes au Canada? Cela, en vaut-il la peine, ou sommes nous, au contraire, inexorablement voués à l’assimilation? Oui. Non. Votez et envoyez la réponse à l’adresse électronique de la revue Panoramitalia. info@panoramitalia.com

F.S. Readers are invited to respond to the following questions via email:

Are you willing to make an effort in order to keep the Italian language and identity alive in Canada? Is this worthwhile, or are we inexorably condemned to assimilation?

Yes. No. Please, cast your vote and email your answer to Panoramitalia magazine. info@panoramitalia.com

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Modifiche indispensabili al voto degli italiani all’estero Di Filippo Salvatore Il 9 ed il 10 aprile 2006, per la prima volta da quando l’Italia esiste come paese unito, i cittadini italiani residenti all’estero, hanno avuto il diritto di votare e di essere candidati al parlamento ed al senato italiano senza avere l’obbligo di tornare sul territorio nazionale per esercitare il proprio diritto civico.

La legge Tremaglia, che ha modificato gli articoli 48 e 56 della Costituzione italiana, ha permesso a circa 3 milioni di cittadini italiani di partecipare allo scrutinio e di eleggere 12 deputati e 6 senatori dalle cosiddette ‘circoscrizioni estero’.

Va ricordato che il diritto di voto all’estero è stato il corollario logico della legge sul riacquisto della cittadinanza italiana approvata nel 1992. Detta legge permetteva per ius sanguinis ( diritto di sangue)a chi era nato in Italia di poter avere la doppia cittadinanza.Tanti hanno potuto così riacquistare nei diversi paesi di residenza ( dietro richiesta e presentazione alle autorità consolari dei dovuti documenti)la cittadinanza italiana.

Su una comunità di quasi 1,4 milioni di cittadini di origine italiana, circa 120,000 italiani residenti in Canada hanno avuto il diritto di votare per la circoscrizione America Centrale e Settentrionale. Gino Bucchino di Toronto, candidato per la coalizione di centro-sinistra, è stato eletto e siede attualmente alla Camera dei Deputati a Roma.

Il voto degli italiani all’estero si è rivelato l’ago della bilancia al Senato ed ha permesso a Romano Prodi di formare l’attuale governo.Si tratta quindi di una questione fondamentale cui il governo italiano deve dare adeguate risposte in tempi brevi.

Ci sono state critiche al diritto di voto all’estero prima, durante e dopo il risultato elettorale.

Tante sono state le voci contrarie. Mi limiterò a citare una delle più perspicaci ed autorevoli. In un percutante editoriale intitolato “La commedia degli onorevoli italo-esteri” il noto editorialista ed ex ambasciatore Sergio Romano (Corriere della Sera 03/31/ 2006) sottolineava ‘l’italiano esitante,zoppicante e pieno di ispanismi’ dell’italo-argentino ottantenne Luigi Pallaro, risultato poi eletto al Senato per la circoscrizione America del Sud con la lista ‘ Associazioni Italiane in Sud America’.

Romano insisteva poi che‘ Vi sono paesi (Australia e Canada per esempio)che non hanno alcuna intenzione di tollerare la nascita nel loro territorio di comunità ‘extraterritoriali’,vincolate da rapporti di lealtà e dipendenza con uno Stato straniero’.E ricordava saggiamente che i cittadini all’estero delle maggiori democrazie partecipano alle elezioni in tre modi : ‘... inviano la loro scheda al comune di cui sono stati residenti prima di partire; votano presso il consolato della circoscrizione in cui abitano; designano un procuratore residente in patria a cui conferiscono l’incarico di votare in loro nome;ma scelgono sempre in ciascuno dei casi, gli stessi candidati per cui votano i loro compatrioti rimasti in patria.’ La legge Tremaglia gli appariva come un’anomalia, come infatti è.

Il senatore Gino Trematerra (UDC) qualche giorno prima del voto aveva avvertito il Ministero degli Affari Esteri che il voto in America latina si stava svolgendo ‘ in un clima di illegalità diffusa...e numerosi candidati denunciano un vero e proprio mercato nero delle schede’. Anche alla Farnesina si è ammesso che ci sono state ‘difficoltà obiettive’. I brogli elettorali denunciati in Argentina, pare si siano verificati in tutti e quattro i grandi collegi elettorali esteri. Food for thought!

Anche qui in Canada non sono mancate le accuse e

If you wish to advertise in the pages of PanoramItalia Quarterly please call 514.337.7870

le recriminazioni di brogli elettorali, addirittura da parte di candidati dello stesso schieramento politico.( Vedi per esempio le accuse e contro-accuse tra Gino Bucchino e Giovanni Rapanà qui in Canada).

A causa della striminzita maggioranza ottenuta da Romano Prodi e dalla sua coalizione soprattutto al senato e delle numerose accuse di irregolarità, Silvio Berlusconi ha concesso la vittoria ai suoi avversari solo dopo tre settimane.’Non pagano le tasse, è piuttosto discutibile che possano votare’ ha poi affermato nel corso di una trasmissione televisiva. ‘ Purtroppo in una coalizione molte cose si sono accettate.Se non lo avessimo fatto,il governo sarebbe caduto e io molto spesso ho accettato di fare delle cose su cui non ero d’accordo’.

Le ‘difficoltà obiettive’ cui si alludeva durante la campagna elettorale sono di diversa natura: 1) il voto per corrispondenza viola la segretezza in quanto è praticamente impossibile il controllo sulle procedure di voto, il che è contrario alla costituzione che impone un voto ‘segreto e personale’.

2) I residenti all’estero non sono soggetti alle leggi italiane; 3) Numerosissimi sono gli elettori che hanno scarsa conoscenza della lingua e della politica italiana; 4) I 18 eletti nelle circoscrizioni estero o’ brilleranno per assenza o costeranno fior di soldi allo Stato’.Voteranno inoltre leggi alle quali non dovranno sottostare e inevitabilmente o non conteranno nulla o si alleeranno, Pallaro docet!, al miglior offerente.

Data la dimensione geografica enorme dei quattro collegi elettorali, come può, in tutta onestà,un eletto come Gino Bucchino essere considerato il legittimo portavoce degli Italiani del centro America o persino degli Stati Uniti?

L’elezione dei deputati e dei senatori italo-esteri pone un grave problema di rappresentatività nei confronti sia della rete diplomatica italiana - Gino Bucchino è abilitato a parlare a nome degli italiani del Canada più dell’ambasciatore e dei vari consoli? sia verso il CGIE (Consiglio Generale degli Italiani all’Estero).Per quali funzioni,eccetto quella legislativa, un eletto al CGIE si differenzia da un deputato o da un senatore eletto all’estero?

Le conseguenze del voto La legge Tremaglia non ha resistito alla prova del nove; ha cioè dimostrato tutti i suoi limiti e le sue carenze e fatto emergere le inammissibili ingerenze nella sovranità nazionale dei vari paesi di residenza dei cittadini italiani.L’attuale governo canadese del conservatore Stephen Harper sta riesaminando la legge che autorizza cittadini residenti in Canada a candidarsi nelle elezioni di altri Paesi.L’accordo speciale’tra Canada ed Italia del novembre del 2005,concesso dall’allora ministro degli esteri Pierre Pettigrew, va interpretato come ‘una eccezione, non un precedente per evitare che possano giungere ad Ottawa richieste da altri Paesi.Una decisione definitiva è prevista entro il prossimo dicembre.E’ tuttavia logico assumere che il governo federale canadese limiterà il diritto di votare o impedirà a dei residenti canadesi di candidarsi per un parlamento estero per un sano principio, a mio avviso, di sovranità nazionale, per facilitare l’integrazione dei nuovi immigrati e per evitare di trasferire sul proprio territorio problematiche irrisolte e conflittuali di altri Paesi.

Numerosi emendamenti alla legge Tremaglia prima delle prossime elezioni nazionali italiane oltre che logiche ed opportune sono conseguentemente indispensabili.

Mi limito ad elencarne alcuni: a. i seggi esteri vanno aboliti ed i cittadini italiani residenti all’estero devono poter votare per le circoscrizioni elettorali italiane di ultima residenza o di origine.Tuttavia i partiti politici dovrebbero accettare nelle loro liste qualche valido rappresentante degli emigrati proveniente dalle comunità più numerose. b. il diritto di voto deve essere richiesto alle autorità consolari dal singolo cittadino e deve espletarsi in modo tale che la segretezza venga salvaguardata. c. il diritto di voto va esteso anche alle elezioni regionali, provinciali e municipali per i seggi sul territorio italiano di ultima residenza o di origine in quanto per la quasi totalità degli emigrati gli addentellati ed i punti di riferimento con l’Italia sono di natura regionale.

d.dopo 10 anni di residenza fuori dai confini nazionali si perde il diritto di voto, a meno che l’elettore possieda proprietà in Italia e paghi le tasse fondiarie.Questo per far valere il sacrosanto principio di no representation without taxation. e. L’elezione al CGIE dovrebbe essere diretta da parte di tutti i cittadini italiani.Il CGIE diventerebbe così il vero parlamento dei residenti all’estero. La composizione ed il ruolo andrebbero ripensati ed il CGIE dovrebbe svolgere un ruolo non solo consultivo.

Questi pochi principi, ovviamente discutibili ed a cui si possono aggiungere altri,avrebbero il merito di salvaguardare il principio costituzionale di garantire il diritto di voto ai residenti all’estero da espletarsi in loco, ma eviterebbero tutte le anomalie ed i possibili brogli che si sono verificati alle elezioni del 9 e 10 aprile scorso.

Italians living abroad: Necessary Changes to the Electoral Law

by Filippo Salvatore Italians living abroad were granted for the first time the right to vote and run as candidates - without being obliged to go back on Italian soil- in the national elections held on April 9th and 10th 2006.

Changes in the articles 48 and 56 of the Constitution allowed about 3 million Italian citizens to take part in the ballot in the ‘foreign ridings’ and elect 12 members of Parliament and 6 senators.

The right to vote is a logical consequence of a 1992 law which permitted to Italian nationals and their off-spring to regain citizenship by ius sanguinis(blood line).

Canadians of Italian origin number almost 1,4 million, but only about 120,000 of them carry an Italian passport.

They were permitted to vote in the Central and Northern American constituency and Toronto resident Gino Bucchino was elected to the Camera dei Deputati (Lower House).

The result of the election was very tight,almost evenly split.The Center-Left Coalition headed by Romano Prodi squeaked by and managed to receive a majority especially in the Senate thanks to the support of Italians living abroad.As a result the electoral law is of primary importance for his future political survival.

The right to vote granted to Italians residing abroad has been criticized before, during and after the electoral results.

One of the most significant and striking articles was by former ambassador Sergio Romano, an editorialist for the Milan-based Corriere della Sera, Italy’s most important daily. On March 31 he wrote a piece titled ‘ The Comedy of the Italo-foreign mps where he underlined the lack of knowledge of proper Italian by many candidates such as the eighty year old ItaloArgentine Luigi Pallaro running for the ‘Italian Associations in South America’.Pallaro was elected to the Senate as an independent and for the moment supports the Prodi government.

Sergio Romano underlined that ‘ There are countries (Australia and Canada) that have no desire whatsoever to tolerate the birth on their soil of ‘extraterritorial’ communities whose loyalty goes to a foreign State’. He also pointed out that other democratic nations allow their citizens to participate in the electoral process in three ways: ‘ ... they send their ballot to the town where they lived before leaving; they vote at the consulate of the riding where they live; choose by proxy someone to vote on their behalf; in all cases they choose the same candidates as a voter living in the home country’. The socalled Tremaglia electoral law constituted for him, and in fact it is, a legislative anomaly.

Gino Trematerra a senator for the center-right UDC (Unione Democratici Cristiani) had warned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome that in Latin America the electoral process was taking place ‘ in a climate of widespread illegality...and many candidates denounce a true black market of ballots’. Rome had to admit that there were ‘ objective difficulties’ taking place in Argentina. The same

gerrymandering seems to have taken place in all four foreign electoral ridings. Food for thought!

Accusations and recriminations about gerrymandering were laid also in Canada even amongst candidates running for the same coalition (e. g. the diatribes between Giovanni Rapanà and Gino Bucchino).

The leader of the center-right coalition Silvio Berlusconi conceded the victory to his rival, Romano Prodi, only three weeks after the electoral results were known, because of the razor-thin difference and the alleged widespread irregularities in the ‘foreign’ districts.

‘They do not pay taxes and it is arguable they should vote’ Berlusconi later said in a television programme. ‘ Unfortunately in a coalition one has to accept many decisions.

Had I not gone along, my government would have fallen and I had to accept very often to do things I did not agree on’.

Here is the nature of several of the ‘objective difficulties’ acknowledged at the Italian Foreign Ministry during the electoral campaign: 1. voting by correspondence violates the principle of secrecy sanctioned in the constitution. For all intents and purposes it is impossible to respect and control the procedure of voting.

2. Foreign residents are not subjected to Italian laws 3. Very many voters have little or no knowledge of the Italian language and especially of Italian politics 4. The 18 members elected abroad either will be constantly absent or will cost a fortune to the State. They will legislate on laws they will not abide by and inevitably either their role will be meaningless or else they will ally themselves (take Pallaro as an example!) to the highest bidder.

How can Gino Bucchino honestly claim that he is the

legitimate representative of Italians living in central America or even in the USA? The enormous geographical extension of his electoral district just makes it impossible.

His election poses a problem of a different kind as well. Has Mr Bucchino the same or more legitimacy than the Italian Ambassadors or the consuls when he speaks on behalf of Italian citizens in his electoral district?

A similar difficulty arises towards the members of the CGIE (Consiglio Generale degli Italiani all’Estero General Council of Italians Abroad).They have been elected, like him, and, except for his legislative role, they play a role similar to the members of Parliament or of the Senate.

The consequences of the vote The Tremaglia electoral law has proven itself to be a failure.All its limitations and its shorcomings are now clear.It has shown the inadmissible interferences in the national sovereignty of the countries where Italian nationals live.

The Conservative government of Stephen Harper is reevaluating the law that enables citizens residing in Canada to be candidates in the elections of other countries. ‘ The special consent’ between Canada and Italy granted by former Foreign Affairs minister Pierre Pettigrew in November 2005, has to be viewed as ‘an exception, not a precedent’, to avoid similar requests from other countries. A final decision on the matter is due next December.

It is likely that the federal Government will limit the right to vote and deny to foreign residents of Canada to be candidates for alien parliaments. And, in my opinion, rightly so for a healthy principle of national sovereignty. If such a decision is taken by Ottawa it will facilitate the integration of new immigrants and avoid to import on its own

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Éditorial

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EDITORIAL

soil other countries’ unresolved problems and quarrels.

Before the next national elections in Italy the Tremaglia law needs to undergo many inevitable changes.

Here are a few: 1. the four ‘foreign electoral districts’ need to be abolished and Italian citizens living abroad ought to be allowed to vote for the electoral riding in Italy where they used to live or originate from. Political parties could accept in their list a few valid representatives from the biggest communities.

2. the right to vote has to be requested by the voter from the consulate and had to take place in a way that safeguards the principle of secrecy.

3. the right to vote ought to be extended to the regional, provincial and municipal elections since Italians living abroad have kept a special link with their region of origin.

4. after 10 years of residence abroad one loses the right to vote(this is the case for the United Kingdom) unless the person owns property in Italy and pays taxes. This for a simple principle: no representation without taxation.

5.all Italians abroad should participate in the election of the CGIE. It would thus become the true mini-parliament for foreign residents. Its composition and role ought to be revised.The CGIE ought to have a more than just consultative role.

The preceeding principles are of course both debatable and susceptible to change. They ought to be viewed as sound starting points to warrant both the principle to the right to vote while residing abroad and to avoid the gerrymandering that has taken place during the last April 9th and 10th elections.

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ADVERTORIAL

Best FootForward

By Shauna Hardy

Everybody knows that shoes make the outfit...

Everybody knows that shoes make the outfit. But it isn’t just one pair: from this season’s ultra-chic stilettos to patent leather wedges, clothes-hounds the world over will tell you that the key to great fashion is having a closet stocked with plenty of options. And where should one go to find the eye-catching styles? Montreal’s Robertini Shoes, now headed by Joe Gravino, has been lending its expertise for the past 20 years, ensuring that their clients are always strutting around town in style.

Shoes definitely run in the Gravino family’s veins, they count six generations of shoe-makers among them. Grandfather Giuseppe Gravino, who hailed from the Molise region of Italy, decided to leave his native country after the devastation of World War II. After spending some time in Argentina, he joined his wife and children in Montreal. He began by opening a shoe shop on Ontario Street that specialized in custom-made shoes and repair.

When his son Michael got involved, the pair eventually began importing shoes from Italy.

Business was booming and soon required more space, which took the form of a 10,000 square foot space on Lacordaire Boulvard, where the company presently resides. Michael’s son, Joe, became involved in the business, happily maintaining Robertini’s reputation for high-end, eye-catching shoes. “I love the fashion industry,” says Joe Gravino. “I love the clothing and everything that it involves. In order to buy the right shoes for our customers we really have to stay on top of the trends.”

Carrying over 40 brands of shoes, Robertini’s specialty is handmade Italian shoes, including such brands as Donna Soft, Academia, Luciano Ilari, Valle Verde and Verdecchia. Always interested in keeping on top of the hottest styles, Gravino travels extensively to the States and Europe, hitting big trade shows like the Micam in Milan to get a sense of where the industry is heading. But Gravino also spends plenty of time with local shoe-makers in regions like Le Marche and Tuscany, looking for eye-catching shoes that appeal to those clients that truly want to stand out.

“We travel all over the world in order to bring the most exciting lines to our

that are ideal for anyone who is on the go and spending plenty of time on their feet.

This fall, just about everything goes.

According to Gravino, there are styles to suit every taste, from round-toed ballerina flats to the narrow and pointy. And, the colours? Brown is the hot shade for fall, and customers should think about adding a little red to their wardrobes, as it’s the perfect accent colour.

Those who are thinking ahead might want to investigate a little navy – Gravino says it’s starting to make an impact this season and it will be in full-force by spring.

While you might have your heart set on wearing a four-inch heel, Gravino firmly maintains that buying shoes is not simply about sporting the current trend. Ultimately, it’s the fit that counts. “So many clients just assume that if they wear a size eight, they wear a size eight no matter what,” says Gravino. “But the process is a little more complicated than that. Certain styles might not suit certain feet. Our customers come to us because we understand fit. Our staff really understands the shape of the foot and how it works in relation to different shoes. In the end, you have to leave the store knowing that you’ll be comfortable in your new pair of shoes. ” Customers are hooked on Robertini’s outstanding service. Most of their employees have been with the company for over 20 years. The staff becomes familiar with repeat customers – after two or three visits to the store, they know what will suit certain foot-types. Paying such close attention to detail has also garnered another market for Robertini - five orthopaedic clinics in town, refer their clients specifically to the store because they know their patients will be fit properly.

“I love the fashion industry,” says Joe Gravino. “I love the clothing and everything that it involves.

In order to buy the right shoes for our customers we really have to stay on top of the trends.” store,” explains Gravino. “The shoes that we stock aren’t necessarily lines that you are going to find everywhere. There are some villages that we visit where almost every second house is its own factory. They are small husband and wife operations who might hire a few employees when it gets really busy.” Rather than mass-made styles from a production line, each family typically produces only 100 pairs a day. The advantage of buying these lines is the care and time that goes into making the shoe. They become like pieces of art, appreciated for their individuality and beauty.

Along with high-fashion, Robertini also specializes in lines of comfort shoes. They carry high-quality, stylish lines such as Ecco, Mephisto, Geox, Sioux, Naot and BeautyFeel

One might assume that eye-catching fashion and experienced, friendly service might mean paying top dollar. But Robertini still manages to offer prices that won’t break the bank. “Our goal has always been to provide high-end fashionable shoes at reasonable prices,” explains Gravino. “That’s what makes us so popular with our customers!”

So popular in fact, that once clients get a taste of the Robertini experience, they keep coming back – regardless of their zip code. “We have clients that come all the way from Chicago, Los Angeles and all over Canada. Clients might get transferred to other cities because of business, but they’ll always make a point of coming back to the store when they’re in town. They’re hooked!”

9235 Boul. Lacordaire (coin Couture) St-Léonard, Québec H1R 2B6 Téléphone :(514) 326-3395 Télécopieur:(514) 326-8325 1678 Boul. de L'Avenir (coin St-Martin) Laval, Quebec H7S 2N4 Téléphone :(450) 687-3270

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Le vin

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WINE

Piémont

À l’heure du Piémont !! par Gabriel Riel-Salvatore

Les derniers jeux olympiques d’hiver 2006 auront contribué à faire connaître au monde entier la ville de Turin, mais aussi de découvrir l’une des plus grande région vitivinicole du pays de Garibaldi. Avec la Toscane et la Vénétie, le Piémont offre en effet parmi les plus beaux crus d’Italie. Il suffit de s’arrêter quelques instants sur l’étymologie du terme pour comprendre pourquoi le pays de la fameuse truffe blanche et de la Fiat 500, possède certains des meilleurs terroirs du monde entier. Le mot « Piemonte » réfère ainsi à la morphologie particulière de cette région située aux pieds des Alpes « ai piedi delle montagne. » Le nebbiolo, le barbera et le dolcetto (rouges), les cépages rois du Piedmont, mais aussi le moscato pétillant (blanc) composent la majorité des vins de la région dont la réputation n’est plus à faire.

Surtout réputé pour ses vins rouges associés à des noms de villes désormais mondialement connues telles qu’Asti, Alba ou Barolo, le Piémont profite d’une richesse géographique exceptionnelle. La vigne qui couvre une superficie de près de 60,000 hectares, situées surtout au sud de la ville de Turin, bénéficie d’une diversité territoriale épatante, divisée en plus d’une cinquantaine de zones d’appellations contrôlées différentes. Le nebbiolo, le barbera et le dolcetto (rouges), les cépages rois du Piémont, mais aussi le moscato (blanc) composent la majorité des vins de la région dont la réputation n’est plus à faire.

Avec ses sols généreux et ses espèces de vignes indigènes, le Piémont offre ainsi à ses vitiviniculteurs un avantage exceptionnel dans un marché du vin de plus en plus menacé par l’uniformisation des saveurs. En quête d’authenticité, plusieurs producteurs piémontais misent aujourd’hui toujours plus sur un savoir faire conjuguant tradition et modernité.

Dans cette lignée, la maison Marcarini exprime brillamment les caractéristiques de son terroir à travers ses vins. Je vous propose ici son Dolcetto d’Alba Fontenazza 2004, qui saura parfaitement s’accorder avec un risotto aux champignons sauvages. Sa robe plutôt pâle et limpide est de couleur rubis aux reflets grenat. Au nez, s’entremêlent des parfums rappelant la framboise et la réglisse rouge. Une acidité bien présente en bouche lui confère une bonne fraîcheur s’arrimant bien à des

tannins légèrement astringents, faisant de ce dolcetto un vin vif et velouté à la fois.

Saq, 898387, 21,05 $** D’un autre ordre et beaucoup plus costaud, le Nebbiolo d’Alba Occhetti 2002 de la prestigieuse maison Prunotto, maintenant propriété du célébrissime Marchese Antinori, offre un bon aperçu du potentiel de ce cépage hautement capricieux. Issu d’un millésime plutôt pauvre, ce vin démontre néanmoins le savoir faire de cette grande azienda italienne. Démontrant déjà une belle évolution, sa robe grenat révèle des reflets orangés sur le rond du verre. Des notes de fruits noirs, de cuir, d’amande fraîche et de sous-bois légèrement truffé égayent l’odorat. Des tannins serrés et encore un peu rêches donnent à ce vin un côté rustique sans être lourdaud. Son boisé bien dosé et le côté suave de ses 14% d’alcool que l’on reconnaît par un goût légèrement kirshé, viennent arrondir l’austérité maligne de ce nebbiolo. S’insérant dans la tradition des Barolo, tous comme ses cousins ce vin pourra encore vieillir quelques années.

Saq, 863597, 35 $ * * * Pour un plaisir garanti, je vous suggère aussi le Barbera d’Alba La Tota 2004 des Marchesi Alfieri. D’un rouge rubis assez dense aux teintes grenat, il révèle une extraction riche. Son nez harmonieux séduit par ses effluves agréables de rose fraîche, de framboise et de cerise, un bois discret et beaucoup de fruit. Des tannins bien ficelés et soyeux donnent allure et matière à ce vin bien balancé par une acidité rafraîchissante.

Structuré et élégant, La Tota révèle ici tout le potentiel d’un barbera bien fait, s’éloignant de l’image de vins timides et légers souvent associée à ce cépage. Un vin bien étoffé donc qui plaira tant aux connaisseurs qu’aux amateurs.

Saq, 978692, 23, 65 $ * * * et demi Enfin, le moscato d’Asti DOCG Nivole de Michele Chiarlo servira d’apéritif avant le repas ou accompagnera à merveille pour le désert des fraises au poivre nappées de Grand Marnier. Doux et délicat en bouche, ce vin léger aux fragrances de fruits frais rappelle surtout la pêche et l’abricot. Son aspect légèrement perlé (frizzante) chatouille le palais de manière fort agréable laissant à la finale une impression de fraîcheur et de vivacité.

Saq, 979062, 10, 80 $ (375 ml), * *

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BUSINESS

Affaires

affari

Portfolio solutions simplify the investment process

By Peter Pomponio Over the past several years, investors have discovered the benefits of portfolio solutions that make investing quick, easy and less intimidating. By discussing a simple series of questions with your advisor, you are able to determine your investment objectives, time horizon and tolerance for risk – all important factors that help select the most comfortable investment for you. Managed assets or portfolio solutions have been quickly gaining popularity and are expected to account for nearly half of all investment funds in the next six or seven years. The reason for the trend is obvious. Investors are looking for solutions that will achieve their long-run objectives and move them away from the everyday buy-and-sell decisions that can make investing difficult.

So what is a managed assets program or portfolio solution? Essentially, it’s a bundle of investment services that together result in a complete investment strategy that is specifically geared to a person’s financial objectives, long-term goals and tolerance for risk.

There are many different types of portfolio solutions catering to the rapidly growing affluent market ($500,000 and up). One thing that all of these products have in common is a selection of portfolios that appeal to different types of investors. While a basic program might be the right choice, investors will find that the products with higher minimum investments tend to offer so much more, including customized portfolios, greater diversification, multi-manager/multi-asset/multi-style investments and features such as Investment Policy Statements, automatic rebalancing and tax optimization.

What is an Investment Policy Statement? The Investment Policy Statement, or IPS, is the blueprint for your investments. It explains in detail the investment strategy that has been tailored especially for you. Keeping in mind your personal circumstances and tolerance for risk, it sets out your asset allocation strategy – how your portfolio will be invested.

Your IPS is part of the consistent, disciplined investment strategy that will help you preserve and grow your wealth over the long term. It defines your objectives, your investment time horizon and any income or cash requirements that you may have. Your portfolio is a central component of your IPS. The IPS details the investments that create the optimal combination of asset classes and target percentages that fit your goals and personal circumstances.

Also part of your IPS are performance expectations – how much a portfolio such as yours has earned over the past decade and what you may expect in the future.

Why do I need to rebalance? Rebalancing is another important aspect of your long-term investment strategy. It maintains your optimum asset mix, keeps your risk level in check and ensures your portfolio stays on track. Your portfolio reflects your investment objectives and personal financial goals and maps out a plan to help you achieve them. When it was first created, it was tailored to meet your financial plan. However, over time, as different asset classes perform at different rates, your original asset allocation falls out of line. This means that your portfolio may no longer be performing according to your investment plan and you may be exposed to a greater level of risk than you are comfortable with.

Rebalancing is the process of buying and selling portions of your portfolio in order to reset the asset classes back to their original state. It serves to reduce risk, lock in gains, impose discipline and may boost performance over the long term. Regular rebalancing may help you to achieve better risk-adjusted long-term returns because it automatically leverages the discipline of “buying low and selling high” by realigning your assets from those that have performed well to other areas of your portfolio that have lagged. While it is impossible to predict which asset class will outperform at any given time, rebalancing ensures that your portfolio is always poised to take advantage of the next market cycle.

What is taxation-efficient investing? Tax-efficient investing is making sure that investments that would otherwise attract the highest level of tax are held in accounts that pay the least amount of tax. For example, income earned from fixed-income investments, such as bonds or GICs, is taxed at a higher rate than income earned from equity investments. By tax optimizing an investment portfolio, the investments with the highest tax value are moved to accounts with more favourable tax treatment, such as RSPs or to accounts of lower income members of the family.

To help minimize any negative tax consequences, it’s important to consider all your family’s accounts as a single portfolio when determining the need for rebalancing. In addition, your ongoing contributions should be allocated to asset classes that are underweight, which will reduce the amount of rebalancing required to maintain your optimum asset mix.This guarantees that your investments always reflect your personal goals and investing profile.

– Peter Pomponio is Vice-President of Assante Wealth Management. He is the owner of the Ville St-Laurent Branch and practices as a Senior Fully Licensed Financial Planner from the Ville St-Laurent office. He can be reached at (514) 832-5100, or by e-mail at ppomponio@assante.com.

CE QUE VOUS CONDUISEZ, NOUS MOTIVE...

VOLVO LAVAL 2350, BOUL. CHOMEDEY, LAVAL (450) 682-3336 www.volvolaval.com Volvo. pour la vie

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FAMILY

Famille

famiglia

Italian Family

Exploring the

By Sonya Legault-Cesta Montreal’s Italian heritage goes beyond pasta, wine, tomatoes, fashion and folksongs like Funiculi Funicula and That’s Amore. Rather, the culture is multi-faceted, diverse, and complex. Values and traditions are constantly in flux. Some we keep, and others we change. However, one aspect that remains the core of our culture is: la famiglia.

Nevertheless, we must acknowledge that even our families are in the midst of transformation. Contemporary Italian families are in many ways similar to the ones who immigrated to Canada in the 50s and 60s. But they are also in many ways different. Since multiculturalism characterizes the Greater Montreal Area as a whole, Italians today are not all “pure bred” – including myself. Some are “half and half ”as they say. Others are three-quarters of one culture and one quarter of another. The Italian identity is thus plural and difficult to pin down. This leads me to ask specific questions: What does it mean to be Italian in Montreal?

What constitutes our Italian identity? Essentially, this series raises such questions in the goal of politicizing our “Italianness”– if such status exists. I took upon myself the task of exploring la famiglia and providing an avant-goût to PanoramItalia’s series on the Italian family.

In her study Pays et Patrie: Mariages et Lieux d’Origine des Italiens de Montréal 1906-1930, professor Sylvie Taschereau emphasizes that the largest waves of Italian immigration occurred both in the first and second halves of the 20th century (approximately 1900 to 1927 and 1947 to the 1960s) Within those periods, thousands of Italians settled in Canada’s largest cities, including Toronto and Montreal. One of the main reasons explaining such mass immigration is the poor quality of working conditions in the Italian mainland, according to Taschereau. In fact, during both waves, it was very common for Italian men – including my nonno – to migrate to Canada solo in search for work. Once established, the men would send for their wives and children, shows Taschereau’s study. In 1931, around 21,000 Italians lived in Montreal. St-Jean and Villeray were districts highly occupied by the Italian community.

Religion was an important aspect strengthening the communal ties amongst Canadian-born Italians and newly-arrived immigrants. Both Madonna della Difesa and Madonna del Carmine were key parishes in the formation of Montreal’s Italian culture, explained Taschereau. Priests were Italian and frequently served masses using their mother-tongue.

Oftentimes, Italians turned toward either one of the parishes in order to celebrate religious events, including weddings. In geographical terms, both churches were focal points in the creation of “Italian” neighborhoods – St-Leonard and Little Italy, according to Taschereau.

Today, the Italian community is one of the largest ethnic groups in the Greater Montreal Area. Over 249,000 Italians live in the province of Quebec, according to the 2001 census.

Values and Discipline Talking over coffee, my relatives and I explored the various aspects associated to our culture. When asked about “family,” most Italians would say: “unity above all.”

That is exactly what my nonnina replied: “Family signifies hope and joy. It makes an elderly person feel alive. L’unione della famiglia, non si puo descrivere.”

One can thus say that most Italian families attach importance to unity, discipline, and respect. My uncle Tony mentioned that family entails effort and understanding on the part of every member. Growing up, he emphasized, children, often, did not have many toys – most Italian parents were recent immigrants, worked long hours, and had lower incomes.

Parents strongly valued discipline and respect for elders and enforced these principles unto their children, he said. Children, in turn, did not focus on acquiring many material goods.

However, most middle-aged Italians would say that appreciation and respect have taken a downfall in today’s Montreal-Italian families. These days, children expect more from their parents – in terms of material satisfaction, said my uncle Tony. They expect to have the latest trends with no questions asked. Although respect and discipline remain important values in our families, children and teenagers answer back more often to their parents, he explained. “When I was kid, answering back to my father was very rare,” my uncle added. In those times, discipline was more physical: la strappa, the look, the shoe.

“We were more afraid of our parents.”

Why is this so? What changed? Exactly, why are Italian parents raising their children differently? Is it partly due to the social and cultural integration of the Italian culture into Quebec’s dominant way of life? These are the questions that pop up after raising such issues with my family.

Identity and Traditions I normally say that almost all stereotypes about Italians are true. We are definitely loud, especially during family and cultural feasts. Most of the time, gestures and words go hand-in-hand – we rarely speak without using our hands to complement our speech. We usually have large families and value family gatherings – Sunday lunch is a typical family gathering highly valued by Italian families. Having an elaborate garden is another point that describes our culture. Even when my nonno was ill, he still needed to make sure that his

tomato plants were growing in order to have enough tomatoes for the whole year round.

Finally, making wine is an essential point strengthening the unity of the family. Fathers, uncles, and sons usually get together to make and taste the family wine.

These are the various traditions that we have kept since the early 1900s. They were true then, and they still hold true today. Now, let me be provocative for a moment.

Let me spark debate and annoy some readers. Let me flaunt my culture – as politically incorrect as it sounds. I asked the ultimate question to my uncle: What makes us Italian?

Without any hesitation, he explained that Italians are giving people. When someone enters an Italian household, he/she is sure to be greeted with a smile and courtesy – no matter if the visitor is a friend or a stranger. Whether the host offers a glass of water, coffee, or a plate of pasta, he/she is respectful towards the visitor. I cannot say that every Italian in Montreal is a welcoming person. However, I can affirm – based on my personal experiences – that the great majority of Italians were taught courtesy and respect as children and carry out such values in their everyday lives. In turn, most Italians expect the same type of treatment from others. Like in any other culture, traditions are fundamental in the construction of the Italian identity.

Most individuals would say that Italians are hard-headed when it comes to their culture and values and that they hold on to their family traditions. If so, what are the social forces pushing Italians to be protective of their traditions and identity?

Intercultural marriages Taschereau’s study shows that in the first half of the 20th century the great majority of Italian immigrants married within their culture – often with individuals who came from the same region in Italy. Exogamic marriages were very rare in the first years of immigration. Marriage partners were often issued of the same social class, according to Taschereau. The same occurred in the second wave. Through such cultural enclosure, Italian immigrants reacted toward their unfamiliar homeland. They created their own sense of belonging, added Taschereau. However, as the Italian community familiarized itself with Montreal’s dominant culture, exogamic unions became more commonplace.

Today, intercultural partnerships are typical affairs. I am a product of an intercultural marriage. My father is half Italian, half French-Canadian, and my mother is Italian. Such a mixture makes me three quarters Italian, one quarter French-Canadian – hence the name Legault. My identity is thus composed of two separate cultures.

Then, what does it mean to be “half and half ”?

What happens when two cultures interconnect?

What happens to the individual’s culture? What happens to the individual’s identity?

Languages The spoken language often represents the ultimate expression of a culture. During the early years of immigration, Italians spoke Italian – maybe a little French or English, but mostly Italian. My nonni used their native tongue to raise their children.

Hence, my mother and her siblings spoke to their parents uniquely in Italian. In contemporary society, second-and-third-generation Italians use English or French to talk amongst themselves.

Although Italian is still widely used in Italian households, English and French have become predominate languages shaping today’s Italian community.

Language is thus another factor revealing the transformative quality of Montreal’s Italian community. How is the change of language affecting our cultural identity? In which way does education influence one’s language use? Does one still consider him/herself Italian if he/she does not speak the language? Finally, how is language connected to culture?

Family structure Traditionally, the “father” is head of the Italian household. That was the case for my mother. My nonno took the “big” decisions: paying the mortgage and bills, buying property, selling the house. My nonnina took care of the daily routine: education, cleaning and cooking, budget making, and childrearing. However, it is important to mention that for many immigrants “work” was a common task for both men and women. Therefore, my grandfather and grandmother worked outside the household in order to provide for the family.

Describing today’s family structures, my uncle Tony emphasized that husbands and wives often take on the same tasks. They both work and deal with domestic chores. In many cases, men and women form a partnership. Although fathers continue to play a fundamental role in contemporary Italian families, mothers are major players in the functioning of the family.

How is the transformation of the Italian family structure affecting the disciplining of children? Are men and women actually equal in terms of their roles? What is the configuration of today’s Italian family?

Starting line This exploration raises more questions than it provides answers. However, it is precisely through this interrogation process that I want to present and talk about our families, values, traditions, and ultimately, our culture. The family series is not intended to present a definite picture of our cultural identity; rather, it is intended to play with popular conceptions and enable readers to think about their culture.

S U B S C R I B E T O O U R Y E A R LY E D I T I O N

5 1 4 . 3 3 7 . 7 8 7 0 www.panoramitalia.com

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ADVERTORIAL

Cruise through your next vacation

By Sabrina Marandola Summer’s come, and almost gone. But if you didn’t get your fill of sunshine, fun, and some R&R, it’s not too late. If summer’s passing has still left you longing for sunny rays, salty waters, and a spice of adventure, your pleasure paradise may be awaiting you…in the world’s waters. Rosa DeRienzo would bet on it. And she should know.

She’s been from one corner of the planet to the other – from Alaska, to Russia, to the Mediterranean and to literally every island that dots the Caribbean seascape. Travelling is not just a way to enjoy living for DeRienzo – it’s how she makes her living. The 34-yearold is the owner of Laval CruiseShipCenters.

She worked for the nation-wide company for 11 years before buying over Laval’s only franchise. “I bought it in partnership in December 2004. Then, in 2005, I bought my partners out,” DeRienzo says, adding it’s Rosa DeRienzo a lot of work to run her own business, but the luxury comes in having the freedom to make her own decisions.

This past August, DeRienzo just celebrated her one-year anniversary of being the sole proprietor of her travel agency. But DeRienzo says what she’s really celebratory about is how she’s seeing more Italian-Canadians crossing the boundaries in the world of travel. “Italians are travelling a lot more,” DeRienzo says. “You still have those who go back to Italy or who go to Cuba or Acapulco for a month, but a lot of Italians like to travel. They like to visit new places and see different things – but sometimes there’s just this fear of doing it by themselves.” That’s why DeRienzo says the best advice she can ever give to vacationers who want the most bang for their buck, is to take a cruise. “There are cruises for everyone. They attract all different age groups – from three years old to seniors,” DeRienzo says. “It’s a ‘great vacation’ guarantee.” DeRienzo, who has been on 60 cruises, says being at sea is one of the best ways to ensure fun for the entire family. “It’s definitely one of the best ways to vacation as a family,” DeRienzo says. “Cruises have programs for kids from three years old to 17 years old, and some cruise lines have very, very good educational programs. For example, on the Alaskan cruise, they teach kids about the wildlife they’ll see in Alaska.”

DeRienzo adds that with so many destinations to choose from, it’s easy to find a trip with a price-tag that’s just right. “Where there’s water, there’s a cruise, [and] there’s a cruise for every budget,” DeRienzo says. “You’d be surprised – sometimes a cruise is cheaper than one week in Cuba.” As a bonus, picky-eaters won’t have a problem on a cruise – which is often not the case when vacationing on some of the islands, DeRienzo adds. “The food is guaranteed to be good on a cruise, because it meets the North American standards.”

DeRienzo says a cruise is also a way to experience more during a vacation getaway.

“The difference between a cruise and a land-based package is that a cruise has a different port of call every day. So, you’re not stuck on one island if you don’t like it.” DeRienzo says this

is a perfect way to play the odds against Mother Nature…and win.

“Honeymooners often go away in the summer. It’s hurricane season, and if you go on an island, you’re stuck there if it rains,” DeRienzo says of land-based trips. “But on a cruise ship, the worst thing that can happen is that you change island. If the western Caribbean is stormy, for example, you’ll go to the eastern Caribbean.”

While Laval CruiseShipCenters offers both cruises and land-based packages, DeRienzo says she’s gotten a lot of pleasure out of introducing the notion of spending leisure time on a ship to many Italian-Canadians. DeRienzo hooked up with CFMB radio in 2005.

“Where there’s water, there’s a cruise, [and] there’s a cruise for every budget,” ...

With her own weekly segment on the airwaves, she organized a cruise for the station’s listeners.

In May 2005, she brought listeners to the Panama Canal, and for Christmas of that same year, 150 people spent New Year’s Eve with DeRienzo aboard the Lirica ship in the Caribbean. “The feedback is always excellent,” DeRienzo says. “The clientele ranges from young families with newborns, to teenagers to seniors. Everyone has a good time, and beyond that, they form friendships. When we all go together on these trips, we become a family.” DeRienzo’s first two cruises were such a hit with CFMB listeners that her two trips planned for 2006 quickly sold out.

Just a month ago, DeRienzo along with 98 vacationers returned from an 11-day stay afloat the salty, deep-blue Mediterranean waters, having visited cities including Rome, Sardegna, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Tunisia, Palermo and Naples. DeRienzo just got back, but she is already ironing out the details for the next trip.

Tickets are already gone for this year’s upcoming New Year’s Eve bash – 98 people will be ringing in the New Year under Caribbean palm trees and toasting with little wooden umbrellas in their drinks. “We sold out quickly,” DeRienzo says, adding some are repeat customers. “About 20 per cent of people on these trips have already done another cruise with us [through CFMB]. We make people feel like they are a part of something. Everyone becomes family, so some people keep coming back because they enjoyed their first experience so much.”

DeRienzo says cruises are more popular now than ever before, and those who have never been aboard a captain’s ship are missing out. “The feedback I hear most from people who have never done a cruise before is: ‘Why were we waiting so long?’ There is definitely something for everybody.”

For more information, call Laval CruiseShipCentres at (450) 681-1801, or visit www.cruiseshipcentres.com.

Laval CruiseShipCenters I 3364 Saint Martin West, Suite 200, Laval, QC H7T 1A1

Santé

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HEALTH

Everything You Should Know About Breast Cancer

By Daniela Scoppa In her lifetime, one in nine women is expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer according to the Breast Cancer Society of Canada. No doubt a scary statistic, however slowly the stats on breast cancer are changing and it’s all because women are becoming more aware of the subject.

Proof of this comes from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, which states the mortality rate for this particular cancer is at its lowest since 1950.

“The most important thing for women is to know this cancer exists,” says Dr. Giuseppe Maiolo, a family practitioner in Montreal. According to Dr. Maiolo, women need to be informed of their family’s medical history and if they are in a high-risk group for the cancer.

Women aged 50 and up are at a higher risk at developing this particular cancer. With age being one of the greatest factors when it comes to breast cancer, family history of the disease comes a close second. “It’s important to know if women in your family have had this cancer,” says Dr. Maiolo.

“Even women who have had family members who had ovarian cancer can be at a higher risk for breast cancer so it’s important to discuss your genetic make-up with your doctor.”

Whether there is a family history of the disease or not and even if women are under 50, they should be aware of preventive steps to be taken against breast cancer. Sabrina Perri, a scientist doing research on breast cancer at The Segal Comprehensive Cancer Center (Lady Davis Institute), says that eating well, exercising, listening to doctors and not smoking are crucial to lowering the risk a little. “Anything you can do to prevent it, you should,” she says of the disease. “There’s no guarantee but you have to remember that there’s no harm in doing these things.”

What is also being heavily promoted among women of all ages is early detection. Accesss (Alliance des Communautes Culturelles pour l'Egalite dans la Sante et les Services Sociaux) is an organization aimed at bridging the gap between cultures in various aspects when it comes to matters of health. Alice Tofan and Javiera Arroyo are two women who are focusing on breast cancer in this particular organization.

“Linguistics are an important factor when it comes to making women aware of this disease,” says Tofan. “It [language] is a barrier needed to be crossed especially because this subject is taboo for certain populations.” Accesss offers brochures translated in 24 different languages to help promote early detection for breast cancer in all women.

“Women should start doing a self-exam at the age of 18,” says Tofan. The reason for this she says is so that women become aware of their breasts and body. Along with the simple once-a-month exam done in the comfort of your own home, women should be have a breast exam done at least once a year by her family physician or gynecologist.

For women between ages 50 and 69, the Quebec government (through their Programme Quebecois de depistage du cancer du sein) sends a letter to their homes reminding them to get a mammogram, one of the best ways to detect the presence of any lumps. The letters provide the addresses and numbers of centers where the test can be done and these centers will find women a surgeon if one is needed and if the women do not have their own family doctors.

Once a woman is passed the age of 69, she will stop receiving the letter for the simple reason that she should well be into the habit of having a mammogram done once a year.

Once a woman is diagnosed with having breast cancer there are a number of treatment options available. All is dependent on the size of the tumor, if it’s spread or not and each course of treatment is different from woman to woman, according to Dr. Maiolo. What is usually done first is surgery to remove the tumor and there are two types of surgeries: lumpectomy (removes only the lump) and mastectomy (removes the entire breast and usually underarm lymph nodes). Surgery is usually followed by radiation or chemotherapy treatments to kill all remnant cancer cells. Radiotherapy kills cells, which are more localized and chemotherapy will destroy cells that multiply fast, which is the main reason patient’s lose their hair, says Dr. Maiolo.

According to Perri what doctors are trying to do is to prevent what’s called metastasis, which is the spreading of breast cancer to other areas of the body. “Doctors are really trying to catch cancers early on and trying to stop them from spreading or getting worse,” she says. “This is why people can’t be afraid of getting tested, going to doctors and getting self-exams. It’s so important.”

Dr. Maiolo says that hormone therapy is also widely used nowadays. What this type of therapy does is the doctor will prescribe an estrogen-blocking drug such as Tamoxifen, which is a hormone that stops estrogen production. Estrogen is food for a tumor and allows it to grow. This treatment is also given by doctors to women who have not had breast cancer but who have a very high family history of it and also to women after they’ve had their initial treatment for breast cancer. Another reason, according to Dr. Maiolo to eat healthy and stay at a healthy weight is because fats are filled with more estrogen again increasing the risk.

There are many fundraising and awareness initiatives that take place in and around Montreal when it comes to breast cancer and many foundations (such as the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation) raising money dedicated to researching this cancer an area in which Perri says, “a lot of work still needs to be done.” October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time in which these foundations along with media and different companies try to raise more and more awareness among women.

Many foundations offer free support groups to women and their families struggling to cope with the disease along with useful information and statistics for women.

Although the topic is not a pleasant one for many, it is important to remember early detection is key when it comes to surviving breast cancer and knowing the facts is equally significant. Dr. Maiolo says awareness is vital and fear cannot get in the way of going to a doctor. “The most important thing is not to panic and take the proper steps to treating it.”

Facts about breast cancer: - In Canada in 2005, an estimated 21, 600 women will be diagnosed with breast caner, the most frequently diagnosed cancer in Canadian women. The incidences by age are: 22% of cases in women under age 50, 48% of cases in women

ages 50 to 60 and 30% of cases in women age 70 and over.

(Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation) - The mammogram is a special type of x-ray, which shows the inside of the breast. It detects breast cancer in its earliest stages, before you can even feel a lump. It is a safe procedure associated with very small levels of radiation. (National Institutes of Health, 2003) - Breast cancer is not a transmittable disease. Breast cancer occurs when new breast cells form when the body doesn’t need them, and old breast cells don’t die when they should.

These extra cells can form a mass of tissue called a tumor.

(National Institutes of Health, 2003) - If either a female’s mother or sister has breast cancer, her risk increases about two to three times. Having both a mother and a sister with breast cancer increases a woman’s risk up to six-fold. (Nationmaster.com) - Men usually don’t think of themselves as having breasts, but they do have breast tissue so they can get breast cancer. Although over 99% of breast cancer is found in women, an estimated 150 Canadian men were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. (Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation) - Lifestyle choices such as not smoking, eating healthy and staying physically active can play an important role in reducing breast cancer risk. However, reports circulated on the internet stating that antiperspirants, deodorants, breast feeding and under wire bras can cause breast cancer are false as they have not been scientifically proven. (Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation) For more information you can visit the following websites: •Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation www.rubanrose.org •Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation www.cbcf.org •Breast Cancer Society of Canada www.bcsc.ca •Canadian Cancer Society www.cancer.ca •Accesss (Alliance des Communautes Culturelles pour l’Egalite dans la Sante et les Services Sociaux) www.accesss.net

How to do a Self-Exam: 1. In front of the mirror First, with hands on your hips. Second, with arms above your head. Look for any dimpling, puckering or change in the size, shape or contour of the breast. Check for a change in skin texture, discharge from, or a change in the nipple.

2. Lying down Place a towel under your right shoulder and right hand behind your head. Examine the right breast with the fingers of the left hand. Start at the outermost edge of the breast, pressing in small circles towards the nipple. Check every part of both breasts. Look for any change from last month. Using the tips of the fingers with arm at your side, check the underarm area. Start high under the arm and slide your fingers along your ribs. (Reverse process for other breast.)

3. In the shower Place your right arm behind your head. With the middle three fingers of your left hand, roll and touch every part of the right breast, gently feeling for a lump or thickening.

(Reverse process for the left breast.)

(Source: www.rubanrose.org)

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PROFILE

Fiorenzo Vetrone: “Where No Man Has Gone Before”

By Allison Martens Having finished school early for the day, Fiorenzo Vetrone and a friend decided to play a few racks in a typical coffee bar in Montreal’s predominantly Italian Villeray district. For the thenteenaged Vetrone, an innocuous game of pool quickly became a lesson about discipline and sacrifice.

“My grandfather walked by, and happened to see us. He came inside, and said: ‘If you don’t leave this second, I don’t consider you my grandson anymore.’”

Vetrone recognized the hurt in his face. “He never went to bars: He worked hard,” he said. “I remember he told me he once worked for 25 or 75 cents an hour washing cars. Yet, he saved enough money to buy a house and bring his family over from Italy.”

Mortified, Vetrone dropped the cue, picked up his books, and studied. Since the age of five, he knew he had a future in science. He attended summer space camps, and dreamed of blasting-off to explore the galaxy. Later, his first chemistry and physics courses in high school confirmed his passion – and, revealed his intrinsic talent – for those subjects.

“He seemed to understand things more quickly than everyone else,” said his friend of 27 years, Rino Zaccheo. “I was very bad in math, chemistry and physics. We would sit up late at night in his parents’ basement, eating his mother’s chocolate-chip cookies with milk. He would tutor me until I got it right.”

Now at the age of 32, Vetrone is one of Canada’s most promising young researchers in the emerging field of nanotechnology. He recently commenced a postdoctoral appointment at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique in Varennes, near his native Montreal. In collaboration with biologists at the University of Montreal, he is helping to design the high-tech materials for the next generation of hip replacements, cardiovascular stents and orthopedic inserts.

“In an implant, for example, you want bone cells to grow to fuse it to the bone.

There are other types of cells that impede this,” Vetrone explained. “We’re trying to design an intelligent material, in the sense that the material itself will reject the bad cells, and allow the good cells – the osteoblasts – to flourish.”

The opportunity to contribute to pioneering research is one of many rewards Vetrone has started to reap as a result of his work as a PhD student in Concordia University’s chemistry department. He completed his studies there last year.

John Capobianco, his thesis advisor and a Vice-Dean at Concordia, said Vetrone and his then-lab partner, Chris Boyer, are the best students he has supervised in his 20 years there. In addition to unrelenting self-discipline and top-shelf writing skills, Capobianco said Vetrone possessed the ultimate hallmark of a successful researcher: Unbridled curiosity.

“You must be able to look at things through the eyes of a two-year-old. You must be completely fresh, without any biases or preconceived notions of what the result should be,” he said. “That’s how the great discoveries come about.”

Around midnight one hot summer evening in 1998, in a dimly-lit lab in downtown Montreal, Vetrone became the first person in the world to perform a process known as upconversion with these relatively new nanomaterials. By bombarding certain nanoparticles with infrared light, he and Boyer had been trying to show

that the particles could be induced to emit light of an even higher-energy. After scores of experiments, it finally worked.

Vetrone has since been published in the top academic journals in his field, and has garnered a coveted two-year $80,000 postdoctoral fellowship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, among other awards. Last summer, he travelled to conferences in Japan, France and Colorado to present his research.

Back in Montreal, he also attends monthly meetings of the Quebec Section of the Italian Scientific Community in Canada at the Italian Cultural Institute. He appreciates the exchange of information, and the kinship between the ex-patriate academics that attend.

Though he speaks English and French with perfect fluency, his mother tongue is Italian. “I actually remember entering kindergarten without speaking a word of English,” he said. “It’s strange: I consider myself Italian even though I was born in Canada.

“All my friends are Italian Canadians, and we speak Italian with one another and to our parents. It’s like we’re a province of Italy here,” he said, and from his seat on a terrace in the heart of Montreal’s Little Italy, he gestured to the street where groups of men gather outside the cafés to savour an afternoon espresso, meet with friends or discuss La Rosa – the sports pages – in rapid-fire Italian.

This is where Vetrone grew up. As a young boy, he loved to shop and drop in on relatives with his grandfather, or visit the nearby market with his mother, who taught him how to select the most plum tomatoes for that week’s batch of homemade sauce.

For good behaviour, he was rewarded with dawn mushrooming expeditions with his father at a secret location in rural Quebec. “He never divulged his territory, because mushrooms were such a prized possession,” Vetrone said, to be sizzled on steak or carefully preserved in oil.

Vetrone lost both parents while completing his doctorate. His mother, a homemaker, had breast cancer. His father, a textile worker, followed 14 months later – only two months before Vetrone finished his PhD. “The official diagnosis was a heart attack, but I think he died of a broken heart,” he said.

They had been inseparable, he added, since they met in Montreal in their mid20s. Both were born in Southern Italy, and they shared a special bond having grown up in neighbouring towns near Naples.

Vetrone said his own girlfriend of 10 years – also a first-generation ItalianCanadian, his “rock” – provided inestimable support through this period, and helped keep him focused on his studies. When not in the lab, he can usually be found with her, or sipping a short espresso (one sugar, please) in one of Little Italy’s cafés. Alternatively in his spare time, he might catch up on Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes, or satiate his appetite for science fiction and English literature.

The World Cup was a highlight of last summer. Like many calcio addicts – his team is SSC Napoli – many of his memories are linked to the sports’ most incredible moments. He remembers the day he left to compete in a soccer tournament in Italy: “We left the day after Italy lost in the World Cup final in 1994,” he said. “When (star player Roberto) Baggio missed the penalty kick.”

Vetrone has played soccer since age five, and goaltended for 10 years in Quebec's elite AAA league, most recently for the Laval Conquerants. He now plays calcietto – seven-on-seven played on a half-field – twice weekly with friends in a fiercely competitive local league.

Though he has retired his dream of becoming a star goalie like his childhood idol, Italy’s Dino Zoff, he continues to live another through his science. He said he couldn’t be in a better place. “It’s not work if you get up in the morning and you enjoy what you’re doing.” And, if the Space Agency of NASA were to come calling, “I’d definitely jump on board.”

Vetrone’s grandfather never told him how proud he was of him before he passed away four years ago. His pride wouldn’t allow him to, Vetrone said. Yet, he knows the incident in the bar was forgiven long ago.

“He told everyone else how I had made the family proud.”

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STORYstoria Healing with a Smile

By Sabrina Marandola I ring the doorbell at the D’Alesio home, and I am welcomed inside with a warm smile. Little did I know just how little reason Gabriel D’Alesio and Carmela Centorame have had to smile over the last few years.

Yet, the couple in their early 30s smiles so contagiously anyway. “One day at a time,” says Centorame, as she props up her nine-month old son Giacomo in her arms. Her husband Gabriel is sitting at the kitchen table with their two-year-old son Giancarlo, promising him a game of pitch & catch in the backyard as soon as I leave. It looks like the pictureperfect family: mom and dad, with their two boys, in their beautiful Beaconsfield bungalow.

The D’Alesios recognize this scene well, because they already had that “picture-perfect” family just three years ago…when they were the parents of two children: Sabrina and Camillo.

“We thought we had a million-dollar family with Sabrina and Camillo,” recalls D’Alesio. “We live in a very nice area, with four or five schools nearby. Sabrina was in school in Kindergarten at the time. Everything was going great.” That all changed suddenly.

D’Alesio says the first sign something wasn’t right was in October 2001.

“Camillo was sick. He had swollen lymph nodes and a fever,” says D’Alesio of his son Camillo, who was almost three at the time.

Camillo got better after a few days of rest and medication, and his parents and doctors thought it was nothing more than a virus. But spring began to bloom, and in March, Camillo fell ill again, showing the same symptoms. “We went to the hospital, but the doctors said to go home. It went away within 10 to 12 days," D’Alesio says. “At the same time Camillo was sick, Sabrina was also sick,” adds Centorame.

“She had a sinus infection and a throat infection. Her pediatrician said, ‘Sometimes perfectly healthy children just have a weak immune system. We’ll have blood work done.’”

Doctors at the Montreal Children’s Hospital ran tests, doing blood scans to find the root cause of Camillo and Sabrina’s ailments. D’Alesio and Centorame had no worries about the medical tests. “We thought to ourselves, ‘In the Children’s Hospital, these are the kids with problems. That’s not us,’” D’Alesio says. “There was no reason to expect anything other than a regular virus.” But Camillo’s condition turned out to be anything but regular.

Test results came in July, while Camillo was suffering from the same symptoms for a third time – and the diagnosis was doubly devastating. “The doctor from the Hematology/Oncology department came over to us. Camillo was in the [hospital] bed and Sabrina was with us,” recalls D’Alesio. “She took us into a room and said, ‘Unfortunately, not one but both your children have a hereditary genetic disorder.” The disease is called ChediakHigashi Syndrome, and it’s so rare, Camillo and Sabrina’s doctors had never even heard of it. “There are only 250 cases world-wide,” says Centorame. “The doctors believe Sabrina and Camillo are the first cases in Quebec, and possibly in Canada,” adds D’Alesio.

Chediak-Higashi Syndrome is a disease that children can be born with if both parents are carriers of the gene. Children with this syndrome suffer from a deficient immune system, meaning their bodies can’t fight off bacteria or viruses. Children usually die by the age of 10, often from bleeding, infections or cancers. But the chances of getting Chediak-Higashi Syndrome are extremely rare – one in 100 million.

Unfortunately, the D’Alesio family beat those odds – twice. D’Alesio and Centorame were tested and discovered they were indeed both carriers of the faulty gene.

“We’re each carriers of the gene,” explains D’Alesio pointing to himself and his wife. “But our gene is dormant. We’ll never have it and we grew up all of our lives perfectly healthy.

That’s why we were so shocked.”

Doctors immediately began treatment on Camillo, who was suffering again from swollen lymph nodes and fever. Camillo began undergoing aggressive chemotherapy at the age of three, and required a bone marrow transplant as well. When there was no match, Centorame donated hers. Camillo’s condition stabilized after several months in hospital, and was back home in November.

“From that point on, we lived life to its fullest,” says D’Alesio. “We both stopped working and decided to stay with the kids.” One month passed before things started to take a turn for the worst – and fast. Just two days after Christmas, Camillo had a seizure.

Meanwhile, Sabrina, who had never shown any signs of the disease, began having symptoms in December at the age of six. “She wasn’t feeling well. I checked her lymph nodes right away. They were swollen – and I knew,” says D’Alesio. “We were so scared.”

Sabrina was hospitalized in January. She caught a virus, which weakened her immune system and only accelerated the phase of her Chediak-Higashi Syndrome. D’Alesio remembers looking into his daughter’s eyes. “She looked at me and she was having trouble breathing. She

said to me, ‘Daddy, I can’t breathe. I’m going to die.’” After one week in hospital, Sabrina died.

“Our daughter died in our arms,” D’Alesio recalls. “And we had to go down one floor to Camillo’s room and put on a brave face for our son, who’s going through his own hell.”

Camillo’s organs were deteriorating due to the chemotherapy. In mid-April, he underwent a third bone marrow transplant, but the four-year-old lost his battle with the syndrome in May. D’Alesio and Centorame lost their only two children within five months of each other. They say their pain was immense, but they eventually discovered a way to find small comforts: by creating ways to support other families with hospitalized children. “We can’t go back in time,” says D’Alesio. “If we can make a difference in another parent’s life, then something good comes out of all of this.” So, out of the D’Alesio healing process was born the Sabrina and Camillo D’Alesio Foundation.

“Sabrina was so sociable and friendly with everyone – just a very lovable child.

Camillo was a very strong and determined boy…So we want their spirit to live on through the foundation,’ D’Alesio says. “Our goal is to make children smile. If we can make a child’s day brighter, then we’ve done our job as a foundation.” “Seeing a child, who’s sick in the hospital, smile and forget where he is for even just a moment – it’s priceless,” agrees Centorame.

Through various fund-raising events, the 13-member board, presided by D’Alesio and Centorame, raises money to fund programs aimed at improving a sick child’s emotional and psychological well-being during their hospital stay.

D’Alesio says he and his wife chose to focus on the spiritual aspect of children’s health because the disease that claimed the life of their son and daughter had no medical cure. “The first thing that people think about is funding medication or medical technology, but in many cases, there is just no treatment,” says D’Alesio. “So we’re trying to help the human side.”

Since the Sabrina and Camillo D’Alesio Foundation was created in 2004, D’Alesio and Centorame have raised roughly $250,000. Part of this money was donated to the Montreal’s Children Hospital to renovate the Hematology/Oncology department, which is where Camillo and Sabrina spent many of their days. The patients’ rooms got a facelift, including fresh coats of colourful paint, new bathrooms, kitchens, showers and beds for parents, and DVD players, flat-screen TVs and phones for the young patients.

“There was no phone in Camillo’s room in 2002,” recalls Carmela. “No one was allowed inside his room because his immune system was too weak, and he couldn’t communicate with the outside world. It was ridiculous.” Besides improving patients’ surroundings, the funds raised also led D’Alesio and Centorame to create programs to help raise a child’s spirits. They created the Healing with a Smile Program, which funds various therapies such as Clown Therapy, Music Therapy and Art Therapy.

“In the hospitals, it’s machines, it’s numbers. It’s poking and prodding on a daily basis. The child loses total control of his environment,” says D’Alesio. “But having Clown Therapy, like ‘Dr. Clown’ who comes to your room to make you laugh, really gives control back to the child.”

“It empowers the kids,” Centorame says. D’Alesio and Centorame, who lived through a literal “parent’s worst nightmare”, realized comfort could come in something as simple as a smile. And it seems as though a smile is what empowers D’Alesio and Centorame. Maybe that’s why they do it so contagiously as they greet me at their front door, or as they play with their two healthy boys they call “blessings” since Sabrina and Camillo’s deaths in 2003.

The Sabrina and Camillo Foundation’s motto is “Angels smile when you help a child.” Gabriel D’Alesio says he’s certain his “angels” are smiling now. “We like to think Sabrina and Camillo are together, looking down on us, and smiling.”

For more information, visit www.sabrinaandcamillo.com or call The Sabrina and Camillo Foundation at (514) 671-0058.

A Passion for Fashion

By Shauna Hardy Rio Sud has always been a retail-chain synonymous with quality. But thanks to the pioneering vision and dedicated spirit of its new owner and president, Silvio Pittarelli, the Quebec-based company is moving in exciting and enterprising new directions. The new owner has overseen the renovation of the 13 original stores, has opened 9 new Rio Sud concept stores as well as five new big box Rio SudCohoes stores. The next phase will see both store concepts expanding across the province.

Silvio Pittarelli’s entrepreneurial spirit certainly runs in the family. Born in Italy, Silvio Silvio Pittarelli immigrated to Canada in 1957 with his father Antonio, his mother Emilia, his brother Mario and sister Brigida. His father had chosen Quebec as the land of opportunity for his young family and soon opened a shoe store and repair shop specializing in hand- made orthopedic shoes in Montreal.

Being handicapped himself, Antonio understood his customers’ needs and concerns. He developed an innovative approach to orthopedics, building up the height of the shoe from the inside using cork, thereby masking the disability and making the orthopedic

made. The boutique itself is large and spacious, so that clients can comfortably navigate the store and locate the merchandise they desire. Customers never need to worry about finding a salesperson to help them – each employee has a designated task, ensuring that communication flows easily and customers enjoy a positive experience from the moment they walk in the door.

Along with a no questions asked full-exchange and refund policy, Pittarelli has also introduced a gold card membership plan that includes gift certificates, and privilege shopping.

The programme has been a huge hit and boasts 30,000 active members. “Our most important concern is keeping our customers happy,” he explains. “If they are looking for an item that isn’t at one location, we will happily ship it from another, regardless of the expense.”

The kindness and consideration that Pittarelli extends toward his clientele is also reflected in the way he treats his staff. All 275 employees are encouraged to communicate and each has access to Pittarelli’s cell number. “I have always told my staff, rather than criticize employees for doing something wrong, catch them doing something right and praise them for that!”

Along with its customer-friendly philosophy, Rio-Sud prides itself upon the fashions that it is selling. Directed primarily at the “lady boomer”, the chain’s spectrum of clients ranges from women aged 25 to 55. “Three generations of women can walk into a store together,” says Pittarelli, “and they will each find something that appeals to their individual tastes.”

From career wear to sportswear, denim and casual wear Rio Sud offers stylish, practical clothing at a reasonable price. Most of the fashions are part of the store’s distinguished private label. The stylish collections are based upon extensive research that takes Pittarelli and his design team all over the world looking for the latest trends.

“You can wait for the industry to come to you with next season’s fashions or you can go out and find them yourself,” he says. “We inspire ourselves with what is current and trendy, merging European and American influences to create our private label which is produced by a Montreal-based design team.”

From Barcelona and Paris to New York, London, Amsterdam, and Italy, they diligently attend fashion shows and visit showrooms in order to tap into fashion’s beat. Each season is based around three to four colour palettes and different styles. Rather than flooding the stores with the entire collection at each season’s beginning, the company brings out key pieces every two to three weeks, allowing clients to access a bit of fashion inspiration all year round.

“My clothes are developed with a lot of love,” he says with a smile. “They have to be items that my family would wear. If the women in my life don’t find the styles appealing, then why would my clients?”

Pittarelli’s most recent brain wave is what he terms “a big-box store”. Having recently acquired the Cohoes store banner when the chain went out of business, Pittarelli is now concentrating upon producing a shopping experience that appeals to the whole family.

The “boutique-within-a-store” concept made its debut at the 8,500 square foot store located on Jean Talon Boulevard to rave reviews.

Rio Sud-Cohoes has a little bit of something for everyone. Along with fashions for men, women and children, the discerning shopper will also be able to find furniture, home accessories, linens and other assorted items. The common link between the diverse mix? Style and ultra-reasonable prices, of course! Pittarelli’s “Never pay retail again” slogan couldn’t be more appropriate.

So often, people are often afraid to take a risk and follow their own vision. But Silvio Pittarelli has proven that remaining true to one’s dreams and values is the key to certain success. Personal attention blended with reasonable prices and attractive clothing are a winning business combination and Pittarelli is confirming that in the sometimes fickle world of fashion, he is definitely here to stay.

“We inspire ourselves with what is current and trendy, merging European and American influences...” shoe much lighter and stylish at the same time. While his customers appreciated his father’s thoughtful method, Pittarelli admits that he was mystified by the rock-bottom prices that were charged. “I always used to ask my father, ‘Why do you sell your shoes so cheaply?’ He always replied, ‘I know what it’s like to be handicapped, I get my payment through the happiness of my clients.”

The elder Pittarelli’s commitment to quality, workmanship and fashion at value pricing were quickly endorsed by a very loyal customer base and are values that all of his children practice in both their personal and professional lives.

While Silvio Pittarelli enjoyed an extremely successful career as a businessman, he admits that there was always a longing to develop a business of his own. “It was something that was always in my heart,” he says. “But I didn’t want to jeopardize the security of my own family. I had to wait until I knew that everyone was settled.”

Opportunity came knocking in the form of Rio Sud and Pittarelli knew that the timing was right. “My heart has always been in retail, but I wanted to approach it from a different angle,” he explains. While becoming president and owner of Rio Sud was making Pittarelli’s heart beat faster, many people around him were mystified by his decision to take on such a daunting project at a later point in life. “People kept saying ‘Why are you doing this now at your age, when most people are planning their retirement? Why don’t you just retire?’ But I always gave the same reply – ‘I am going to continue my career, I’m not going to retire, until life retires me!’”

While the iron-clad rules of retail might work for some, Pittarelli’s vision has always extended outside the box. Like his father, he has always thought considerately about customers needs, developing a store concept that is appealing to his clientele rather than focusing solely upon the product he is selling. “I have never settled for the status quo,” he explains. “I always want to keep trying and trying to make it better and better. I am a very persistent person.”

Being surrounded by women – his wife, three daughters, three granddaughters, and now a young puppy named, Lola – Pittarelli has developed keen insights into maximizing a female customer’s shopping experience. The 4,000 square foot flagship boutique in Carrefour Angrignon is the perfect reflection of Pittarelli’s vision. There is a large customer bathroom equipped with change tables and a supply of diapers. The change rooms are fitted with plenty of hooks, flattering lighting and mirrors both inside and outside of the change room, just in case clients are craving a little privacy. A children’s corner keeps the little ones entertained. There is also a designated men’s corner for any significant other that might be accompanying a Rio Sud client on a shopping excursion. The space is outfitted with comfortable chairs, good magazines and a telephone just in case an important call needs to be

ADVERTORIAL

Moda e Passione Di Shauna Hardy A Rio Sud é sempre stato sinonimo di qualità nel campo della vendita al dettaglio.

Grazie alla visione pioneristica ed alla dedizione del suo nuovo proprietario, nonché Presidente, Silvio Pittarelli, la ditta quebecchese si dirige verso nuove, eccitanti ed intraprendenti direzioni.

Il nuovo titolare, che ha controllato di persona i lavori di rinnovazione dei 13 negozi originali, spera di espandere la catena sino a 50 negozi in tutta la provincia.

Sicuramente, lo spirito imprenditoriale di Silvio Pittarelli, è una caratteristica di famiglia. Nato in Italia, Silvio è immigrato in Canada nel 1957 con il padre Antonio, la madre Emilia, il fratello Mario e la sorella Brigida. Suo parde scelse il Quebec come terra d'opportunità per la sua giovane famiglia e, poco dopo il loro arrivo, aprì a Montreal una calzoleria specializzata nella produzione di scarpe ortopediche fatte a mano.

Soffrendo lui stesso di un handicap, Antonio poteva capire meglio di tutti i problemi e le esigenze della sua clientela. Sviluppò un approccio innovativo all'ortopedia, rialzando col sughero la suola della scarpa dall'interno, mascherando così la presenza della protesi e rendendo le sue scarpe ortopediche più leggere ed eleganti allo stesso tempo. Se la clientela apprezzava i metodi ingegnosi di suo padre, Pittarelli riconosce che la modicità dei prezzi lo lasciavano un po' perplesso. "Domandavo spesso a mio padre il motivo per il quale vendeva le sue scarpe a così basso prezzo. Mi rispondeva sempre che lui conosceva le difficoltà di vivere con un handicap e che la felicità dei suoi clienti era la sua remunerazione."

L'impegno di Pittarelli di mantenere un alto livello qualitativo, rispettando le regole del mestiere ed i criteri della moda, a prezzi modici, gli valsero una clientela molto fedele. Lo stesso impegno è messo in atto oggi dai suoi figli nelle loro vite personali e professionali.

Silvio Pittarelli, che come uomo d'affari ha goduto di una carriera ricca di successi, dichiara che ha sempre sognato di sviluppare un'azienda sua. "È qualcosa che ho sempre sentito nel mio cuore,". "Ma non volevo mettere a rischio la sicurezza della mia famiglia. Dovevo aspettare che tutti avessero una posizione stabile."

L'opportunità si presentò e si chiamava Rio Sud. Pittarelli sapeva che il momento era giusto. "Ho sempre avuto un debole per la vendita al dettaglio, ma volevo avvicinarla in una maniera differente," spiega Pittarelli. Se il fatto di diventare proprietario e presidente di Rio Sud era molto emozionante, molte delle sue conoscenze più intime rimasero sorprese dalla sua decisione di intraprendere un progetto così ambizioso alla sua età.

"La gente mi chiedeva sempre perché non pensavo ad andare in pensione ed io rispondevo che la mia intenzione era di continuare a lavorare in attesa che fosse la vita a mandarmi in pensione!"

Le regole ferree della vendita al dettaglio sono adatte per alcuni, ma la visione di Pittarelli è sempre stata un po’ fuori dai ranghi. Come suo padre, ha sempre avuto molta considerazione per le esigenze della sua clientela, per questo motivo ha scelto di creare un concetto di negozi che sia attraente per la clientela, invece di valorizzare esclusivamente il prodotto. "Non mi sono mai accontentato dello status quo," spiega Pittarelli. "Sono una persona molto tenace e cerco sempre il meglio."

Essendo circondato da donne – sua moglie, le sue tre figlie, tre nipotine ed ora anche una cuccioletta di nome Lola - Pittarelli ha sviluppato un intuito molto perspicace nel perfezionamento dell'esperienza d'acquisto della clientela femminile. La boutique di 4000 piedi quadrati del Carrefour Angrignon, fiore all'occhiello della catena, è un esempio perfetto della visione di Pittarelli. Ampie stanze da bagno, complete di ripiani e di pannolini di ricambio; camerini attrezzati di molteplici appendiabiti, d'illuminazione lusinghiera e di specchi sia all'esterno che all'interno, per la clientela desidera più discrezione; un angolo giochi per divertire i più piccoli e anche un'area designata ai signori che volessero accompagnare le loro consorti a fare acquisti. L'ambiente è fornito di comode poltrone, riviste interessanti ed un telefono, nell'evenienza che una chiamata urgente dovesse rendersi necessaria. La boutique é ampia e spaziosa per lasciare la libertà ai clienti di spostarsi comodamente ed individuare la merce che desiderano. La clientela non deve mai preoccuparsi di trovare un commesso – ogni impiegato ha degli incarichi precisi per garantire che l'informazione sia disponibile al bisogno al fine di permettere alla clientela di usufruire di un'esperienza positiva sin dal suo ingresso nel negozio.

Abbinandolo ad una politica di scambio della merce o di rimborso completo dell'acquisto, senza questioni, Pittarelli ha introdotto un programma d'abbonamento accompagnato da una carta di membro-oro che include certificati regalo e privilegi d'acquisto. Il programma ha riscosso un enorme successo e conta 30,000 membri attivi. "Il nostro più grande interesse è la soddisfazione dei clienti,". "Se qualcuno cerca un articolo che non è disponibile in una delle succur-

sali, lo faremo venire da un'altra sede senza badare a spese."

La cortesia ed il rispetto con i quali Pittarelli tratta la sua clientela sono gli stessi che dimostra per il suo personale. Tutti i 275 dipendenti sono invitati alla comunicazione ed ognuno di loro possiede il numero del telefono portatile di Pittarelli. "Ho sempre detto ai miei dipendenti che piuttosto che criticare un collega per un lavoro svolto male è meglio trovarne un altro che ha lavorato bene e fargli i complimenti.

Oltre alla sua filosofia pro-consumatori, la Rio Sud è orgogliosa dei design che crea. Destinati principalmente alle "lady boomer," i prodotti della catena interessano soprattutto una clientela femminile che varia dalle giovani signorine appena ventenni alle signore di oltre cinquant'anni. "Tre generazioni di donne possono entrare nel negozio insieme," dichiara Pittarelli, "e troveranno ognuna qualcosa che soddisfi i loro gusti particolari."

Dall'abbigliamento per la donna in carriera a quello sportivo, dal denim al casual, la Rio Sud offre un abbigliamento elegante e pratico a dei prezzi ragionevoli. La maggioranza dei design sono creazioni della griffe privata della ditta. Le eleganti collezioni sono il frutto di vaste ricerche che Pittarelli e la sua équipe hanno svolto in tutto il mondo, al fine di trovare le ultime tendenze.

"Si può aspettare che l'industria ci venga a trovare con le proposte della prossima stagione, o si può partire alla loro ricerca per trovarle da solo," afferma Pittarelli. "Noi ci ispiriamo alle tendenze più attuali, fondendo influenze europee ed americane, per creare la nostra etichetta privata che è prodotta da un'équipe di disegnatori di Montreal."

Da Barcellona e Parigi fino a New York, Londra, Amsterdam e l'Italia, assistono diligentemente a sfilate di moda, visitano gli atelier e cercano di tastare il polso dell'industria della moda.

Ogni stagione si basa su una gamma di tre o quattro colori e differenti stili. Invece di inondare i negozi con l'intera collezione ad ogni inizio di stagione, la ditta propone capi importanti ogni due o tre settimane, permettendo ai clienti di avere una fonte d'ispirazione progressiva per l'intera stagione.

"I miei vestiti sono concepiti con molto amore," dice Pittarelli sorridendo. "Devono essere capi che la mia famiglia indosserebbe. Se le donne della mia vita non trovano il loro stile attraente, perché li proporrei ai miei clienti?"

L'ultimo impulso di Pittarelli è quello che lui stesso definisce un "big box store".

"Noi ci ispiriamo alle tendenze più attuali, fondendo influenze europee ed americane..."

Avendo recentemente fatto l'acquisizione della catena Cohoes, Pittarelli si concentra ora sulla produzione di un'esperienza di shopping che attragga l'intera famiglia. Il concetto di "boutique dentro il negozio" ha fatto i suoi primi passi nella sede da 8500 piedi quadrati sita sul Boul Jean Talon, riscuotendo ottime recensioni.

Rio Sud-Cohoes ha un po’ di tutto per tutti. Oltre alla moda maschile, femminile ed infantile, il cliente più esigente puo’ trovare mobilio, accessori per la casa, biancheria ed altri articoli assortiti. Il tutto con una cosa in comune: eleganza e prezzi molto ragionevoli, chiaramente!

Troppo spesso, la gente ha paura di rischiare per inseguire un desiderio. Silvio Pittarelli ha dimostrato a tutti che rimanere fedeli ai propri sogni e principi è il segreto di un successo sicuro.

Un servizio attento e personalizzato, una politica di prezzi ragionevoli per un abbigliamento di buon gusto, sono una combinazione vincente e Pittarelli ci conferma che in un mondo a volte molto volubile, come quello della moda, lui è sicuramente una certezza.

Rio Sud – Cohoes 4908 Jean-Talon W., Montreal (near Decarie, metro Namur) T.: 514.731.3916 www.riosud.com

Rio Sud -Various locations throughout Quebec

Recipes

The

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ricette

r e c e t t e s

By Joe Mercuri and Mario Di Flavio

Joe Mercuri and Mario Di Flavio have a few things in common. They are both from Lachine, met in kindergarten, finished elementary school, high school and college together and their moms are both from Calabria. They also both love food which is why Joe pursued a culinary career and why Mario has dedicated his life to eating.

Joe Mercuri is owner and head chef of Montreal’s critically acclaimed and highly successful restaurant, Brontë. His philosophy to Italian cuisine and cooking in general is simple enough, the highest quality ingredients used seasonally. A fool-proof plan to gastronomical perfection. Mario’s inspiration comes from his love of home cooking and trips to Italy that evoke memories of intensely flavored yet simple meals. Both believe that these are the secrets to cooking.

Their collaboration is one that reflects these views. Together, they have created three recipes featuring one ingredient for each month of the Fall season. All quite easy to prepare, immensely delicious and perfectly Italian.

Mario Di Flavio, Managing Editor Panoramitalia Quarterly.

&

Pumpkin

cheese-filled

pasta shells

Our first featured Fall ingredient is pumpkin. The luxurious, smooth and creamy sweetness of a cheese and pumpkin stuffing baked into pasta shells and coated with a buttery white wine sauce provides the ultimate comfort food for a cool, cozy Fall afternoon.

1 small pumpkin, halved an deseeded Olive oil 2 tablespoons mascarpone 2 tablespoons butter (unsalted) 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon Parmigiano Reggiano

Pasta filling (instructions) Roast pumpkin at 350 F until tender Scrape out meat, dry out pumpkin on low heat, cool & blend adding other ingredients one at the time. Finish with Parmigiano and butter. Cook pasta according to directions on box. Cool and stuff.

Pasta Sauce for shells French shallot (peeled sliced thin) Olive oil (extra virgin) Butter Reserved pasta water White wine Parmigiano Reggiano Marjolaine White truffle oil to finish optional

Pasta Sauce (instructions) Heat olive oil on medium. Add shallot and sweat till translucent. Add white wine and reduce by half. Add pasta water, then whisk in more butter. Carefully add pasta shells. Coating pasta when warm finish with cheese, salt and pepper, more butter and fresh Marjolaine

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with Halibutcherry tomatoes“in busta” This light, savoury fish dish showcases our second Fall ingredient, bringing out the vibrant sweetness of tomatoes at their peak, a last reminder of summer, the first fresh taste of Autumn.

4 Atlantic Halibut fillets (6 ounces each) 2 cups of mixed cherry tomatoes (sliced in half ) 1 garlic clove (germ removed and thinly sliced) 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tablespoon capers

1/4 cup of your favorite olive oil (extra virgin) 8 sprigs of basil and more to finish 3/4 cup dry white wine Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper 1/2 cup of black olives pitted

Wild

soup

Preheat oven: 450 F Gently mix first five ingredients, plus sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, let macerate for 1/2 hour. Prepare four 10 inch square of aluminum foil and fold in half, make a bed of basil, season fish, layer tomatoes on top, white wine, seal. Lay fillets on baking sheets and bake until packets puff slightly 10 to 12 minutes.

Mushroom

A hearty, aromatic Autumn “zuppa” made rich in flavour by an assortment of powerful ingredients like garlic, onion, potato, pancetta and polenta which compliment the main attraction of this third seasonal dish, wild mushrooms.

2 1/2 cups mixed wild mushrooms trimmed and cleaned 1/2 cup dried porcini soaked and drained, liquid reserved 1 large onion diced 2 cloves garlic (germ removed and minced) 2 ounces pancetta (in one piece)

1 Yukon Gold potato (peeled and diced medium) 1/2 cup white wine 5 to 6 cups homemade stock (vegetable, chicken, or veal) Parsley and chives Fontina cheese

Heat polenta oil in large pot, add onion, sweat till translucent then add dried porcini, pancetta, and potato. Cook on low heat for 3 minutes, add wild mushrooms cook further 5 minutes. Add white wine and reduce "au sec" with porcini water. Add stock and cook for 30 minutes on low heat, season and finish with parsley and chives.

The

Holidays feste

f ê t e s

A Thanksgiving Story

By Mario Di Flavio

I was a little boy when I came home from school one day in October and asked my Mom, “ Ma, how come we don’t eat turkey? ”. Smiling and curious, she questioned sweetly “ why do you want to eat turkey? ” and I replied, “ well, because everybody at school is saying that they are going to eat turkey this weekend.” Until that time we (my family) as Italians had never really celebrated Thanksgiving. Today, many years later, my mother proceeds with the story by saying “ I felt bad when you looked up at me and asked why we didn’t have turkey so I went out and got one, and that weekend we had Thanksgiving dinner for the first time… and every year since.”

Mario (age 7) The fact that my sister is four years older than I am and never came home with the same question is a testimony to the legendary Italian male appetite. Even as a boy, food is always the priority. When our teacher made us sit there on the Friday before Thanksgiving and cut out paper turkeys and color them, I never asked questions. I didn’t care. I thought, hey, it was Friday, there was a long weekend coming up and we weren’t doing schoolwork. That was enough for me. We could have been coloring zebras for all I care. But the moment somebody mentioned food…well that was different.

I was curious. I guess I’d heard some of the other Canadian kids mention what they were going to be eating that weekend and wondered why we were different and didn’t partake in this mouth-watering festivity. Words like “ big, fat, juicy turkey ” and mashed potatoes ” and “ trimmings ”sparked my curiosity. I knew that we were different from Canadians, even at that age you are very aware that you are Italian. Born in Canada, doesn’t matter. Go to English school, doesn’t matter. You’re Italian. You feel it and you know it. Yet I couldn’t help but feel a little left out, like my family and I were being excluded from something. Of course at the time I didn’t realize that it was simply a holiday that Italians didn’t really observe. It was American, it was Canadian. It had no religious connection such as Christmas or Easter, and it held no

culinary interest or attachment enough to garner the attention of Italian immigrants.

Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October , to give thanks for a successful harvest. Among the foods eaten during the feast are the traditional turkey with stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes or yams, ham and pecan or pumpkin pie. Not very Italian, but like everything else, we take something and make it our own.

One of the characteristics that defines us when it comes to food is that we don’t just eat, we feast.

Even though the traditional meal of turkey with all the side dishes is prepared, we still incorporate our own cooking. We’ll start with appetizers like bruschetta and several different preserves like roasted red peppers, pickled eggplant or little green tomatoes in oil and vinegar with soppressata or salami and some cheese. We continue with pasta, usually gnocchi for us, and then out comes the turkey, extremely large and roasted to perfection, the stuffing not made with bread but ground beef or turkey, onions, and mashed potatoes, an extra batch of it on the side. The gravy is thick, brown, and full of mushrooms and a large pineapple glazed ham also makes its way to the table.

Ever present are the bright green peas and carrots and of course, Italian salad. There are always various “little” extras like stuffed mushrooms, stuffed zucchini, stuffed eggplants, stuffed peppers, stuffed everybody. Don’t be surprised if you glimpse the odd sausage here or there depending on how much square footage is left on the table.

Aside from the fact that Italians love to eat, in large amounts and with a certain variety, there is another truth to our interpretation of an otherwise more than delicious and substantial meal. I think that somewhere deep down we feel that as long as we continue to include some of our own traditional foods that we’re still ourselves, we haven’t lost our identity.

This is one of the many feelings that Italian immigrants have always dealt with, the necessity to maintain their sense of patriotism and not get lost or swallowed up by a new culture while still trying to find a place within it. It’s more than just about food. The story of the pilgrims and original settlers celebrating to offer thanks for their good fortune and abundance through their hard work and perseverance in their new land is one that can be interchanged with any other people who left their homeland in search of a better life and Italians are a monumental example of this. Perhaps it is this connection that indeed makes Thanksgiving, a very Italian holiday.

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By Sabrina Marandola It’s one of the biggest events in the Italian community throughout all of North America, but ask your average teen or second-generation Italian living in Montreal, and they will tell you, “I’ve never heard of it.”

Long before American Idol became a household name, and almost a decade before young Montrealers were able to audition on Popstars or Canadian Idol for their chance to be the next singing sensation, there was SuperFantastico.“We should have incorporated it because Canadian Idol would be paying us now,” says Silvana Di Flavio, animator at Montreal’s foreign-language radio station CFMB and co-creator of SuperFantasico.

The Italian singing competition geared towards children, teens and young adults was the brainchild of Di Flavio and her radio cohost Nick De Vincenzo. “It all started with a phone call,” Di Flavio recalls back to 1995. “There was a kid’s program we were hosting [on CFMB] on Wednesdays for half an hour, where kids would call in and sing a song in Italian on the air. It was a spot sponsored by kids’ furniture stores, so we would get kids to call in.” From that half-hour program, Di Flavio and De Vincenzo say they were stunned with the influx of calls.“We got a call from this little girl who wanted to sing on the air. After this girl sang, everybody wanted to sing on the air,” De Vincenzo says. “The phones rang off the hook.”

The CFMB co-hosts immediately noted there was a solid demand from young talents to perform live – and Montrealers wanted to hear them. (All of this in the mid-1990s, a time long before millions were tuning in and breaking television ratings records to laugh at American Idol singing hopefuls like William Hung interpret the Latin-hot “She Bangs” or to hear judge Simon Cowell’s mouth-gaping critiques.)“Week after week, we realized there were a lot of these kids who knew how to sing, and we thought it would be a good idea to do something only for kids,” says De Vincenzo.Out of this was born SuperFantasico – a singing competition geared towards children and young adults between the ages of 10 and 30. The catch? Participants must sing in Italian. “Whatever is ‘Italian’ is our job,” says De Vincenzo. “We work for an Italian radio station, and music is the best tool to appeal to the new generation.” De Vincenzo and Di Flavio admit one of their major challenges in hosting a radio show at CFMB is appealing to youths.“When we go on the air, we speak to people of a certain age – about 45 years old and up. The only time young people call CFMB is for music requests,” De Vincenzo says. “SuperFantastico is definitely a way to get closer to this new generation. The young people are not shy to express their ‘Italianism’ through singing in Italian. They love singing, they love Laura Pausini, they love Nek.” Sabrina Garofalo would agree. The 17-year-old tried out for SuperFantasico this year when her grandmother urged her to audition.“My grandmother heard the ads on CFMB and said I should try out,” said Garofalo, who has been taking singing lessons for three years. “I’m used to singing in English and French, but not in Italian. So this gives me a chance to sing in Italian too.” Her dad Paolo says SuperFantastico has brought him and his daughter closer together. “We would listen to Italian songs and choose them together, so this has really brought us closer,” he said. Garofalo beat out more than 100 participants to make the final cut for SuperFantasico 2006.

But there were not always hundreds of auditioners competing for a coveted spot in the SuperFantastico finals. The first-ever competition, which took place in 1995, was held in the auditorium of College Jean-Eudes. “There were about 300 people in that auditorium,” recalls Di Flavio, adding that the 18 participants did not have to go through any auditions. “It was small-scale. It was nothing about lights, cameras or video projection. The kids just went out and sang.”

“We remember one kid didn’t want to go out [on stage] to sing anymore,” said De Vincenzo. But Di Flavio came prepared. “I brought mini chocolate bars and I remember I filled up his pockets. I told him, ‘After you sing, you can eat all the chocolates.’ And that was it - he went out and sang. But now it doesn’t work that way anymore.” That’s for sure.

SuperFantastico snowballed since 1995. As soon as its second year, a chance to take part in the singing competition became seen as an opportunity to shine rather than a chore children performed just for the sake of making mamma e papà proud. In 1996, Di Flavio and De Vincenzo hosted the event in Centre Pierre Peladeau for a crowd of 800 people – and there was still the demand for growth. “We had it there for five years before moving to Place des Arts,” Di Flavio said. Since 2001, the annual SuperFantastico has sold out almost all 1,400 seats in Place des Arts’ Maisonneuve Theatre every year. “Singing at Place des Arts is a privilege that many Quebec artists would love to do, have never had a chance to do, and may never do,” says Di Flavio. “It’s a big privilege.” But getting the event to unfold on a Place des Arts stage takes an exhausting amount of work -- and thousands of dollars, say the two partners who produce and organize the show. “Place des Arts does not accept just any event. They choose which events they will hold, and those events have to be of a certain quality,” Di Flavio says. That’s why Di Flavio and De Vincenzo spend time recruiting talent and knocking on the doors of corporate sponsors.They put up posters in elementary

North America’s Sanremo

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and high schools around the island to encourage youths to audition, and they depend on generous sponsors such as CFMB and local businesses to donate money to create the highquality show that is required by Place des Arts.

“The money we get goes for lighting, sound, projection. We have a camera crew with four cameras going around. It’s very sophisticated, and when Place des Arts saw the show the first time we were there, they told us we could come back whenever we wanted to. They were impressed,” Di Flavio says. “But whoever goes to see the show at Place des Arts goes home shocked,” adds De Vincenzo. “CFMB makes no money off of this. So, when you create something that is truly genuine – because that’s your passion – then the entire event is filled with passion.” The passion for De Vincenzo comes from hearing Canadian-born youths sing in Italian. “It’s not just singing – it’s heritage. If you see your child grasping on to your heritage, that means there’s a better chance it will be passed on to the next generations.”

“For grandparents who never heard their grandchild even speak in Italian, and then to see him or her on stage singing in Italian in front of 1,400 people, it’s very touching,” agrees Di Flavio. But the singing hopefuls have lots of work to do if they want to be among the carefully-selected finalists who can tug at the heartstrings of their parents, friends and grandparents from atop the prestigious stage at Place des Arts.

First they have to audition – way in advance! Auditions for SuperFantastico 2006 were held last summer, nine months before showtime. That’s when more than 100 people, from grade-schoolers to young adults in their 30s, belted out a few lines of their favourite tune to try to impress a panel. That pool of contenders was widdled down to 40 singers. And what do the lucky 40 get? Four months to practice…for a chance to show off the range of their vocal chords from atop the stage of the Leonardo Da Vinci Centre in the semi-finals.

All the contestants agree the semi-finals, held last October, were the most grueling part of SuperFantastico. “The semis were so hard. That was the real competition,” recalls Liana Carbone, a teenager who made the final cut. “At the Leonardo Da Vinci Centre, you either make it or you don’t,” says 15-year-old Rosa De Fenza, also among the 21 finalists to make it to Place des Arts. “That’s where nerves are really kicking in.”

And the semi-finalists have reason to feel jittery. After all, earning the title of ‘finalist” is not only a boost for the ego, but brings along with it the experience of recording an album in a professional studio, performing at Place des Arts and getting the chance to be heard by big names in the music industry. The singers agree – once they’ve made it to the finals, they’ve already won. “If we are at Place des Arts, it’s because we are all winners,” says 26-year-old Maina Utzmann. De Vincenzo says that philosophy has remained true to SuperFantastico, even 11 years later. “It’s not a competition – it’s a show of 21 performers.”

Mic Check It’s just four days away from the big show, and the lucky 21 who have been chosen to take part in SuperFantastico 2006 are making some final tweaks. They roam around the empty room at Buffet Le Rizz, waiting for the sound rehearsal to begin.

They’ll be perfecting their notes, lyrics and stage presence, but not before meeting two special guests. Paola Palma and Massimo Luca flew across the Atlantic to be here, and say they are thrilled to have made the trip for the second year in a row.Palma and Luca are two of SuperFantastico’s judges, and while their names may mean nothing for Montrealers, they are heavy-weights in Italy. Palma is a songwriter, and her piece “Senza Te o Con Te” took home top prize in 1998’s Festival di Sanremo. Besides working for record labels such as Carosello and BMG, Palma has also collaborated with hot artists Vasco Rossi, Paolo Meneguzzi and is currently working with Italy’s rising young star, Alexia.

Meanwhile, Luca has worked with names including Lucio Battisti, Paolo Conte, De Andre e Mina, and Renga. He is also a record producer, and has produced albums for Gian Luca Grignani. As an artistic producer, he collaborated with Biagio Antonacci, Annalisa Minetti and Paola & Chiara, and the record he produced with Dennis for Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana went gold. And yet, even after working with the pros, writing songs for Sanremo and attending the Italian singing amateur festival every year, Palma and Luca say SuperFantistico has what it takes to rival Sanremo – and is definitely impressive enough for them to make the trip across the Atlantic.

“Lately, Sanremo is the one that’s been disappointing. I was bored this year,” Luca says. “SuperFantastico is the only festival in the world where no one loses,” Luca says. “I am very happy to be here. È bellissimo che possiamo creare questo legame.” Palma agrees, saying it warms her heart to hear Canadians singing in Italian. “Coming here is like coming home.

I’m very emotional because I come here and I feel Italian. In Italy, I don’t. But here, yes.”

Palma and Luca chat with the contestants before their rehearsal, giving them a pep talk and wanting to know more about why they decided to take part in an Italian singing competition.

“The first song I sang was Con Te Partirò (the international smash-hit by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli) and then I fell in love with Italian music,” said Jean-Kristof Bouton, 19, one of three finalists who is not Italian.

“My music teacher made me sing in Italian, and saw I could get the accent. She encouraged me to enter the competition,” said 28-year-old Karine Laprise.

“It’s very nice to come here and see all these young people, who are actually Canadian, transmitting the Italian language and culture,” Palma says, noting that most participants choose modern songs. “This means they are taking an interest in Italian music and are really in touch with Italy. Their idea of Italy is not based on what they hear from their parents. This makes me so happy. We are very proud.” Palma and Luca leave to let the finalists rehearse their tunes for the very least time before they will sing at Place des Arts.

The 21 singers clap along to each other’s songs and sway side to side in their seats of Buffet Le Rizz. De Vincenzo can hardly wait for the big day. “I heard each song, and you all sound great!”

Dietro le Quinte It’s Sunday, March 12. There’s one hour to go ’til showtime. Backstage, the young women are getting their hair and make-up done by sponsors, and are pacing in the halls in their stiletto heels, satiny gowns and music sheet in hand. “I’m just scared I’ll forget my words. That’s why I’m walking around with this sheet,” says Karine Laprise. Laprise, and other contestants, arrived at Place des Arts at 1PM, was in sound check all day, and then went into hair and make-up to be ready for the curtain draw at 5PM. “It’s a long day, and it’s a big day,” says Vanessa Ortiz, competing in Category 2.

The 21 finalists are divided into three categories based on their age. One group has seven singers aged 11 to 15, Category 2 features the 16 to 19-year-olds, and the seven oldest

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Nick De Vincenzo finalists, all in their 20s, are in the third grouping. One winner is selected in each category.

These top three performers each receive a $300 worth of jewellery.

Finally, someone is declared the overall winner of SuperFantistico. This person will have the privilege of working with Palma and Luca. The Italian judges will write a song for the talented singer – who then gets to record it as a single, gets to hear it on CFMB radio, and gets to perform it live at next year’s SuperFantastico before another audience of 1,400 spectators. But choosing the winners is not an enviable position to be in on this day. To help Palma and Luca are three other music-savvy experts with reputable names in the business.

First, Éric Lagassé. He is musical director to Quebec’s own super-soprano Nathalie Choquette. Known as one of the best double-bassists, he performed in the Montreal, Quebec and Barcelona symphony orchestras, as well as directed concerts for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra in Russia. How about having the president of a record company on the panel as well? Larry Mancini is president of Isba Musik, and has launched the careers of artists such as Mitsou, The Venga Boys, Nathalie Choquette, and Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones.

Finally, the panel would not be complete without someone who collaborated on Canadian Idol. Ivan Berry has been working with Canadian Idol judge Farley Flex for more than two decades. Berry has worked with music-industry giants such as Sony BMG Canada and discovered artists ranging from Keshia Chanté to Shawn Desman to The Guess Who to Canadian Idol winners Ryan Malcolm and Kalan Porter. The five judges sit in the front row, their pencils sharpened and scoresheets in hand.

The Place des Arts stage looks like the set of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Blue lights shine on the stage as 4 television cameras capture images of the stage and crowd, projecting them onto giant screens. Di Flavio and De Vincenzo host the three-hour show, complete with wardrobe changes and short introductions for each finalist about to perform. A short video featuring the next singer about to take the stage is projected onto the big screen, as the lights swivel and the smoke machines trigger right on cue.

Some acts include the classics dating back decades, such as Gloria, Caruso and L’Emozione non ha Voce. Other finalists sing more modern tunes such as Laura Bono’s Tutto ha una Spiegazione, released in 2005. The judges applaud each act and smile as performers take to the stage. Judge Ivan Berry was impressed enough by some singers – such as Stephanie Peccia who sang Uomo Bastardo, and last year’s winner Mike Melino, who performed Luca and Palma’s song written just for him, Penso di Meno e Vivo di Più – that he got them guaranteed auditions at Canadian Idol 2006.

By the time the last note is sung by the 21st performer, the judges along with the crowd of nearly 1,400 are on their feet, honouring the youths with a standing ovation for putting on a show that was simply ‘SuperFantastico.’

The Winners Fifteen-year-old Rosa De Fenza took the title in Category 1 for her rendition of Laura Bono’s Tutto ha una Spiegazione. De Fenza is a SuperFantastico veteran – she has auditioned every single year since she was 6. “I’ve done all of them. It’s so much fun,” De Fenza says. “To be in front of a crowd is amazing, and it’s even good for yourself. I was a really shy person, and now I’m not as shy anymore. It develops you as a person drastically.” De Fenza says when she auditions for SuperFantastico, she is never thinking about the trophy, which was hers to take home this year. “When I go to SuperFantastico, I’m not saying to myself, ‘I must win.’ I just go and do it for fun. SuperFantastico is a really good place to socialize, to meet new people and to have fun.”

Jean-Kristof Bouton, 19, won top honours for Category 2. This is the third time

Bouton sings in SuperFantastico, and this year his performance of the Italian opera song Passerà, earned him the win.

Bouton has been taking singing lessons since he was 13, and wants to make a career off his vocal chords. He is currently recorded his first album.

“SuperFantastico a contest I really enjoy, and singing in Place des Arts is a great opportunity, even for professionals,” Bouton says. “I get more stage experience, and experience singing in front of people and developing my stage presence. And personally, I adore Italian music,” he adds. “I’m an opera singer, and Italian operas...I just adore them.”

Soprano-singer Maina Utzmann swept away the title not only for Category 3, but she was also named the overall winner of SuperFantastico Silvana Di Flavio 2006. When the 26-year-old sang the last note of Nessun Dorma, she brought the crowd – and the judges – to their feet. “I couldn’t see anything because I had the spotlight on me, but people told me the audience was standing. I was very touched.” Utzmann began taking singing lessons at 16, and studies music with her teacher, none other than Nathalie Choquette. Utzmann says she was shocked that a soprano singer like herself took home the top prize. “I was very surprised I won. I thought they would pick a more ‘pop’ sound,” she said. “It’s nice to see that people can still enjoy true classical music. This inspires me to launch a career in that, because I see people are still interested in classical music. I would have done so anyway, but this is definitely a tap on the back.” Utzmann will return next year to sing an original song written by Palma and Luca - just for her.

“I know they will write something that suits my style. I am very, very excited to see what Paula [Palma] and Massimo [Luca] come up with next year.”

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Festa di Sant’Antonio

By Giuseppe Valiante The papers predicted showers, but the grey clouds parted into blue skies just as the stage was being set up for the Festa Di Sant’ Antonio in Parc des Hirondelles Sunday the 11th of June.

The community surrounding the church Madonna di Pompei have been celebrating the Saint together since 1951.

Father Giuseppe Duchini, Pastor of Pompei from 1972 to 1980, said the neighbourhood has changed since the feast’s beginnings, but does not fear the for the future of the festival “The neighbourhood has less Christians than it used to, but people are still touched by God and the occasion,” he said. Saint Anthony, born in Portugal in 1195, received the Pope’s blessing to preach around northern Italy and France. The revered speaker attracted crowds wherever he went, legend says that even the fish loved to listen to his words.

He is celebrated today for his message of sharing and continuing the message of the church. “His message is sharing everything you have, and the good news,” said Father Duchini “Saint Anthony was a brilliant preacher.”

Franco Greco works in the catechism office of Pompei church, he organized the weekend of events with mass on Saturday and Sunday morning in which he contently announced that “the church was completely full.” Park des Hirondelles gave the crowd ample green space with a hill in the middle that over-looks the city’s center. Although there was plenty of food and entertainment for children- with game kiosks lined up at the edge of the parkthe annual feast was all about the music.

Fiorenzo Caruso sang popular hits and tunes up to seven p.m., after which local cover band Esclusiva took the stage. Formed seven years ago, Esclusiva and its seven members have been playing at festivals and weddings all over the Montreal area. Their mix of classical, folk and pop-

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ular covers span hits form the 60s to the present day.

The feast was more of a homecoming to drummer Angelo D’Apice. “This is where I grew up” he said, “my parents still live in the neighbourhood.” The crowd had been gathering since 5pm, and slowly swelled until hundreds flanked the stage to see the night’s third performance: the ten young contestants of Montreal’s Italian music singing competition, Superfantastico.

For over a decade, Silvana Di Flavio and Nick De Vincenzo, who both work at Montréal radio station CFMB have been MCing the Superfantastico events and brought the crowd a taste of singers from past and present competitions. This was Vanessa Giancioppi’s fourth year with the singing contest. She said she wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for a sneaky relative. “My grandmother put my name in [the contest] without telling me!” she said, “but after that I kept coming back.” The allure of this contest is no surprise to Di Flavio and De Vincenzo having seen the contest grow bigger each of its 11 years. “[the young singers] are not here because of their parents telling them to, they’re here because they want to, because they love to be Italian,” said De Vincenzo. For others like Karine Laprise and Jean-Christophe Bouton, who sang the songs “Gloria” and “Passera” respectively, they entered the competition because they are students of music, and according to Di Flavio, Italian is an essential part of the curriculum.

“Everyone of every culture, of every language who is studying music studies Italian,” she said.

Di Flavio says it’s by words and music that the youth are keeping interest in the Italian culture. “And we give them what they want,” said De Vincenzo.

After the Superfantastico singers, Esclusiva came on for a final performance before the feast’s much anticipated finale, fireworks. Flashes of blues, greens and reds tore up the night sky, even the fish would have enjoyed the colours.

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By Aicha Cissé and Joey Franco The historic Windsor Station housed the 3rd edition of the Echo Italia exhibit from June 12th to June 14th. Organized by the Italian Chamber of Commerce, the international event showcased a plethora of Italian exhibitors promoting their savoir faire in order to forge dynamic partnerships with Montreal’s businesses.

On the opening day, Quebec's Minister of International Relations and Minister Responsible for La Francophonie Monique Gagnon-Tremblay addressed the importance of a long-term trade relationship between Italy and Quebec during her inaugural speech at a breakfast-conference presented

by Samson Belair/Deloitte & Touche.

This year’s edition featured various stations which demonstrated an array of Italian-based industries ranging from tourism to technology. Maurice Rinaldi President of Groupe Rinaldi Communication –one of the event’s sponsor - deemed Echo Italia a “festival that marries business with pleasure while showcasing Italian know-how in a multicultural city like Montreal”. This comparison delighted the founder of the event, Mr. Emanuele Triassi, who was already thrilled by the significant media coverage the 3rd edition received due to its rising notoriety.

The trade fair opened with the spectacular Opere Di Luce Lamp Exhibition.

After Milan, Miami and New York, the mesmerizing collection was unveiled in Canada for the first time. With designs dating from the late 1930’s, Opere Di Luce struck even the most avid art aficionado.

Among the thriving businesses, one could find the trendsetting Sicilian female clothing line Cannella and global destination services Company Boscolo Tours– one of the many stations advertising the Campania region.

A particular focus was put on promoting the area of technological research in Italy.

Radio commentator and member of the board of the Montreal Port Authority Marianna Simeone explained this year’s emphasis on science as “a tribute to Montreal, a leader in technological research”. Numerous Centers of Competence from the region of Campania exhibited noteworthy studies in ecology, biotechnology and transport in hopes of developing durable business collaborations with local companies. At the lunch conference, VP of Information technology Lyne Bouchard invited foreign investors to contribute to the economic development of Montreal while enhancing our city’s international status.

Amid the hectic atmosphere, Naples born guitarists Alessandro and Rosario Minetti restored calm with the strum of serene classical music played throughout the exhibit. Whoever thought these handsome musicians were twins amazingly gaped at the sight of their stunning triplet sister. The trio, who was visiting Canada for the first time, admired Montreal’s cultural wealth and looked forward to introducing their eclectic musical style to its residents.

The 1st day of the trade show concluded with a screening of Italy’s first match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Special guests included Montreal impact players Jason DiTullio, Gerry Argento and Massimo Di Ioia who offered an autograph session. A room crowded

with hundreds of soccer fans sporting their country’ colors cheerfully waved the emblematic flag as Italy won the game.

Tuesday June 13th 2006 Jewelry, gastronomy, and music were all part of the second day of activities at Echo Italia held at Windsor Station. At 9:00am, the organizers were ready to welcome expositors, invited guests, and members of the public. The lamp expostition was already open to the public, beautiful lamps, both vintage and contemporary were on display at the far end of Windsor Station.

Mauro from Cafe Artjava on Mont-Royal was busy serving complementary espressos, cappuccinos, and making "latte art". The Gimme coffee was the product of a Marzocco FB-70 machine, the Cadillac of espresso machines. Mauro, a certified « barrista judge », explained how the machine maintains a constant temperature of 199 degrees farenheit in order to produce the perfect espresso.

As I sipped my espresso, I watched chef Pasquale Vari, a professor of « cucina Italiana » at the ITHQ (L'Institut de tourisme et d'hotellerie du Quebec), prepare a dish of orechiette with cauliflour. "Se non ce sale, non ce sapore ne amore", said the master chef. The cooking workshop continued with a demonstration by Elena Faita, a professor at the Mezza-Luna School.

At noon, a lunch conference was held for the members of the biopharmaceutical sector in Quebec. Bertrans Bolduc, President and CEO of Mistral Pharma Inc., and President of BioQuebec, was the guest speaker. Mr. Bolduc discussed the possibility of a commercial fusion in the pharmaceutical sector between Canada and Italy.

Josee Di Stasio, the star chef and author, was present at Windsor station for a booksigning of her cookbook " A la Di Stasio". Chef Jack Vassallo was also on site to exhibit his delicacies imported straight from Sicily.

Oromare was amongst the most impressive exhibitors. The only thing more stunning that the jewlery produced by the Terre Del Greco firm, was Enza, a representative from Oromare.

This day, along with the entire three day event, was complemented by the classical sounds of the Italian guitarist duo Alessandro and Rosario Minetti.

On the last day of the exhibition, President of CRIQ (Centre de recherche industrielle du Québec) Serge Guerin discussed the importance of teamwork and innovation in industrial research in a lunch conference sponsored by Groupe Rinaldi communication.

With peaceful background music, delicious food and outstanding artwork, Echo Italia once again captured the essence of its country in a memorable manner. As we anticipate another successful edition, we can only expect ongoing business partnerships between our nations.

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CIBPA Fundraiser

By Giuseppe Valiante The thunderous chants of Little Italy’s loyal fans were missing, but Club de Golf StRaphael served as the perfect backdrop for the Azzuri’s first world cup game versus the Brazilians of Africa, and all for a good cause.

CIBPA, the Canadian Italian Business and Professional Association, charged over 75 guests $15 to watch Italy beat Ghana 2-nil, eat panini, eggplant, pizza and more with all the proceeds going to ACCESSS to help fight breast cancer. ACCESSS is a federation of 93 ethno-cultural organizations across the province of Quebec. Formed in 1984, its main objective is to adapt health care and social services to the needs of Montreal’s ethnic communities.

The federation also analyzes policy and programs of health and medical services put in place by the government and makes recommendations as to how specific communities can benefit more from them. Their current breast cancer information initiatives have led

ACCESSS to meet with over 1500 women last year alone.

The buffet was provided by Roma Foods, the wide-screen televisions were brought in courtesy of Dumoulin electronics. In total, the event raised $2300. Mike Palermo, Account Manager at The Royal Bank of Canada, and CIPBA board member, was the main organizer of the event. He chose to fundraise for breast cancer because of the sheer number of women and their families that are affected by the disease. “If you count all the women who are close to you in your life it gets worrisome,” he said.

The Royal Bank of Canada donated $1000 to pay for the costs of renting out the room and the service, leaving ACCESSS with every penny from the ticket sales.

The cheque was presented by Tony Loffreda, Vice-President, Commercial Markets, and CIBPA member. RBC also donated $1000 to the Montreal Neurological Institute.

After several close chances, missed headers and a ball that hit the crossbar and bounced straight down millimetres away from the goal line, Italy looked as though they

were hitting every part of the net except the inside of it. Even Leonardo Ciarla, director of Fund Raising and Development at ACCESSS was beginning to look a little nervous.

“They never stay in one spot,” he said, commenting of Ghana’s ability to make the Italian squad work hard for their eventual win. Tensions were soothed and the room breathed easier after Midfielder Andrea Pirlo, in his World Cup debut, fired a shot that had eyes to score a 40th minute goal. Jerome Di Giovanni, director general of ACCESSS, enjoyed Italy’s win and was also impressed with the support that his federation was receiving.

He said that as Montréal becomes more and more a majority of multicultural communities, groups like ACCESSS are increasingly important. One of the ways ACCESSS is trying to stay at the forefront and create significant change is assuring that medical and health services conform with the needs of the communities they are located in. He gave the example of Riviere des Prairies, which is home to a large Italian population.

“It’s important to make sure that the professionals who work in medical facilities, understand Italians, and the culture,” said Di Giovanni, who also stressed the need to get Italian people to work in these institutions.

ACCESSS is trying to make governments, whether federal, provincial, or municipal, understand that they must listen to those that are in the front lines. Community organizations are the experts when it comes to understanding people of foreign backgrounds. But it is difficult sometimes, as Di Giovanni acknowledged, as he who pays the piper, often decides the tune. “[ACCESSS] wants to diversify its funding,” he said, explaining that events like the fundraiser at St-Raphael help to make the group a little less dependent on government cash. That means allowing for medical services to be under the control of the communities they are servicing and not in the hands of civil servants.

“We could develop specific programs that are tailor made to the community instead of for the government,” Di Giovanni said. He explained that a lot of the policies of the present federal government “pay lip service” to the needs of ethnic communities, but aren’t as quick to actually implement procedures and policies that will benefit those that need it most. “We are seeing a little bit of improvement,” he said, “But [ACCESSS] needs to continue to be proactive.”

Palermo and CIBPA are supporting ACCESSS’s initiatives, making sure to continue sharing the wealth. “If your in business,” said Palermo, “you made your money because of the community, it’s important to give back.” And as for CIBPA and all those who participated in the fundraiser, they could celebrate forward Vincenzo Iaquinta’s second goal in the 83rd minute to capture the victory, but also the fact that their money was going somewhere making their community stronger.

Festa Italiana

By Giuseppe Valiante Sixty years after the birth of the Italian republic and one year into the Canadian introduction of RAI International, Montreal’s young Italians decided it was time to celebrate these achievements with a night called “Festa Italiana” C.O.G.I.C., the organizational committee of young Italians in Canada, along with l’A.E.E.I.U.M., the association of students in Italian studies at Universite de Montreal, invited over 300 guests of all ages to gather at Villa Italia in RDP on Saturday June 3rd.

Guests from almost every corner of Italy were treated to a night of dancing, singing and the customary tradition of any Italian celebratory event, the multi-course meal.

Giovanni Rapana, chairperson of the Committee of Italians Abroad, was the evening’s guest of honour. He was a major supporter in bringing RAI international-Italy’s national broadcasting station-into the living rooms of Montréal’s Italian community.

Rapana said that the station represents “a union of the Italian people, a constant open window into Italy and the Italian reality.”

Montreal’s young Italians are working on keeping this window open by encouraging the continuity of the culture and language it showcases. Among them is Daniel Orsi, the North American coordinator of the association of young Tuscans who attended the party. He said that it is Montreal’s “distinct Italian flavour” that allowed the Festa Italiana to take place.

“There are very few other places, maybe San Francisco or New York,” said Orsi on Montreal, “where we can have an evening like this and have all the speeches in Italian and everyone will understand.”

And it is not just Italians who have an interest in seeing their language grow and flourish across the Atlantic.

Etienne Brunet and Giovanna Viella are students at Universite de Montréal and members of l’ A.E.E.I.U.M. who helped coordinate the evening. They said that over 80 per cent of students who are studying in Italian at their school are not of Italian decent, but francophone.

“French values are very close to Italian ones” said Brunet, president of l’ A.E.E.I.U.M. “We are two cultures that I would consider like cousins, therefore there is a natural mutual want to associate together.”

Viella, secretary and communications officer for A.E.E.I.U.M. is thinking big.

She hopes that eventually, with the help of other universities, one large association could represent all the students in Italian studies in Montréal.

“It’s amazing for me to see how many people are interested in the Italian culture,” said Viella, “there is a lot to discover.”

The Italian republic’s 60th birthday did not go by unnoticed. The hall was filled to capacity with patrons enjoying opera and pop performances, and a free ticket to Italy was raffled off to one lucky guest.

The highlight of the evening was Luca “Lazy Legz” Patuelli’s break-dancing routine. Patuelli was born with arthrogryposis, a condition that makes him unable to walk without support. But the crowd hung on to his every move as he used what some would see as a disability-his crutches-to lift his body in the air and spin his legs around in a seemingly effortless manner.

Patuelli is known in break-dancing circles across the world as well as being the subject of several documentaries from as far away as South Korea. He just finished performing in a film with movie star Jamie Kennedy called Kickin’ it old school. The break-dancer continues to organize break-dancing events throughout the continent, and gives motivational speeches at schools across Canada and the U.S. “I’d love to travel and take my break-dancing career as far as I can” said Patuelli, “if I can travel, inspire the world and just have fun, I’m going to do that until I die.”

Giovanna Giordano, President of COM.IT.ES, the committee of Italians living abroad to which C.O.G.I.C. is affiliated, worked with the young Italians to make this night possible. Giordano said that she enjoys working with young adults because they represent the future of the Italian community. She explained that all they need is a little push for them to start getting organized.

“The young need someone to motivate them,” said Giordano, “someone to encourage them to take their rightful place and start taking part in all these associations.”

According to Orsi, this is already happening. He understands the need for the youth to be part of groups like C.O.G.I.C, and acknowledged the need for these groups to evolve.

He said that the scope of these Italian associations will change throughout the years, as more and more sons and daughters of Italian immigrants settle down and have children of their own. He stressed the need for these groups to adapt to the realities of Canada’s Italian communities as they integrate into Canadian society.

Orsi believes this evolution is natural, and hopes associations like C.O.G.I.C. and COM.IT.ES. “will continue to be at the vanguard of the people in keeping the Italian culture alive.”

Place your announcements in PanoramItalia Quarterly free of charge Marriage, Births, Memorials

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FCCI Golf Tournament

By Aicha Cissé On June 5th, dozens of carts strolled down the courses of the awe-inspiring StRaphael golf club in honor of the Fondation Communautaire Canadienne-Italienne’s 19th annual Golf tournament. This year’s fundraising not only displayed a panoramic view complemented by fine Italian cuisine, but also exemplified philanthropy at its best.

A driving force behind the Leonardo Da Vinci centre since 1975, the FCCI has reached out to the Italian community while making great contributions to hospitals and over 60 non-profit organizations such as the Breast Cancer Society and the CRAIC (Conseil regional de personnes agees italo-canadiennes). The Foundation also sustains the development of Italian-based retirement homes and hospital care for the elderly in their native language. The Confort Culturel Italien – a specialized section in existing homes - is an example of a constant devotion for the healthcare and well-being of the older members of the Italian community.

This year’s theme, the Spirit of Community Towards the future, exhibited an ever-growing sense of unity towards the population. Mario Galella, president of the FCCI, VP of the Leonardo da Vinci centre and VP of the Laurentian Bank, was incredibly confident that this year’s efforts would easily surpass the 200 000$ fundraising goal.

“Our parents came to this country in hope of a better future with almost nothing.

Now, it’s time for the younger generation to take over. We’re involved in all spheres of the society; we’re inviting young people to take part in building a better future”, explained Mr. Galella as he congratulated the organizing committee during the prestigious evening dinner.

President of BMW Laval Carmine D’argenio managed the tournament for a second consecutive year and proudly expressed the Foundation’s desire to draw people together while respecting the old values and bring forth new ideas to empower the community. He also stressed the financial support provided to the Leonardo DaVinci centre, which not only celebrates the accomplishments of Italian pioneers who settled in Montreal over the past century but also houses facilities (gym, theater, etc) for the community. In a great show of appreciation, Mr. D’Argenio introduced his ‘close friend and great ambassador of the community’: the honorary president Enzo Reda.

In a touching speech, Mr. Reda thanked his parents – his late father Franco Reda was one of the founding members of the foundation – and described his dedicated involvement with the FCCI as a tribute to their legacy. He also addressed the importance of charity as he spoke inspiring words: “It’s time to give back to those who raised us and made us who we are. It’s our responsibility to rise to the challenge. As Italian Canadians, we have the best of both worlds: we get to live our Italian culture in the greatest country in the world.”

Mr. Galela’s unabated confidence paid off when the FCCI was presented with an astounding check of 220 000$, which clearly highlighted another successful Tournament.

What’s in store for the 20th edition? Let us expect a higher goal which will easily be reached thanks to the unyielding generosity that unites the Foundation and its devoted members.

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BROCHURES • CATALOGUES • DÉPLIANTS • AFFICHES • DÉCOUPAGE

Mondiale Winemaking Centre

By Aicha Cissé Why buy wine when you can make your own? If you’re a passionate wine connoisseur, the Mondiale winemaking centre is a worthy stop-over. Equipped with high-end technology, this centre will allow you to create and customize your own drink in only five weeks.

• Division petite presse – Papeterie • Impression numérique • Personnalisation • Infographie • Grand format

Presses 28” et 40” Imprimerie Offset et numérique 9300, Henri-Bourassa Ouest, bur. 100, Saint-Laurent (coin autoroute 13) Prix imbattables !!!

• Brochures • Livrets • Catalogues • Papeterie Pochette de CD • Accroches portes • Carte postale Manuel • Pochette de présentation

(514) 337-7870 www.accentimpression.com

The process is very simple: you pick your homemade vinification kit in which you add yeast to begin the fermentation. You can choose between sterile, concentrated and fresh juice. Each winemaking kit can fill up two bottles. The centre takes care of the maintenance while your wine ferments for two weeks. On the third week, the Mondiale staff siphons, adds stabilizers and filters your wine. At the end of the fifth week, the center contacts you to bottle your product. You can label your wine bottle with a personalized tag. You can now add your homemade wine to your collection.

330 Cremazie West, Montreal, Quebec H2P 1C7

Contact Donato 514-271-0873

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Look

The

of

While summer for most of us may feel like it just began, store windows and magazine covers are gearing up for the fall.

From darker colors and big sweaters to leggings and booties, here’s what you need to know about the look of things to come.

1

A Blast From the Past Bring out those leggings, as they will make a big splash this fall.

Worn best under a skirt, dress, or long sweater, they will also come in handy for layering, another trend to rule the fashion runways.

3 5

Fall Into a Cocoon Look out for the cocoon silhouette on everything from jackets, to skirts and dresses. It is a far more flattering volume than that of previous seasons where fuller was better. This fall, moderation is key.

Mad For Plaid

Glamorous yet subdued, plaid is back. From skirts, to blazers, coats and dresses, you will feel confident and sexy in this new trend to make a comeback on fashion runways.

7

Get Shorty

2 4 6

By Laura Casella

Cuddle up

This season, don’t let the cold weather scare you, as you will have plenty of sweaterdresses to choose from. Things seem to be getting longer this season: tunics, over shirts, and long t-shirts will be in full swing this fall. Add a belt around your waist for a sleeker silhouette.

Tip Your Hat Hats are big, big news this autumn. Worn with everything from jeans to an evening dress, hats add a certain charm to just about any look.

Show Some Skin Around your ankles, that is. The eighties are back but this time on our feet, with the return of sassy booties. Do you dare?

Who ever said shorts were only for the summer? Wear a knee length pair over leggings, with a sweater and a great belt on a cool fall’s day, or with a jacket for a casual look at the office.

8

Splashes of Color

Although this season is on the sour side when it comes to color, with earthy tones such as orange, beige, and brown as well as shades of gray coming out on top, you will see brighter colors make a rare but bold appearance this fall. Wear splashes of crimson (cherry red), royal blue, and deep purple to make a statement.

9 10

Meet Velvet

This season velvet will be seen on just about everything from tunics, to dresses, skirts and hats. Also, frills of suede and lace will add a touch of Victorian influence to clothing this fall. So make friends with this soft and luxurious fabric for a very sharp look.

Black is Back

This fall eveningwear will be dominated by sheer black. Light, black nettings (like veil) will fall over dresses, and arms to create an extremely elegant look. Also, touches of metallic and gold will add some spice to your black wardrobe.

Hair Forecast Autumn’s hottest hair trends

Think loose. Think flowing. Think romantic. Those are the words that highlight this season’s glamorous styles. Here are the trends to look out for and the ones to steer clear of.

In:

Out:

Hair that has a slight wave and that flows.

Super-straight hair.

Smooth long layers.

Choppy short layers.

Natural styles.

Don’t touch my hair, every-strand-in–its-place style.

All-over deep, rich hair color.

Sun-bleached hair color.

Straight middle part.

Zigzag part.

Low ponytails.

Messy buns.

By Laura Casella “People have forgotten what pretty is,” says Jennifer Crisafulli, as she takes a sip from her refreshing, yellow sangria on a chilly night, wearing a cute and comfy green Juicy zip-up and a pair of dark, classical jeans. “It’s like we just got lazy.” Jennifer Crisafulli is of Italian origin and lives in Montreal with her aunt and her older brother. She is studying fashion design at Lasalle College in her second year, and hopes to one day reach the top ranks of the world’s best designers.

Her love for style dates back to the days of being a little girl where she would watch her mother get dressed in front of the mirror. “She just really loved to get dressed,” says Jennifer. “Not everyone enjoys getting dressed and having pretty things. It’s just a passion she had and I grew up sharing that passion just like my mother.”

Jennifer was certain that she wanted to work in fashion when she designed her own prom dress, and coordinated every step in the production process. “When I arrived at my prom,” she says, “everyone complemented me. It was such a huge success. That’s when I knew that this is what I really wanted to do.”

Jennifer believes that fashion is such an immense industry because appearance plays a major role in today’s society. “People will always remember their first and last impression of you. Nothing in the middle.” According to Jennifer, we live in a fast-paced society where people simply do not have the time to get to know you. However, she believes that the quality of clothing has paid the price for this quick and practical world we live in. “My mother had so many pieces in her closet that she would take out and say to me, ‘oh I bought this twenty years ago’. I don’t have one piece of clothing that I can say I bought ten years, or even five years ago,” she states. Everything is highproduction. Faster is better and time is money.”

But Jennifer prefers to take the time to design her clothes and hopes to offer people something chic, but at the same time affordable and convenient. “I’m not the type of designer who would make useless clothing,” she says taking another sip from her sangria. “If you look at Haut-Couture and you see some of these models walking down the runway and you’re thinking to yourself, ‘how am I supposed to wear that?’ That’s not something I would do.”

Haute-Couture, according to Jennifer, is a form of art, but in order to be really successful in the fashion market, Jennifer believes that designers must make the distinction between fashion as an art, and fashion as a business.

“The way I see fashion, fashion is a business. You have to make clothes that people are going to love and are going to come back, and buy again and again, and again.”

Her greatest inspiration in the fashion world that has helped her see things from this perspective is Donna Karen. “I love Donna Karen. I love, love, love Donna Karen,” she says passionately. “Donna Karen is a woman who’s an amazing designer, but at the same time she is in business. Donna Karen is good with the books. There is a whole marketing strategy behind every piece of clothing.”

Jennifer’s own marketing strategy is directed towards women between the ages of thirty and forty-five years old. “I want to make clothes for women who have careers and are also working moms who need a versatile wardrobe for work and for everyday,” she express-

first

I

es. In a world where plastic surgery and Botox is normal, Jennifer wants to offer these women something cheaper, and less painful than having to go under the knife. “We live in an antiaging society where women try to look younger and younger everyday but what I want to do for them is make them look younger through their clothes and not through plastic surgery or anything like that.” In terms of what we are seeing with today’s fashion, Jennifer says that everything is in style. “We live in a liberal society where people can do what they want, and wear what they want and it’s still going to be fashion,” she says.

As for this fall’s top trends, Jennifer says we are looking at a major 60’s influence from

Jennifer Crisafulli looser and boxier silhouettes, to lots of belts and sashes. Colors are also getting darker, from grays, to browns and the classic black. Another fashion movement to look out for, she declares, “No more thong sightings,” she says laughing. “The waistline is going up. High-rise pants are coming back with a vengeance. It’s been gone for a good ten years, but it’s coming back.

But besides what’s “in” and what’s “out”, Jennifer is disappointed at how people have left fashion on the backburner. “Women in the 50’s were so much more good-looking,” she stresses.

“Their hair was done, their make-up and they had beautiful clothes. Go look at a movie now and go look at a movie from the 50’s and you will clearly see that there’s something missing,” The thing that is missing Jennifer believes, is the pretty factor. But why have we placed appearance so far down on our lists? “It’s just something we forgot at the back of our closet,” she says looking down. “We just evolved, we moved on. But you know just take a step back, and have fun getting dressed up, and you will see how good it’s going to make you feel,” she says smiling.

And I smile right back because I sure do know how that feels.

Like chocolate goes with cake, so does fragrance go with season. Tuning into the seasons can help you decide what fragrance to add to your collection. Here are my picks to smelling good this fall.

scent

Love at

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FASHION

Women

, spray a little of Euphoria by

Men

, try Signature by

Calvin Klein. A blend of Pomegranate, Mahogany

Kenneth Cole. With an intrigu-

Wood, and Liquid Amber, this perfume is perfect for

ing combination of Grapefruit,

fall, and all-year round, making it a great investment.

Violet, and Espresso Bean, this

Sexy, refreshing, and it lasts all day long. ($75-50ml)

sophisticated scent will score you some extra attention from your lady friends. ($67-50ml)

*Bonus Tip: How do you make a fragrance last without suffocating everyone around you? The trick is to spray the perfume on the back of your wrists, your neck, and your knees. Yes, your knees. Most importantly, do not rub! Rubbing crushes the molecules of the fragrance and trashes the scent. So make those dollars count to the very last drop.

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MUSIC

musica

Musique

By Massi Miliano

Bienvenido – Riserva Moac The rediscovery of traditional sonority and values, through new

Musique et Ambiance

arrangements and technologies. This is Riserva Moac. The warm and ancient sounds of instruments like: Zampogna, Ciaramella, Zurna and Accordion surf the sharp and electric sound of modern drums, bass and guitars. Riserva Moac moves easily from ska to rap, from swing to reggae, sometimes in the same song! Lyrics (often in dialect) are words of hope and protest against war and indifference of the modern man that uses the progress to clean his face, forgetting his soul.

Pure energy and already mature talent for this first album.

Une fois on disait que les italiens sont un peuple de saints, poètes et navigateurs… Si au fil des années les chefs ont pris la place des saints, la poésie s’est laissé accompagner par la musique. Et comme la cuisine, aussi la musique italienne voyage de la tradition à l’expérimentation, toujours (ou presque) à travers la qualité de ses créations. Alors devient naturel dans une soirée d’été de s’improviser chefs en se laissant aller sur les notes des mélodies italiennes. De la tradition de Modugno (Vecchio Frac) et Roberto Murolo avec Renzo Arbore (‘na tazzulella ‘e cafè) à la qualité de Vinicio Capossela (La Regina del Florida) et Paolo Conte (Via con me). De la fête de Ray Gelato (Angelina) et Dean Martin (That’s Amore) à l’expérimentation des Soerba (I am happy) et Max Gazzé (Una musica può fare). Des morceaux qui nous feront voyager à travers les saveurs d’Italie!

Bossa & Balanço - Balanço Bossa & Balanço is the second album of the group Balanço. It has been defined as the soundtrack of the new cocktail generation. Bossa and jazz, these are the influences present in the album. An easy listening sound that can be generated only from big talented players and composers. It evokes much of the flavour from Italian soundtracks of movies from the 50’s - 70’s. In fact, in Bossa & Balanço we find remixes of songs like “Metti una sera a cena” by Ennio Morricone and “Cinnamon and Clove” by Johnny Mandel. Creeping guitars and Hammonds make this album an elegant example of the Italian jazz at large.

Mentre tutto scorre Negramaro Over one hundred thousand copies sold for Negramaro’s third album, still in the Italian charts. The song “Mentre tutto scorre” participated in the 2005 edition of Sanremo without much success, but the public seemed to appreciate it and the song started to be played on the radios and climbed the charts. Eight songs from this album have been chosen by the director Alessandro D’Alatri for his movie “La Febbre”. The style is easy like pop, but aggressive like rock, with some influences from the British electronic. The tenth track is a cover of a famous song of Don Backy: “L’immensità” that Negramaro interprets with a mood that is at times quite dark.

Accabbanna – Olivia Sellerio and Pietro Leveratto “In this part of the world”, that’s what accabbanna means in Sicilian dialect. Jazz and tradition are the focus in this new release of EGEA Records. Played by great musicians like Enrico Tobia Vaccaro – guitars and violin, Mauro Schiavone – piano and harmonium Giovanni Apprendi – percussion and of course Pietro Leveratto - bass, Accabbanna rediscovers Sicily as land of multiethnic traditions and sounds. Following the Umbria Jazz Festival, the last Montreal Jazz Festival edition hosted a presentation of this album with the extraordinary participation of Gabriele Mirabassi and his magic clarinet.

Bon appétit alors et… attention à la cuisson de vos spaghetti !

Nuovo Cinema Paradiso Colonna sonora originale – Ennio Morricone (1989) Sicuramente una delle più belle colonne sonore di Ennio Morricone, che torna a lavorare con uno dei grandi del cinema italiano: Giuseppe Tornatore.

La musica accompagna le avventure di un bimbo siciliano che, innamorato del cinema, come tanti da grande è costretto ad abbandonare la bella Sicilia per realizzare i suoi sogni. Dolci, melodiche, nostalgiche, ma mai inutilmente eccessive, le note di Ennio Morricone penetrano direttamente nel cuore, enfatizzando i momenti più toccanti di questa avventura.

Successi Dimenticati Matia Bazar – Tutto il mondo dei Matia Bazar (1992) Una raccolta del 1992 che racconta la strada dei Matia Bazar, dal loro esordio nel 1975 con “Stasera che sera”, fino alla partecipazione al 42° festival di Sanremo, con la canzone “Piccoli Giganti”. Nell’album troviamo anche “Solo tu” che, uscita nel 1977, vende oltre un milione di copie e porta il gruppo in testa alle classifiche francesi, tedesche ed olandesi. Attraversando le varie tracce di questa raccolta, si percorre un cammino arricchito da stili ed influenze diverse, creato negli anni soprattutto dall’avvicendarsi dei componenti del gruppo.

Luca Carboni – Luca Carboni (1987) Questo è l’album che porta Luca Carboni al successo tra il grande pubblico. Sempre estraneo alle logiche di mercato e chiuso in una ricerca silenziosa, Carboni trova proprio nella sua città, Bologna, la possibilità di esprimersi ed affermarsi come artista. Le sue, sono storie di vita quotidiana, spaccati di una realtà di periferia spesso squallida e difficile, dalla quale si può uscire solo grazie alla determinazione ed all’amore (inteso in senso largo). Così, mentre “Silvia lo sai” narra la tenerezza di un amore romantico inquinato dalla droga, “Farfallina” grida il bisogno d’affetto dell’anima. Tutto nello stile “Carboni”.

Classifica dei 30 singoli italiani più suonati in radio 1. SEI NELL'ANIMA 2. LE DONNE LO SANNO 3. STOP! DIMENTICA 4. MAGARI MENO 5. SIAMO UNA SQUADRA FORTISSIMI 6. BAMBINO NEL TEMPO 7. SOLO LEI MI DÀ 8. DOMENICA D'ESTATE 9. NUVOLE E LENZUOLA 10. FAMMI STARE CON TE 11. IRRAGGIUNGIBILE 12. SIGNOR TENTENNA 13. APPLAUSI PER FIBRA 14. LIBERI DI SOGNARE 15. NOTTE DI MEZZA ESTATE

GIANNA NANNINI LIGABUE TIZIANO FERRO ZERO ASSOLUTO CHECCO ZALONE EROS RAMAZZOTTI SUGARFREE SEBA NEGRAMARO STADIO L'AURA CARMEN CONSOLI FABRI FIBRA GIANLUCA GRIGNANI BENNATO & BRITTI

16. LA RICETTA DEL CAMPIONE 17. RITORNERAI 18. LO SCRUTATORE NON VOTANTE 19. FALLA GIRARE 20. LA LINEA DELLA VITA 21. UN ULTIMO BRIVIDO 22. ...SOLO CON TE 23. INCANTEVOLE 24. ESSERE UNA DONNA 25. LE TUE PAROLE FANNO MALE 26. DELLA STESSA MATERIA DEI SOGNI 27. FORSE UN ANGELO 28. CHE BELLA GENTE 29. COME TI VA 30. LA MIA PARTE INTOLLERANTE

LUCA DIRISIO DELTA V SAMUELE BERSANI JOVANOTTI FRANCESCO DE GREGORI ANTONINO ALEX BRITTI SUBSONICA ANNA TATANGELO CESARE CREMONINI TIROMANCINO STUDIO 3 SIMONE CRISTICCHI RIO CAPAREZZA

Musique

Adriano Celentano… un tributo Chi è Adriano Celentano? Questa che potrebbe sembrare una domanda piuttosto scontata, nasconde invece tante risposte meno evidenti e riassumere la sua vita in poche righe è opera non sempre facile. Certo, Celentano è un cantante… è il ragazzo della Via Gluck.

Pensandoci meglio, però, ricordiamo Serafino, Asso, Yuppi Du… è vero, Celentano è anche un attore! Ed in molti casi il suo impegno si è esteso all’attività di regista. Ma non basta. È anche un conduttore televisivo e, quando nel 1987 gli viene affidata la conduzione del varietà televisivo Fantastico 8, Adriano, con monologhi e silenzi interminabili, viola e sbeffeggia il ritmo frenetico della tv americana ormai importato anche in Italia, sollevando così un mare di polemiche.

Senza dimenticare, poi, l’Adriano ballerino, umorista, compositore…

Ma qual è la sua storia? Forse tanta popolarità nasce dal fatto che la sua è una storia semplice, quasi “la storia di uno di noi”. Milanese, ma pugliese di origine, nasce nel 1938, al numero 14 di una casa qualunque dell’allora anonima Via Gluck. Qui trascorre l’infanzia e l’adolescenza.

Lasciata la scuola, svolge diversi lavori, tra i quali quello dell’orologiaio. Gli esordi nel mondo artistico sono alquanto rocamboleschi. Nel 1957, viene indetto un concorso per gli imitatori dell’attore americano Jerry Lewis. Adriano è convinto di potercela fare e questa forte motivazione sarà la chiave di ogni suo successo. Partecipa e vince. La famiglia, alla notizia della vittoria e del premio di 100.000 delle vecchie lire, scoppia in lacrime di gioia. La carriera artistica del piccolo Celentano viene presa più seriamente, anche se mamma Giuditta, di nascosto, guarda il figlio che imita le smorfie di Jerry Lewis e, con le mani nei capelli, teme che il figliolo sia impazzito. Sempre nel 1957, Adriano partecipa al primo festival rock italiano nella band Rock Boys: Giorgio Gaber alla chitarra, Enzo Jannacci al piano e Luigi Tenco al sax! Sul palco è l’unico cantante Rock e, mentre canta la sua “Ciao ti dirò”, divincola il bacino alla Elvis, volta le spalle al pubblico e la sua voce è una miscela esplosiva di erotismo, ribellione ed ironia. Il pubblico è in delirio.

Nel 1959, partecipa, vincendolo, al festival di Ancona con “Il tuo bacio è come un Rock”, canzone che domina tutte le classifiche e permette all’artista di firmare un accordo con il titolare tedesco della Jolly. Nel 1960, Adriano compare nel mitico film “La Dolce Vita” di Fellini per interpretare… se stesso! Il ‘61 è un anno chiave nella sua vita artistica e personale. Accanto all’altrettanto giovane Little Tony, partecipa al festival di Sanremo con “24000 baci” che, sebbene ottenga solo il secondo posto nella competizione, si traduce in un altro record di vendite. Nello stesso anno, lascia l’etichetta Saar per fondare il “Clan Celentano” e conosce la bellissima

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

calendario

Calendrier

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Di Massi Miliano Claudia Mori che sposerà in gran segreto nella chiesa di S. Francesco a Grosseto, tre anni dopo.

Nel ’66, Sanremo gioca ad Adriano lo stesso scherzo subìto da alcune tra le più famose canzoni italiane. Il cantante infatti, propone un pezzo che viene bocciato dalla giuria e che quindi non può neppure partecipare al festival. Un pezzo che molti confondono con il suo esordio artistico: “Il ragazzo della via Gluck”. In effetti di un esordio si tratta: questa canzone segna l’inizio dell’impegno ecologico di Adriano. Adriano non si arrende e, sebbene Sanremo abbia chiuso le sue porte, pubblica ugualmente il pezzo che venderà oltre un milione di copie e verrà tradotto in 18 lingue. La sua carriera è definitivamente consolidata.

Nel corso degli anni, evolve uno stile proprio, arrivando persino a sperimentare l’elettronica ed il rap. Basti pensare a “Prisencolineinsinainciusol” dove, su un loop ritmico, il molleggiato non canta, ma parla a ritmo, in una lingua che non esiste. Presentato nel 72 in Italia, il pezzo si rivela un flop. All’inizio del 74, invece, registra picchi di vendite in Francia ed in Germania. Ripresentato nello stesso anno anche in Italia, ad un pubblico meno avvezzo di quello dei Kool & The Gang o dei Funkadelic che già da tempo sperimentavano questo stile, anche in patria conosce il suo momento di gloria. Una curiosità legata a questa canzone, ma che testimonia quanto Adriano anticipasse i tempi: al Midem di Cannes, Adriano, con trent’anni di anticipo, presenta “Prisencolineinsinainciusol” abbigliato proprio come un rapper anni ’90: felpa e cappuccio calato sulla testa. Chissà che i “Public Enemy” o i “Beastie Boys” non si siano ispirati proprio al suo look!

La miccia del rock in Adriano Celentano, sembra essere stata accesa dall’ascolto di un disco di Bill Haley, avuto per caso da un amico. E dal rock, il molleggiato attinge la ribellione, la voglia di rompere gli schemi. Un’energia che compare in ogni sua opera. La voglia di muoversi in direzione di un progresso teso a riscoprire valori antichi ed universali quali la famiglia ed il rispetto dell’ambiente come fonte di vita. Adriano Celentano è il cantante delle contraddizioni, che legano la tradizione al progresso, la rabbia alla pace, il rumore al silenzio, la calda cultura di vita alla fredda ignoranza dei “cosiddetti colti”.

Album consigliati: Super – Una raccolta di successi.

Il re degli ignoranti – L’incontro dell’artista con l’elettronica

Associazione Italo-Canadese del "West Island" inc.

Gita Vigneti Cantons de L'Est October 1, 2006-Contact: (514) 781-9724

Accesss: Congugal Violence Seminar September 13-Contact: (514) 287-1106

Ferrari Club Quebec: Fundraiser for Breast Cancer September 16, 2006-Contact: (514) 739-8005

Centro Leonardo Davinci Jason Cambell-Anima, L'evolution de l'esprit

Centro Leonardo Davinci: Calabresi del Mondo: Spettacolo Cabaret, Piero Procopio October 6-7, 2006-Contact: (514) 955-8370

Associazione Italo-Canadese del "West Island" inc.-Ralley Automobile October 8, 2006-Contact ((514) 425-5357

September 21-22, 2006-Contact: (514) 955-8370

Centro Leonardo Davinci: La Fondation pour les soins du SIDA Fantaisie d'opera et serenades

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada: Light the NightWalk

October 14, 2006-Contact (514) 955-8370

September 22, 2006-Contact: 877-586-9255

Associazione Italo-Canadese del "West Island" inc.

Gita Vigneti di Niagara Falls September 22-23-24, 2006-Contact: (450)424- 8132

Centro Leonardo Davinci: CFMB Presents-Superfantastico October 15, 2006-Contact: (514) 955-8370

Associazione Italo-Canadese del "West Island" Inc.-Assemblea Generale November 5, 2006-Contact: (514) 620-1761

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Grand Prix du Canada

By Joey Franco Formula 1 is the height of motor racing in the world. It is also the most expensive sport in the world. Each Grand Prix attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators, not to mention millions of international television viewers. Grand Prix racing travels to every continent, reaching even the most remote areas such as a sandy island in the middle of the Persian Gulf (Grand Prix of Bahrain). Each year, usually in the month of June, Montreal becomes the host of the Canadian Grand Prix. During this weekend in June, thousands of tourists and racing fanatics flood the streets of downtown Montreal. Ile Notre-Dame becomes the center of attention, Crescent Street takes on an ultra-festive atmosphere, and hundreds of ticket holders rush to the usually tranquil yellow line on the Montreal metro. This is Grand Prix weekend in Montreal.

Formula 1 culture in Canada Canada has been a Formula 1 venue since the 1960’s, the first Canadian Grand Prixs were held at Mosport Park in Ontario, and at the Mont-Tremblant circuit, in alternation. The very first Montreal grand Prix took place on October 8, 1978, and was won by the legendary Gilles Villeneuve. Villeneuve would never win a world championship, what he would win was the adulation of millions of Formula 1 fans. Today, as a tribute to the deceased legend, the Ile Notre-Dame circuit is named after Gilles. Every year, “salut Gilles” is painted on to the start finish line to render homage to our hero Gilles Villeneuve.

Montreal is a very unique city. Not only do we have an airport smack in the middle of the city, we also have a Formula 1 racetrack in there. What distinguishes the Montreal GP from any other GP is the fact that it takes place in a cosmopolitan city with a population of circa 3.5 million.

Don’t get me wrong, the Monaco Grand Prix is set in the ever luxurious French Riviera, home of the rich and famous, a place where royalty and movie stars mingle in a fabulous lifestyle that most people can only dream of Melbourne, home of the Australian GP, is also among the favourites.

Albert Park race track, just a few kilometres away from the booming city of Melbourne, is a waterside track, with beautiful Fosters girls all over the circuit. During the “open house” at the circuit Gilles Villeneuve I had a chat with Gabriele, a team member of Scuderia Toro Rosso. Which GP is your favourite I asked the curly haired Italian? “Melbourne, Interlagos (Brazil), and Montreal, but mostly Montreal because of all the beautiful women, the friendly people, and the incredible nightlife in the downtown area”. The verdict is in, the three M’s rule the Formula 1 world, Monaco, Melbourne, and Montreal.

Gabriele is definitely on to something. Babes, cars, and rock-and-roll characterize Grand Prix weekend. Don’t forget about fine dining and a chance to bump into, say, Robert De Niro or David Letterman. What distinguishes the 2006 Montreal GP from the other years is the amount of simultaneous events in the city. During the same week, Madonna paid a visit to the Bell center. The GP also coincides with the St. Jean weekend and during the FIFA World Cup. After the Italian national team defeated the Czech Republic on June 22nd, a Toyota mechanic, part of the Jarno Trulli team and proudly wearing an Italian Flag as a cape came and shook my hand, “forza Italia, we are everywhere in the world!”.

No other sport in the world attracts more beauty and splendour than formula 1. Among these beauties were the world famous Clydesdale horses from the Budweiser commercials, stunning Ferrari 360 Modenas, and of course the Budweiser girls. Anheuser-Busch’s Budweiser brand is the official beer of the Montreal GP. An abundance of Budweiser “pit girls” were to be found both on Ile NotreDame and in the downtown area. If anyone can compete with Melbourne’s Foster girls it would have to be Montreal’s Bud-girls, but I would call it a draw.

Montreal, on a regular summer day, has its fair share of Ferraris and Lamborghinis roaming the streets. So we can just imagine how many four wheeled beauties were on

the Montreal asphalt, on and off the racing track, during the most high profile weekend in North American motor racing.

The parking lot of Trattoria Dai Baffoni was jam packed with Ducati motorcycles from the Ducati club of Quebec. Peel Street was transformed into a dream car exhibition. Forty Ferraris decorated peel street between de Maisoneuve Blvd. and St. Catherine St. on the Thursday before the Grand Prix.

On Friday the forty Ferraris turned into Lamborghinis, and then back to Ferraris on Saturday. As the grand finale, the Quebec Porsche Club exhibited 60 vintage and new cars for the post-GP celebrations. Mclaren Mercedes also showcased their single-seater F1 car in front of select SAQ stores.

Attending the Grand prix at the circuit Gilles Villeneuve is just half the F1 experience in Montreal. The other half takes place on Crescent Street. For the Past eight years, Crescent Street has been the life of the F1 party. On Thursday, Black Russian Band performed with Martin Deschamps. On Friday, Fully Completely rendered homage to The Tragically Hip, and on Saturday it was Rock of Ages to end the festivities.

Of course, in Montreal there is no better way to Rock the night away than sitting on a terrace with an ice-cold import.

Restaurant owners are on cloud nine when GP weekend rolls around. An estimated 75 million dollars are poured into the Montreal economy during this weekend.

Fine restaurants are a trademark of the Montreal lifestyle. Peel Street features the famous Ferreira Café, a restaurant which offers authentic Portuguese dishes. St. Laurent Street is also a hot destination with Le Globe and Buonanotte capturing the spotlight. Of course Newtown, on Crescent Street is a must during the weekend, especially since it’s owner is none other that Jacques Villeneuve. Who knows, maybe you will bump into a celebrity at one of these places. After all, the Montreal GP has been known to attract stars such as Michael Douglas, Paul Newman, Naomi Campbell, and even Ozzy Osbourne.

Fine gastronomy, fancy boutiques, and fast cars are all part of the Montreal experience during Grand Prix weekend.

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Technical Analysis Formula 1 cars have as much in common with road cars as a kitten has in common with a Bengal tiger. An F1 car can be compared to an airplane; it has a nose, a pilot, and wings. Modern F1 engines are marvellous feats of engineering.

A modern formula 1engine revs to over 19 000 rotations per minute. The task of an engineer is to synchronise these engines in order to achieve the maximum amount of power without sacrificing durability. In addition, according to the new FIA regulations, each engine must last two Grand Prix weekends.

The “formula” in Formula 1 stands for a set of rules or criteria which all participating teams must meet. Each year the governing body known as the FIA introduces a formula.

This formula comprises a set of restrictions and specifications that each car must meet in order to keep the sport as competitive and as safe as possible. This year there was a major change concerning the engines of the race car in an attempt to slow the cars down. The amount of cylinders was decreased from ten cylinders in V formation to eight cylinders in V formation. The loss of two cylinders will in effect cut down 200 BHP, from about 1000 horses to roughly 800. As a result the cars are not as fast on straight lines and reach their maximum speeds quicker. Cornering speeds do not seem to be affected by this change.

The second notable change regards qualification.

Knockout qualifications! The way it works is that all 22 cars attempt to post the fastest lap in an opening 15 minute session. The six slowest cars are immediately relegated to positions 17-22 on the starting grid. The remaining 16 cars hit the road for the second 15 minute session. Again, the 6 slowest cars will be relegated to positions 11-16. At this point there are ten cars left. These ten cars will compete for the pole position on the starting grid in the last session which lasts 20 minutes. The fastest driver takes pole position and the rest fill in positions 2-10 according to their respective lap times.

Many Montréalers will cheer on homeboy Jacques Villeneuve, hoping to reverse a spell of bad luck at the circuit named after his father. Villeneuve comes to Canada with the seven points which place him 11th overall in the driver’s world championship. The BMW-Sauber member, and former world

champion has never won at the Villeneuve circuit. The Swiss raised Quebecois’ best performance at the Villeneuve circuit was second place, behind Damon Hill, at the 1996 Canadian Grand Prix. If the newlywed Villeneuve failed to win this race at the height of his career it is very unlikely that he will ever come close to the podium again in his career.

Alesi, Hill, Hakkinen, Raikkonen, and the Schumacher brothers have, unlike Villeneuve, won a Canadian Grand Prix in the past decade. Fernando Alonso, reigning world champion and current leader in the standings, coming into the Montreal event with 74 points, 23 over second place Michael Schumacher, hopes to join the list of winners. The Montreal circuit requires repeated patterns of heavy breaking followed by heavy acceleration. Drivers must be prepared to brake late and on this track. Long straights and quick corners force the aerodynamicists to prepare special wings which reduce drag for the Canadian GP.

The race June 25th 2006, the eyes and ears of the world have shifted away from the World Cup and for two hours, Montreal, not Germany, is the Sporting capital of the world. After an interesting qualifying session which sees the Spaniard Fernando Alonso sitting on pole position, followed by his team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, the race is set to begin. Kimi Raikkonen is third on the grid, Michael Schumacher is fifth, and Villeneuve 11th. The air temperature in Montreal stands at 29 degrees.

Winning in Montreal was on Fernando Alonso’s to do list, and he hid it, he did it in one hour; 34 minutes, 37.308 seconds, with an average speed of 193.572 kilometres per hour.

The 24 year old Spaniard won the 38th Grand prix of Canada in front of a crowd of over 119 000 spectators. Michael Schumacher, the seven time F1 world champion finished on the second step of the podium as he failed to capture his 8th Canadian GP. Alonso’s 4th successive victory, his 14th of his career, also marks Michelin’s 100th GP victory. The century mark from the French tire manufacturer is a historic landmark, and it happened right here in Montreal. “It’s fantastic for me again … this was the race we should have had in previous years and now we have it” said the rapturous Spaniard.

Kimi Raikkonen finished on the lowest step on the podium. Raikkonen was in second place for most of the race, a faulty clutch meant he would have to settle f o r

t h e smallest trophy of the day, a trophy 19 other drivers probably wouldn’t mind receiving at that point.

The unfortunate story belongs to Mr.Newtown.

Villeneuve, who was in eighth position on lap 59, crashed his Sauber on turn 7. His tires lost grip on the dirty side of the track. This race will be remembered for the dust, bits of rubber, and pieces of loose asphalt on the track. Many drivers complained about the surface, “it was like driving on ice” they said. Canadian GP general manager Martin Spalding attributed the deterioration of the asphalt to the immense torque produced in turns. The atrocious road condition created an authentic “Montreal experience” for the F1 drivers. Now they know how we feel about driving on our roads.

Once again the Montreal GP proved to be a success.

332 000 people attended the event over the three day period, just a couple of thousand short of last year’s record. Montreal organizers will soon begin preparations for the 2007 GP. 1st Alonso

2nd Schumacher

3rd Raikkonen

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Interview with Angelo Esposito and Stephen Valente

By Joey Franco At first glance, Angelo Esposito and Stephen Valente might seem like your average seventeen and eighteen year olds. In reality, these two teenagers may very well be the future prodigies of the National Hockey League. Montreal bred, and full of Italian blood, Esposito and Valente, both members of the Quebec Remparts, have laid their hands on the Memorial Cup in their rookie year in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

For those who are a bit less than all-knowing in the world of Canadian junior hockey, here is a brief explanation. The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is composed of three member leagues, the Western Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Each year, the champions of each league, and the host CHL team, compete for the Memorial Cup. To make a long story short, the Memorial Cup is to Junior (under 21) Canadian Hockey what the Stanley Cup is to the NHL. The ultimate prize.

Thirty one members of the Hockey Hall of Fame have hoisted the Mem Cup. This year the names of both Stephen and Angelo have been engraved on the trophy, making them a part of the fabled legend of the Memorial Cup. The Quebec Remparts are considered as one of the most popular teams in the CHL, regularly attracting crowds of over 8000 spectators at their home arena, the Colisée Pepsi, former home of the Nordiques. A man by the name of Patrick Roy might also be a reason as to why the team is so cherished by the Quebec supporters. The NHL Legend is Head Coach and General Manager of the Remparts.

What makes this tale even more interesting is that Angelo Esposito, the 17 year old sensation, is currently condidered as a favorite to be picked first overall in the 2007 NHL entry draft. He is quite possibly the best of the ’89 vintage. The 6’1, 174-pound center finished the 2005-2006 regular season with 98 points (39 goals). Espo, as his buddies call him, received the Michel Bergeron Trophy, awarded annually to the QMJHL’s offensive rookie of the year.

Moreover, Espo is being compared to the likes of Vincent Lecavalier and Sidney Crosby.

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with these two exceptional athletes. Here’s what they had to say.

Stephen, your objective at the start of the season was to win the Memorial Cup. You did just that, what’s next?

For now my next goal is to have a good season next year so that I can get into the standings and get drafted into pro. Also, it would be nice to win the Mem cup next year, I still have that as an objective. Next year is going to be an important season for me, I need to do well.

Angelo, same question. For next year I guess I’m taking it day by day. This summer I’m going to the under 18 and its going to be a goal for me to perform well and do my best there. Then to start off next season with a good jump, make sure that I’m on top of my game. I just take my seasons day by day, game by game, I don’t jump ahead in the future. Another goal would obviously be to win another Memorial Cup and become a better player.

Angelo, what was going through your mind during the final game against the Moncton Wildcats?

There wasn’t a lot going through my mind, I was a bit nervous but it was just a regular hockey game for me and I just wanted to go out there and play the hardest I could and the best I could.

It was the last game of the year, that game there was either going to make or break my summer. We won it and we were all happy, it was obviously a lot more stressing than it looked and once we won it. It just felt great.

Stephen, what was it like having an NHL legend such as Patrick Roy as a coach? I think he did a really good job this year, it was his rookie year as a coach and I was happy with him, he really knows how to motivate the players.

Being a player for so many years, he knows what it takes to win, he knows what it is to be a player. So he was able to motivate us and to get us to give the effort all the time. I think he is one of the main reasons we were able to win this year.

Angelo, same question. Obviously it was exciting having a coach like Patrick behind the bench, he’s one of the greatest goalies in the NHL and he brings a lot of experience to us. He has a passion for hockey and he just wants to win, he showed us how to be winners and he got us working hard. All he expected from us is that we worked hard and if we worked hard he was happy.

Angelo, how was your relationship with Patrick?

We had a really close relationship, I went and talked with him quite often and he spoke to me a lot. He was pretty close with everyone, whenever there was a problem he made sure that he talked to us about it. He’s an open person and a good guy. It is intimidating because it’s Patrick Roy behind the bench but once you get to know him he’s a regular guy, he’s open with everyone and he treats us the

Stephen Valente (left) and Angelo Esposito (right)

same way he treats his sons, it’s really nice to have that.

Stephen, you travel a lot, what do you miss most about living in St.-Léonard? I did miss St.-Léonard, of course I was caught up in the rush of being in Quebec City and playing hockey all the time. There are a lot of places I used to go in St-Leo like Cinema Guzzo, Rockaberry, Boccacinos. I spent my whole life in St. Leonard and I love Quebec, it’s a great city and I can’t wait to go back but at the same time I grew up in St. Leonard and there are a lot of hang out places that I miss. And I miss my buddies.

Angelo, one of your objectives is to graduate from university. What would you like to study? Obviously, coming into this year I wanted to go off to university. I wanted to go into pre-med. But now that I’ve come here, obviously my goal is to one day play in the NHL and it’s a lot harder to study while playing

hockey, but I’ve managed and next year I’ll be off to university. I’m just keeping my mind open right now and we’ll see what’s to come.

Stephen, both you and Angelo have a passion for Golf. Who is the better player? Actually we’re both pretty bad.

Angelo, there have been two famous Espositos in the NHL, Phil and Tony, will you be the next “Esposito”?

Obviously, like every other kid it’s a dream to play in the NHL and that’s one of my goals, that’s what I’m focusing on and hopefully I can make it happen. I’m going to work hard and we’ll see one day. That’s all I can say, we’ll see.

Angelo, you’re on your way to the Under 18 championship in the Czech Republic, what are your feelings on that? Yes, I’m going to the under 18’s and it’s going to be my first overseas experience in the Czech Republic and it’s going to be really exciting to play against other players, some of the top players of my age group. It’s going to be a challenge for me, just a step in my process of getting older and getting more experience under my belt. It’s going to help me a lot.

Stephen, what advice would you give to young athletes? My advice to young athletes is to keep working at it because if you work hard and you never loose sight of the dream, you’ll always have that motivation to be there and compete.

Also stay in school because even though you’re really pushing it with hockey it’s important not to loose sight of what’s important in life, and school will always be important. Also even though you want to become an athlete don’t forget that there’s other stuff in life.

Angelo, do you have anything to add to what Stephen just said? Same thing as Steph, work hard, stay in school, and be humble. You can’t have a big head if you want to become a hockey player. You have to have a good head on your shoulders and just make sure you’re always working hard.

Stephen, which NHL team would you want to be drafted by? Well, I’ll be honest, as long as I get drafted to the NHL, the team doesn’t really matter. Hypothetically, I guess Montreal because it’s my home city, or anyplace warm.

Angelo, which team would you want to be drafted by? I really don’t care who I get drafted by. My goal is to play in the NHL, so whichever team is going to take me … in the end I just want to make it.

Stephen, what does having an Italian name on your jersey mean to you?Having my name on the jersey and being in Québec, being on the winning team, being on the Memorial Cup, is great. My parents are happy, my grandparents tell me they’re honoured. As for me, I’m glad I can give something back to them, I can’t wait to have the cup, and I have a bunch of places in St. Leonard that I want to bring it to, just give back to the community in a way.

Angelo, what does it mean to you? It’s an honour to have an Italian name, there’s not too many Italians out there playing but we all know that you play for the name on the front of the jersey not the name on the back of the jersey, but obviously it’s an honour to have an Italian name on the back of the jersey.

During the Montreal Grand Prix I spotted a young Québec Remparts fan sporting the #7 shirt.

The mother of the fan said “we all love Angelo in Québec, he’s going to be our future star you know”. Regardless of whether Angelo or Stephen will be the next NHL stars, their humble attitude and perseverance will continue to inspire young athletes seeking to be the next Valente or the next Esposito. Good luck and congratulations to both of them.

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My World Cup Journal – Germany 2006

By Joey Franco

May 9th 2006- 11:22AM Thirty-one days and one month until the start of the most popular sporting event on the globe, the FIFA World Cup. On June 9th, the entire world will come to a standstill. All emphasis will be placed on the 32 competing nations which will try to gain global soccer supremacy. These 32 nations will compete for the title of world champion, a title which is accompanied by an iconic 18 karat gold trophy designed by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga. The 36.8cm tall trophy is by far the most coveted prize in the world of soccer, in fact, it is quite possibly the most desirable trophy in all of sports.

Italian head coach Marcello Lippi must submit, by May 15th, his definitive list of 23 players who will travel to Germany this June. These 23 athletes will compose “la nazionale Italiana”. The Azzurri will sport the traditional sky-blue jerseys adorned with the three stars which symbolize the three world titles won in 1934, 1938, and 1982. Lippi will showcase his talented squad in two pre world cup fixtures on May 31st and June 2nd against Switzerland and the Ukraine. Who knows what will be in two months time. All we can do at the moment is speculate about which two teams will dispute the July 9th final at the Olympiastadion in the Bavarian capital, Berlin. I as a tifoso can only hope for an Italian triumph, which will set me back another 150$ for an authentic Italian national jersey simply for the addition of an extra star. 150$ which I will gladly spend for such immense satisfaction, not to mention bragging rights for the next four years, and the chance to tell my children how, in 2006, Italy won the world cup.

But, as it stands today, on this 9th day of May, I am fairly dispirited. Italian soccer, due to the recent scandals surrounding clubs such as Juventus, Lazio, and Fiorentina, has been mutilated. This turmoil has led to the demission of many individuals in the world of Italian soccer including the president of the Italian soccer federation (FIGC), Franco Carraro.

Apart from the negative press coverage “il calcio Italiano” has received, the most upsetting aspect of the buildup to this 18th edition of the FIFA World Cup is the prolific coverage of the Brazilian national team. This is upsetting from an Italian viewpoint. The 2006 Seleção, is being regarded by many experts and journalists, as one of the best Brazil formations yet. Earlier today, as I roamed the sports section of my local magazine stand I noticed that all the soccer magazines had one thing in common. Brazil! France Football, World Soccer magazine, Four Four Two, they all had covers featuring the five time and reigning world champions. Bookmakers worldwide list Brazil as 11-4 favorites to successfully defend their title, and with a team which features the likes of Ronaldinho, Kaka, Robinho, and Ronaldo, who can blame them.

Although these episodes are not very reassuring, they are reminiscent to a tournament held a little less than a quarter century ago. In the period preceding Spain 1982, Italian

soccer was ridden with betting scandals.

The Azzurri were not even amongst the favorites for the tournament, and, like the upcoming tournament, Brazil was being regarded as the best team in the competition.

As the 1982 world cup commenced, Rossi began to score, and score, and score, and he just kept on scoring. Brazil lost to the Italians, as did Argentina, and the rest, as they say, is history.

May 15th 2006 – 2:18PM At midnight today, all 32 teams must submit their list of 23 athletes which will represent their respective nations. Marcello Lippi has announced which players will compose “la nazionale”. The list is as follows: Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Angelo Peruzzi (Lazio), Marco Amelia (Livorno) Defenders: Massimo Oddo (Lazio), Cristian Zaccardo (Palermo), Marco Materazzi (Inter Milan), Andrea Barzagli (Palermo), Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Gianluca Zambrotta (Juventus), Fabio Grosso (Palermo) Midfielders: Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan), Simone Perrotta (Roma), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Simone Barone (Palermo), Francesco Totti (Roma) Forwards: Luca Toni (Fiorentina), Alberto Gilardino (AC Milan), Filippo Inzaghi (AC Milan), Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Udinese)

June 9th 2006 - 6:42PM Today, the FIFA World Cup kicked off. The opening match was disputed between the host nation, Germany, and Costa Rica. The Germans prevailed over the Central American nation by four goals to two. And as the first upset of the tournament, Ecuador beat Poland 2-0. This day calls for a double celebration. Not only has the World Cup initiated, today also happens to be my 20th birthday. I’m off, in celebration of both the past twenty years and the next thirty-one days.

June 12th 2006 - 10:17 AM The long-awaited day has finally arrived. Today our heroes will dispute their first of three group matches. The opponents; Ghana. Their main man; Michael Essien from Chelsea Football Club in London. In my opinion, the first game of any international tournament is always the second most important. The last game is usually the most important, unfortunately most teams do not find success in their final game. Therefore, by that rationale, the first game is extremely important. The Azzurri's opening venue will be Hanover stadium. Mine is Cafe Epoca on Boulevard St. Laurent.

2:50pm Epoca is starting to get packed, people are standing near the bar. I devour a plate of gnocchi Gorgonzola and down an ice cold Heineken, I then order a Moretti to wash the

Dutchness away from my mouth. Amerigo grabs a seat next to me, I can definitely tell he's nervous. Two Ghana fans walk into the Restobar, the Italian supporters cheer and welcome the underdog supporters. The TSN reporters show Ghana's qualifying group, "the group of death" whispers Amerigo in a mocking tone. Nevertheless you should never underestimate your opponents. It will, without a doubt be a tough match. Totti himself admitted that he had only attained a 60-70% fitness level. What worries me the most is that Gattuso and Zambrotta, who are the beating heart of the team, will not play this game. Italy has never lost to an African team in the World Cup finals. Totti, with his new close-cropped haircut seems like a new man, a man capable of leading his team till the end. The game kicks off at noon. The first burst of excitement came at the 27th minute when an unfortunate Luca Tony hit the crossbar.

Unlucky. Finally, after 40 minutes of agony, it happened, we scored. Totti played the ball short off of a corner kick and Pirlo, with a thundering kick, was able to beat the African keeper.

Amerigo blows his soccer-shaped whistle, flags are waving, everyone is ecstatic.

The players switch sides and the second half begins. The danger man Essien made everyone hold their breath at the 54th minute when he forced Buffon to make a brilliant save. The Azzurri's rythm and pace has decreased in respect to the first 45 minutes of play. If Lippi's boys keep this up they might leave Hanover Stadium with less than the expected 3 points. Pinturicchio DelPiero, my hero, comes on in place of Luca Toni. Toni's efforts are worth applauding, he took four shots on goal with one of them hitting the crossbar. At the 83rd minute, Vincenzi Iaquinta triggered a premature celebration by scoring the second goal of the game. The three points are practically in the bag, it's just a matter of running down the clock. The Brazilian referee blows his whistle to signal the end of the game. All that’s left to do now is celebrate the win.

Overall it was a very exciting game, free flowing and full of opportunities. It could have easily been a draw had Iaquinta not capitalized on his opportunity. The Ghana team was very tenacious and determined but it lacked the experience and class of the Azzurri. Lippi's offensive lineup seems to work well, Italy took 13 shots on goal. This is a change from the usual defensive style of play exhibited by the Italians.

Out on the streets of Little Italy horns are honking, flags are waving, and everyone is joyful. At least all the Italians for that matter.

June 17th 2006 - 12:10 PM Five days have passed since the Italian triumph over Ghana. Hopefully we can replicate the June 12th performance, against the USA. Zambrotta and Gattuso should be fit to play today. The USA's Eddie Johnson made a declaration of war against Italy. His

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remarks should not be taken literally, I'm sure he must regret his choice of words.

Today's destination is Cafe Milano in St. Leonard. The popular east-end hangout is famous for its exquisite sandwiches. I get in my civic and head towards St. Leo. Ghana, surprisingly, is winning against the Czechs. I order an espresso and I sit down to watch the game. Frank Sollecito and Tony Palladino are sitting next to me. Tony says that Italy will definitely win the game against the U.S. but it won’t be a blowout. He predicts a score of 31 with Luca Toni scoring twice and Iaquinta getting one goal. Frank on the other hand says the Italians are going to destroy the Americans, 4-0 is his prediction. Frank, a Juventus fan, says DelPiero will score twice, I just met him and I like him already. The two regulars at Cafe Milano are certain that this game is essential in winning the group, and the tournament.

2:41pm My stomach is beginning to growl, I'm nervous and hungry at the same time, not the greatest feeling in the world. I order an all dressed chicken sandwich. It’s three o’clock and the game begins. The first ten minutes are slow-paced and neither side has looked threatening. Convey and Dempsey both attempt to test Buffon but their attempts are weak. 22 minutes in and Gilardino scores a diving header from a Pirlo free kick cross. We’re in the game, winning this one should be no problem, how dare a baseball obsessed nation think they could compete against the masters of the beautiful game. I spoke too soon, the lead only lasted five minutes after Zaccardo scores in his own net. He tried to clear the ball but instead he sliced it with his left foot and left Buffon clueless. Bad turned into worse a minute later as the referee shows DeRossi a straight red for elbowing Brian McBride in the face. Eleven against ten. Lippi makes a substitution, Gattuso is on in place of Totti, it’s good to see him back. Just before the halftime whistle the USA are reduced to ten men. It’s only going to get worse shouts out an Italian supporter, or non-supporter.

The players begin to fill the pitch in Kaiserslautern. Things will pick up, they have to, if we win this we are all alone on top of the group. Two minutes into the second half another card is shown to the American defender Eddie Pope. A round of applause for the Uruguayan referee. DelPiero comes on for Zaccardo. At the 73rd minute Pinturicchio came so close to beating the US goaltender. It was beautiful, a left footed flick in mid air.

With two minutes remaining disaster struck, the cable went out at the bar. Everyone was scrambling to call their friends and relatives to make sure we weren’t missing anything. The signal came back at the 91st minute, it was still 1-1, and that’s how it would end.

June 22nd 2006 - 07:18 AM What a beautiful day. It's a fantastic time to be in Montreal. The World Cup is on, It’s Grand Prix weekend in Montreal, and it’s St. Jean Baptiste weekend in Quebec.

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Downtown is full of life, and people are coming from different parts of the world. There truly is a festive environment in the city. I'm not quite sure where I will watch the game today, the same way all four teams in group E are not sure where they will be tomorrow.

Two teams will advance in their quest for the World Cup. Two teams will have to pack their bags and go back home with only their memories of Germany 2006. I'm feeling downtown-ish, I'm sure I can find a great place to watch the game.

9:34 AM I just got off at Peel metro, I walk down St. Catherine street looking for a good place.

The game is going to begin soon and I'm still looking. There it was in the distance, Segafredo Zanetti Cafe, where I will watch Italy beat one of the best teams in the world. There aren’t a lot of people because it’s an early game. I order a single espresso, Segafredo of course. The espresso is served all' Italiano, with a cool glass of water and a cioccolatino. As the players enter the field

the half Greek half Armenian bartender. I chat with Christina for several minutes, she thinks that although the Italians are the favorites, soccer is a crazy sport and anyone could win, she’s Greek, she knows what she’s talking about, ANYONE can win. Lesson number one, never underestimate the other guys. Although Australia might be a rugby and Aussie Rules Football infatuated nation, they’re not bad with a soccer ball. Christina, after working in an Italian environment for so long, considers herself Italian, she says “It’s very nice to see people proud of their culture, coming in with their scarves and shirts, and honking their horns on the street when they win”.

The game begins and it’s going to be tough for both sides, the Australians are known to play very well towards the end of their games. I think it’s going to be a close encounter, maybe 1-0 for the Italians. With Nesta injured it’s going to be very difficult.

it strikes me that the two best goalkeepers in the world are present in this match. It will be a hard task for either team to beat both Gigi Buffon and Petr Cech. Several Czech players have played in Italy, including former Ballon D’Or recipient Pavel Nedved. The defense will have to minimize the amount of playtime Nedved receives, he is a threat whether he is shooting or passing.

The Inno Di Mameli plays and the athletes sing along. I put my cell phone on the table, I carefully instructed a friend to text message the score of the Ghana-USA match.

Ten sharp on my phone and the game begins, on time as usual. Nedved is dangerous from the beginning. Three fantastic opportunities from Nedved in the opening 16 minutes, thankfully we deployed the anti-Nedved mechanism, called Buffon. Nesta is down at the 17th minute. It doesn’t look good, Lippi is forced to make a substitution, Materazzi for Nesta, the best defender in the world makes way for the worst. As if to shut me up, Materazzi, after only eight minutes on the field, scored the opening goal. I’ll give him some credit, he’s not that bad. To close the first half on a positive note, Jan Polak of the Czech Republic received his second yellow card. The number two ranked team will have to play with ten men. I have three text messages on my phone. Ghana 1-0 USA, Ghana 1-1 USA, and Ghana 2-1 USA. As it stands Italy and Ghana will advance, but anything is still possible with 45 minutes of play remaining.

Forty-five minutes until group E comes to an end. Totti, who was almost invisible during the first half, is playing well in this second half. With the Azzurri up by a goal and the Czechs down by a man, Lippi’s squad seems to be in control. The minutes come and go, no news from the Ghana- USA match. At the 87th minute, Super-Pippo Inzaghi, who had come on for Gilardino delivers the second goal of the match. Surely it’s all over here, the Italians go through!

DelPiero started instead of Totti. The Italians got a descent start, they look determined in defense even without their talisman Nesta. Toni missed two good chances in the 34th minute, the Fiorentina striker hasn’t been able to impose himself into this tournament.

The first half ends goalless. I tell the lovely Christina to bring me a Brahma, she does just that and ads a slice of lime on top, “relax, they’re going to win” she says. Lippi should put Inzaghi on, a man with experience is just what it takes to win a game like this.

Round two. Five minutes go by and Materazzi is shown the red card. A man down and possibly 70 minutes to go doesn’t look very reassuring. Surely it’s a matter of time before the Aussies put one in. Luca Toni is substituted by Barzagli, Lippi adopts a defensive stance.

Back to the old days of catenaccio formation. Totti in place of DelPiero at the 75th minute.

The ninety minutes have come to an end, stoppage time is what stands between extra time and a possible penalty shootout. The game comes to an end. Wait, impossible! With only eight seconds left the Spanish referee Luis Medina Cantalejo points to the penalty spot!

Incredible, I cannot believe it, a foul on Grosso has earned Italy the possibility to advance to the quarter finals. Totti will take it. He is about to take the kick that will spark a massive celebration. Gooooaaallllll!!!!! We won, we’re in the quarters. The DJ plays the techno version of the Italian anthem. Everybody to Little Italy, it’s time to do some “festeggiare”.

June 26th 2006 - 09:25 AM The round of 16 has begun. Italy will face Australia at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion, the same stadium in which Italy failed to beat the USA despite the man advantage. Should the Italians fail to beat the socceroos, they may very well start packing their bags. Should they win, the Azzurri will advance to the quarter finals and will play against the winner of Switzerland-Ukraine. Today’s destination is Café Univers in Laval. Although the name might seem French it is entirely Italian. The Australian coach is Gus Hiddink. The name might not ring a bell to many, but his name has haunted me for the past four years. Mr. Hiddink was the man who orchestrated the 2002 upset, when his Korean side defeated Trapattoni’s team at the Daejeon Stadium.

10:33 AM I walk into the Café, Italian flags draped all over, I sit down at the bar. Beautiful, a projector with a widescreen to watch the game on. I’m wearing my lucky long-sleeve Italian jersey that I bought in Italy. I order a Stella Artois from Christina Papageorgopoulos,

June 30th 2006 - 7:26AM Today's match, Italy-Ukraine. It is raining heavily. I get to work later than usual.

Germany and Argentina will face off at 10:00AM. I think Argentina is the best team in the tournament so far. I hope Germany wins because I'd rather face Germany than Argentina in the semifinal game in Dortmund on July the 4th.

11:00AM I take an early lunch break and head to the cafeteria where there is a 30 inch television. Argentina takes the lead, The South American team is dominant, and to think, Messi, Saviola, and Aimar are not even on the field. Late in the second half the Argentinian goalkeeper is injured and Franco, the backup goalie enters. Franco, he's probably a longlost relative of mine. Germany's Klose ties the game. It’s going into overtime.

I leave work and head West. I stop at the nearest Cafe, Momesso’s. As I walk in the shootouts begin, right on time. Germany wins. If Italy wins today’s game the Azzurri will face the host team in the semi-final. I order an Italian sausage sub. Seven inches later I leave Momesso’s and I head to Bocacino’s on Boulevard St. Jean. I meet my friend Marco at the restaurant, we order an all-dressed pizza, (I eat when I get nervous). The place is still quiet, just a few “tifosi” are present.

Marco thinks Italy will get an early lead, "Luca Toni will score twice and they will win the game 2-0, once Toni starts scoring he won’t stop" said the 18 year-old fan.

3:00PM The Ukraine should not be a threat, the Azzurri just have to make sure they keep an eye on Shevchenko, and we should take this one. It took only six minutes of play for the Italians to take the lead, Zambrotta struck the ball hard and low in the back of the Ukranian net. It looks like its going to be a hard game for the Ukranians.

Cannavaro, as always is very solid in the back.

Buffon's first notable save came at the 50th minute. At the 59th minute Marco's prediction was realized, Toni scores his first goal of the tournament. Crazy Toni went absolutely crazy. Three minutes after his goal, the crossbar was the only thing which stood between a tying goal for the Eastern European formation. At the 69th minute Marco was right again, Toni scores his second of the tournament. The goal was assisted by Zambrotta.

"I told you", Marco said. Whether it was Buffon, the crossbar, or poor finishing from the yellow team, the Azzurri managed to shut out Shevshenko's squad. And now that I mention it, Shevshenko was dwarfed by the Italian defense. There was never a doubt in my mind about this game. Zambrotta was, in my opinion, the man of the match. We are among the four best nations in the world. This win was dedicated to Pessotto, who is in critical condition. "Pessotto siamo con te", read a banner held by Italian team captain Cannavaro.

We strap an Italian flag to the car. The Italian National Anthem is on full blast and it’s off to Little Italy to celebrate. Italy-Germany on Tuesday.

July 4th 2006 - 10:20AM Two hundred and thirty years after the USA declared its independence, Germany and Italy will play in a game which will go down in history. Much controversy has surrounded this game. Frings, who was supposed to mark Francesco Totti, was disqualified after having punched Argentina's Julio Cruz during the quarter-final match. The German press continues to intimidate the Azzurri, the Germans have said that the Italians are lazy parasites. This morning, German newspaper headlines read Italia, were going to eat you like pizza. (gotta love those Germans). If Italy is eliminated to Germany it will be the third consecutive World Cup in which they were eliminated by the host nation. However, if Italy wins, it will be another victory to add to Italy's unbeaten record against the Germans.

Either way, history will repeat itself.

11:45AM I meet my father and a few friends for some pizza and pasta and discuss the game.

I say Italy will win in penalty shots. My father says Italy will win in regular time. Nevertheless, we all come to the conclusion that Italy will be victorious and advance to the final.

12:14PM The penne all’ arrabiata at Trattoria Il Piatto Pieno were superb. I stroll down St. Zotique street and onto St. Laurent. Every bar, café, and restaurant has a lineup. The media is everywhere.Unfortunately, I won’t be staying in Little Italy to watch the game.

Giancarlo Biferali of the Centro Leonardo DaVinci in St. Léonard is expecting me.

2:19PM I arrive at the complex and Giancarlo greets me, he lets me in first. “Take any seat, enjoy the game, and Forza Italia” says the gentleman. I decide to sit in the first row on the Mezzanine. The TSN pre-game show begins. All four experts on the panel pick Germany to win, the crowd shrugs and boos the commentators, especially Dick Howard.

The theatre is full, not an empty seat in the house. The stadium in Dortmund isn’t doing badly either, the crowd is sixty-five thousand strong, and mostly German. The game is switched from TSN to Omni, with Italian commentary. Finally I can listen to the game the way it was meant to be heard, in Dante’s language.

3:00PM Kickoff! In a few hours we will know our destiny. If we lose, we play on Saturday against the losers of France and Portugal. If we win, Berlin here we come. The July 9th final will be played against either France or Portugal. The atmosphere is electric at the LDV Center. Cannavaro is playing an impeccable game, as usual. If Italy has gotten so far in this tournament it’s thanks to Buffon and Cannavaro.

The first opportunity comes from Perrotta at the 16th minute. Nil-nil at half- time.

Pirlo seems very calm. Totti has not done much. Italy definitely dominated this first half in terms of ball possession. If we continue to play like this it’s just a matter of time before Lippi’s boys can put one in the net. At the 51st minute Grosso had a golden opportunity but missed as he held on to the ball for too long. Toni would have done better. Still scoreless after ninety minutes of play. Half an hour to go, and possibly shootouts to follow if the tie persists.

Iaquinta takes Camoranesi’s place at the start of extra time. As soon as Iaquinta got the ball he has the German keeper beat but his weak tender shot came off the goal post. About one minute after Iaquinta hit the post, Zambrotta struck the crossbar with a 20 yard blast.

Everyone was in disbelief. At this point I think luck is with the home team. At the 111 minute mark, DelPiero, who had just gotten on for Perrotta missed a golden opportunity.

Podolski took advantage of DelPiero’s miss and forced Buffon to make another brilliant save off the counter-attack. 119 minutes have elapsed, shootouts are approaching, I called the shootouts from the start. Pirlo has possession of the ball. Shoot! Tira Pirlo!, He passes instead.

Grosso is at the end of Pirlo’s pass, he shoots, and curves it in the back of Lehman’s net.

Gooooallll!!! Grosso, again. The crowd at LDV Center goes wild, complete euphoria in the stands. “Italia, Italia, Italia, … Campioni saremo” chant the St. Leonard fans. Everyone is on their feet. Germany fails to retaliate. Breakaway for the Italians, Gilardino passes to DelPiero...DelPiero Scores! We won, what a beautiful goal, top corner “a la DelPiero”. I start to cry, tears of joy. Finally tears of joy after so many years of shedding tears of pain. We did it, we’re in the FIFA World Cup Finals. What a dramatic finish!

6:09PM I’m in RDP, on Maurice Duplessis and Alexis Carrel. It’s pouring but that doesn’t stop the Italian fans from running through the streets with their flags.

July 5th 2006 - 11:51PM Italy-France. These are the two top teams in the world. In December 2003, 198 countries entered the draw for the FIFA World Cup. A series of qualification tournaments and playoffs meant that only 32 of the 198 would proceed to the finals in Germany. Keep

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in mind, 32 out of 198 is a feat in itself. After a round robin which began June 9th, 32 became 16. The 16 nations turned into eight. Only four teams survived the quarter-finals.

Of these four semi-finalists, two are left. That is how the Azzurri fit into the equation.

Lippi’s squad came into this tournament ranked 12th in the world, the auriverde were ranked 1st. Where’s Ronaldinho now.

One match will separate a mere finalist from a world champion. It will take one win to erase 24 years of sorrow, a quarter century of grief and injustices. A win on Sunday will erase everything. Caniggia’s 1990 goal, Baggio’s missed spotkick, DiBiaggio’s crossbar, Trezeguet’s golden goal, Byron Moreno, these incidents will all be a thing of the past, distant memories.

July 8th 2006 - 10:50PM Bonjour mes chères amis, today I am in Paris, France for my summer vacation. I just finished watching Germany beat Portugal 3-1 in the third place playoff. Paris is a beautiful city, and I’m sure that I would have liked the Parisian people better if they were not involved in the World Cup Final in Berlin against Italy. It’s not to say that they are a mean people, quite the contrary, they are quite courteous and polite. It’s just that they become a little cocky when it comes to soccer. As soon as they would find out I was Italian they would proceed to lecture me on how Zidane is going to end his career in glory and win the World Cup for France, as he did eight years ago. “we have Zidane” they would say, “we have Gattuso” I would answer. I respect Zidane and I believe him to be the finest player since Maradona. But truth be told, it’s time for the old man to step aside and let Italian history take its course. Many players in this French national team have already won the World Cup. A title has eluded the Italian people for nearly a quarter century. It was not since Tardelli’s famous scream that Italians could rejoice in the glory of a title.

I hope, in fact I pray that we can break this silence. Earlier in the day we visited the Louvre museum. My dad told me “there are so many Italian works of art in this museum (the Mona Lisa, otherwise known as la Gioconda, is notably the most popular), they stole them all from us. I told him not to worry, “tomorrow we’ll get even, were going to take the World Cup from them”.

July 9th 2006 - 7:20PM I have decided, along with my father, that it would be best if we saw the final in Italy. If the French would win, the Champs Elysees would erupt in a mad frenzy of delight, I don’t think I would be able to stand being in Paris should Les Bleus win. Were off to Torino.

8:45AM We have just landed in Torino. The Air France captain delivers a message “it is quarter to nine in Torino, cloudy sky, and Zidane is in top shape”. What a fantastic city to be in during a World Cup Final. Torino, olympic city, soccer capital of Italy, home of

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July 10th 2006 - 1:08AM

5:30PM There is a huge screen in Piazza San Carlo, people are starting to fill the square.

7:00PM Piazza San Carlo is now filled with tens of thousands of Italians who anxiously

Thousands of flags are waving, horns are honking and I, like many others have ended up in one of the many fountains in the city of Torino. Signs are everywhere “A voi la Gioconda, a noi la coppa” reads a sign, I was right I tell my dad. Chères Français, you might have Zidane but we have a team. Festivities continue until daybreak, but our joy will remain in our hearts forever. Grazie ragazzi. This was the biggest party of my life, 24 years in the making.

12:41PM I’m in Nice on the French Riviera right now. The covers of the French newspapers label Zidane’s behaviour as cruel. Most headlines read “Merci Zizou”. “It’s all true, champions of the world” reads the front page of the Gazzetta Dello Sport. My only fear right now is that I wake up and it was all a dream, but I know it’s not a dream, this is reality, we are four time world champions. My dream finally came true. One day we will tell our children about what we lived during 31 days of joy. My story will take on the form of a fairy tale, it might go something like this “Once upon a time on June 9th 2006, in the city of ...” and we all know how this fairy tale ends, the same as all other fairy tales. Happily ever after.

await the start of the match. The tifosi climb atop the equestrian statue of Emanuele Filiberto which stands in the middle of the square. The crowd begins to chant, “vogliamo undici leoni, undici leoni in campo”, “un capitano, ce solo un capitano, un capitaannoo”, “Alessandro DelPiero ole, ale”. Wine and beer was abundant at the piazza, thousands of flags were waving and everyone was singing the national anthem, what a fantastic ambience.

8:00PM The time has arrived, this game will decide it all, one month of soccer comes down to these 90 minutes. If we reach the half even, I think the Italians will do the job.

Barely six minutes into the game and the referees decision to award the French a penalty kick leaves all of Piazza San Carlo in disbelief. Zidane hits the crossbar, goal the referee says.

I could have sworn that it was no goal, but video replay shows that the ball crossed the line.

Anyway, the penalty shot was very doubtful, Materazzi hardly touched Malouda, the fall was accentuated by the Frenchman. This was the first time in the tournament that the Azzurri were behind, it was the first time an opposing player scored on Buffon. Piazza San Carlo was silent, absolutely grief-stricken.

At the 19th minute, Materazzi made Italians all over the world dream again, we might just win this. Eight minutes after the goal, Materazzi delivers a carbon copy of his goal, this time Makalele is there to stop his header. The crowd is chanting again. Just before the halftime break Toni dings it off the crossbar, my heart is pounding, so close yet so far. I wait 10 minutes in a lineup at a bar to get a San Pellegrino at half time. Its tied at halftime, one all. I just hope my predictions are right, if they are it’s going to be some night here in Torino.

We’re off, 45 minutes might be all it takes to solve the German puzzle. Henri starts off dangerously with two good chances. 16 minutes in, Toni scores but the flag is up, offside, no goal, it’s still square in Berlin. Time is running out and it looks as if it might go to extra time. Lippi’s side had adopted a 4-2-3-1 formation with De Rossi in the midfield.

Alex Del Piero, a hero to the Torinesi enters the game, “come sei bello Pinturicchio” shouts the man next to me. Ninety minutes of this final expire. Thirty more will follow, possibly penalties. In one hour the puzzle will be solved.

Extra time begins, the sun has left the beautiful northern Italian city. There is still plenty of daylight in Montreal, I wonder where my friends and family are watching the game. Ribery almost sent everyone in Torino to tears when he skinned the post. At the end of the first extra time Zidane’s header was miraculously stopped by Buffon. “July 9th, we should name this day St. Buffon day” said a member of the crowd.

With ten minutes left in extra time Zidane receives a red card. Zizou headbutts Marco Materazzi in the chest. Happy retirement Zinedine. Bottles and flares are thrown at the screen as the world champion walks off the field. With a one man advantage we are still not able to capitalize.

Anything can happen in shootouts. We have the better goalkeeper but they have the experience. Pirlo steps up, my father looks away from the screen, he can’t bear to watch. Goal, he shot right in the center. Wiltord evens it up for France. Materazzi’s turn, our hero of the night. Materazzi finds the back of the net for the second time this night. Trezeguet’s turn, he missed a penalty during the Champions League final in Manchester ... and he misses in Berlin.

My father is still looking away. De Rossi scores and so does Abidal. It’s Del Piero’s turn, this is a crucial shot. He makes no mistake, they love him in Torino, they love him in Montreal, they love him everywhere. If Sagnol misses, we are world champions, but he scores. Who will take the last kick. Grosso, Fabio Grosso will take it. Eleven yards separates Barthez from the Adidas ball that has the potential of sending 60 million Italians into a state of euphoria. Behind the Adidas ball is Grosso. I’m shaking. Grosso runs up, the shot seemed like it took an eternity to reach the net, the back of the net that is. Campioni del Mondo, I jump on my dad; the crowd is going insane. Two hundred teams started this competition, one is left. Au revoir la France, A Dieu Zizou. Festa here in Torino, fireworks all over the city, we are on top of the world.

Cannavaro is given the trophy, he lifts it to the sky in Berlin. Who would have imagined? First Ghana, The United States, The Czech Republic, Australia, Ukraine, Germany, and now France. Now the whole world knows who Grosso is, even Beckenbauer.

It’s madness in the streets of Torino, as it is in the streets of Rome and Naples and Montreal and Toronto, and New York, and everywhere there are Italians! Lippi becomes the third C.t. to win the World Cup for Italy. Where’s Brazil now? Where’s Ronaldinho? Where are Argentina, Germany, England, Beckham? Joga Bonito? We played beautifully.

Photo: Geraldo Pace

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