This video is of local Italian-Americans explaining their degree of involvement in the community. It shows the differences in three generations of Italian-Americans.
Tag Archive: italian-american
This video is from youtube.com by Kimberly Nicotera.
This video is significant to the community because it discusses what Italian-American life used to be and touches on the fact that this way of life has changed.
With the growth of technology and everyone getting busier, even the family has suffered.
The typical Italian-American family used to gather every Sunday to eat and relax together. Today, this still occurs although it seems to happen on fewer occasions.
Everyone still gathers on the holidays and birthdays. The food that was once bought fresh from the Italian market, the fish market, and the meat market are now bought like everyone else at the grocery store.
Though they may not see each other as often as they may like, the Italian family is still strong. It has just evolved around American culture.
“In short, what has happened is as simple as unadulterated assimilation (some self induced and some pushed by the larger American society) of the negative kind that leaves the current Italian American in a state of watered down culture and misrepresentation (in short, a sort of sudo Italian-American)”, according to Vincent Scordo of scordo.com.
The Italian- American family and culture was the subject of an exhibit at the Museum of the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies. This exhibit is one of the ways the national community has tried to keep the culture and history of the community alive.
This video if from youtube.com and is by ptcomunicazioni.
This video is significant to the community because it touches on the fact that Italian immigrants helped shape and build the United States.
Elements of Italian culture are seen in American culture on a daily basis. From pizza to pasta and talking with your hands, these influences have slipped into daily culture.
Connecticut has one of the highest percentages of Italian-American households according to the 2000 U.S. census.
For those Italian-Americans who are trying to continue to connect with their roots, you can attend Columbus Day festivities this month. One such event is the Columbus Day parade in Hartford on Franklin Avenue.
This photo is from bleedingexpresso.com.
The Italian-American community in the United States is driven by a sense of family, your biological family and your adopted family (other Italians). This sense of family and community is very strong. The older generations grew up solely around the community. This can be seen in the article “Growing Up Italian American” on the site ItaliaAmerica.org. The older generations did not think of themselves as American or Italian-American, they were Italians. They grew up in a time where the culture was much like that in Italy. They lived in a solely Italian community, spoke Italian in the home, and bought their food from multiple markets. They were immersed in the culture and they did not give it a second thought. The article “Italian-American Culture” on squidoo.com shows how the Italian Culture has influenced American life.
The younger generations have been raised in integrated neighborhoods. The values of the family and community seem to be becoming less of a priority through the generations. With families in the U.S. becoming busier by the moment, the ethnic community has been pushed to the background.
Hartford, Conn. was once a thriving center of Italian culture. Through the decades the community began to spread throughout the surrounding towns. Due to this spread into different communities many different societies and clubs were created. Instead of gathering around a few organizations, the community began to be pulled apart by regions, saints, and sport.
This abundance of societies has led to decreased attendance at events. The Americanization of the generations and the changing priorities of families have also led to this decline.
Many Italians are also angry with the way the younger generations are portraying themselves. TV shows such as “Jersey Shore” portray the younger generations as individuals whose sole concerns are tanning and partying.Teens today buy into the stereotypes of their culture rather than proving them wrong. Whether the community likes it or not the culture has begun to change.
The video below discusses life growing-up in an Italian-American community.
The purpose of this blog is to attempt to strengthen the bond between the younger and older generations. Organizations such as NIAF help the community to stay connected through their local community and the national Italian population. The greater Hartford area has been the hub of Italian-American activities and gatherings in Connecticut for decades. There are many different societies and groups geared towards different aspects of the community. There are clubs that are directed towards different interests such as soccer or saints. Many societies have been dedicated to the different areas of Italy that members migrated from.
In recent years it seems as though these societies and clubs have been surviving on the participation of the older generations. The younger generations do not seem to be getting involved in these clubs. This blog will attempt to find out why.
Through observation, it seems that attendance at Italian events has declined. Many families used to attend these festa’s and other activities. These events featured Italian food, music, games and often a raffle.
Has the new guido obsession taken over what teens think of their culture? Is an individual’s culture and history not as important to the teens and young adults of today?
The purpose of the blog is to attempt to bring the generations back together through the family and the community as a whole.
This blog was created to inform the greater Hartford Italian-American community of events and issues that have arisen within the community. It seems, through observation that the community is driven mostly by the participation of the older generations. This blog will attempt to inform the younger generations of their culture and attempt to bring discussion on the issue. Why is culture so important to some and not others? Why doesn’t the younger generation seem interested in participating in their culture? What is being done to involve the younger generations? These are questions that will be addressed through this blog.
What societies are most involved in the Italian community in Connecticut? How are they involved with the community as a whole?
The state of Connecticut has a large population of Italians and has many different cultural societies.
Culture is an aspect of society that helps to connect a group of people. It allows one person to relate to others around them who have similar backgrounds, goals, and interests. The Italian culture is a rich one. It encompasses a long line of history, art, food, music, dance, and language. One of the formal definitions of culture is “the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations.” This is according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
NIAF, the National Italian-American Foundation works with the community in all states and works with the national government. They promote Italian culture and events throughout the United States.
There seems to be a need to strengthen the cultural and generational bonds in the Italian community. This blog seeks to show the issues that are present within the community and ways that they can be resolved. Lastly, this blog was created to attempt to push aside the stereotypes associated with being Italian. Italianaware.com discusses how Italians are portrayed by others and the media. The culture is rich and strong and the positive aspects are what should be passed down through the generations.
Preserving a Heritage 