Giglio, East Harlem,NY • © Christopher OcchiconeLifting the Giglio statue take strength and precision. The lift leader yells commands which are the passed along to the other sides of the statue.
Giglio, East Harlem,NY • © Christopher OcchiconeLifting the Giglio statue take strength and precision. The lift leader yells commands which are the passed along to the other sides of the statue.
Giglio, East Harlem,NY • © Christopher Occhicone
East Harlem’s Giglio festival was revived recently. The Giglio statue is lifted and carried up the block. Member’s of the club which organizes the event consider it a great honor to lead the lifts.
Most of the Italian-American’s who participate have moved away from the neighborhood. The festival brings them back to the place they grew up.
Home Coming, East Harlem,NY • © Christopher Occhicone
A woman b comes emotional as she visits the building where she grew up in East Harlem. Once a predominately Italian area, it subsequently became Puerto Rican and is now a mix of many different ethnicities.
Gnocchi, Bronx,NY • © Christopher Occhicone
90 year old Kay bags homemade gnocchi at Borgati’s in the Bronx. The store is almost 100 years old. She says she hasn’t been working there long - only about 20 years
About the Italian-American Project
I’ve lived in many countries and a common question asked everywhere is “What does it mean to be English?”, “What does it mean to be Polish?”, etc. Perhaps, for us in the US, because of our size and the fact that we are a country of immigrants and descendants of slaves, the question “what does it mean to be American?”, is even more complicated. One way to answer it is to ignore it and identify with your family’s country of origin. For years, I thought I was Italian. Then, I spent a year in Italy. I realized I’m not exactly Italian - not exactly American. Through this project, I want to look at the things we do that lead us to identify as Italian-Americans.
