When the Saints Go Marching In
As a young Tennessee girl, I knew Louisiana was a Southern state, but in my mind, New Orleans was a separate entity entirely. I heard the stories of the Crescent City citizens who celebrate with spectacles, where folks throw beads and act strangely. Their floats looked nothing akin to my type of parades where homecoming queens and Santas wave to cr...
Saint Expedite Patron Saint of Urgent Need
“As the supplicants of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in New Orleans eagerly opened the package containing the new statue that was to grace the sacristy, a beautiful image of Our Lady, they were surprised to note that a second package of similar size had come to the same address. Puzzled, they read the bold letters EXPEDITE printed clearly on the out...
50th St. Joseph’s Marching Society Parade
The IASJS St Joseph’s Day poster celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Parade! This piece is artfully crafted by Miss Olivia Angeline Christensen, 19. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to own a piece of history celebrating 50 years of honoring St Joseph and Pride In Our Italian Heritage! Olivia’s first year as an IASJS Parade Maid was at 4 years...
Sicilians Save New Orleans from Burning in April 1862
In the middle of the night of April 24, Admiral David Farragut led a fleet of 24 gunboats, 19 mortar boats, and 15,000 soldiers in a daring run past the forts. Now, the river was open to New Orleans except for the ragtag Confederate fleet. The mighty Union armada plowed right through, sinking eight ships. At New Orleans, Confederate General Mansfie...
Italian Culture in New Orleans
The majority of Italian immigrants in New Orleans were from Sicily and started to arrive in large numbers in the 1880s to escape a homeland that had fallen into a corrupt, dangerous, and unlawful state. They arrived in a city where previous Italian immigrants had established a decent-sized community, dating back to the French era. In fact, the Ital...
Jean Lafitte National Park to showcase Sicilian Migration
March 7, 2020 from 1pm to 2pm The National Park Service with present a discussion on the Sicilian Migration to New Orleans. Henri d’ Tonti efforts in 1686 led to the settlement by Bienville of New Orleans. Later in the 1820s, an Italian Consulate was opened. The Mandarin Orange was introduced by Sicilians to America via New Orleans. On March 17, 18...
Radical Italian Art Goes Over the Top, Dazzlingly, in Houston
Radical: Italian Design, 1965–1985, from the Dennis Freedman Collection is the unusual, fascinating new show at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. The “Radical movement” — composed of young Italian artists, teachers, and architects — was a fleeting, disorganized one, with more than a few aesthetic bomb throwers. Prepare for an abundance of fun, even...
The Italians of Lake Village Arkansas & Sunnyside Plantation
The 110th Annual Lake Village Spaghetti Lunch at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church. Delta Italians~Italians of Sunnyside, Lake Village, Arkansas, The 125th Anniversary is planned for Memorial Day 2020. On the Church property there is a detailed Museum of the Italian history of Sunnyside Plantation. The museum was developed by Libby Borgognoni, w...
Houston’s $500 Million Allen Project Lures a Fleet of Ferraris, Jewels Straight From Rome and Italian Bigwigs
Guests swooned over the fleet of Ferraris in the drive, the trove of Massimo Palmiero jewels straight from Rome in vitrines and the modern furnishings from Italian-centric BeDesign providing seating for this terribly chic fête. Viva Italia! Indeed, that was the theme when DC Partners CEO Roberto Contreras and Italian Consul General of Houston Feder...
Say Ciao to SXSW 2020 Italian Showcasing Artists
Every year SXSW Showcasing Artists journey to Austin, TX from all over the world and this year almost 70 countries will be represented at the SXSW Music Festival. This week, we are highlighting Italy’s cream of the crop. From buzzy bedroom pop to dirty psychedelic rock, the 2020 SXSW lineup of Italian artists is one you won’t want to miss. Dive int...
The Sacred Heart Society of Little York
In the early l920s, the Sacred Heart Society of Little York was formed by a group of Italian men, most of who immigrated from the Province of Palermo, Sicily, to the United States. Many of them earned their living by farming on the north side of Houston. The men brought their Sicilian-Italian culture to Houston. Often the men would go out in the ev...
Count Telefener and the "Macaroni Line" of 1881
In 1880 Count Giuseppe Telfener and several European, New York and Texas financiers developed a grand plan to link New York and Mexico by rail. The New York, Texas and Mexican Railroad Company was chartered in Paris in October 1880, and construction began about a year later. Count Telfener was no amateur in the field; he had just completed a 350-mi...