Come to the Pick Room of the Main Santa Fe Public Library on Wednesdays at 5:30 pm. There you'll find David performing a public service in Italian – teaching a free class for kids and beginner adults who want to learn to speak Italian. Now in its third year, the class is a labor of love for the language that began when David was an aspiring opera singer, required to study German, French and Italian.

With four years of intensive Italian language classes under his belt, David moved to Santa Fe from Washington D.C. in 2006 and looked for an Italian conversation group. Finding none, he started a group of his own that continues to this day as the Mangiamo Pronto Italian Conversation group hosted by Kathy Holland. But David was destined to do more than just converse in la bella lingua.

When an acquaintance with plans to retire in Italy asked him to offer an elementary Italian class, David found enjoyment and a new calling of sorts in teaching the language to others. "You don't need to know a word of Italian to take my class," he explains. "You don't need to pay anything.

My only requisite is that you're a serious student." When David is not teaching his Wednesday evening classes, he is a film and theater arts diction coach for English, French, German, and (you guessed it!) Italian. New students interested in enrolling in David's Italian classes, please call him at 505-501-3484.

Source: Italy in New Mexico