NEW YORK—Ramping up for the Columbus Day Parade on Monday, Italian-Americans gathered on Columbus Circle on Sunday to honor the first of their countrymen to land ashore in the new world.
Columbus wasn’t the only star. The gathering also paid tribute to the many Italians who have made the trans-Atlantic voyage in the 509 years since Columbus landed—the men and women who built their lives in the United States, served their new country, learned the language, and made New York City what it is today.
Frank Fuscaro, president of the Columbus Citizens Foundation, spoke of his grandfather, after whom he is named. His grandfather fought in World War II, returning to the land of his birth as an American soldier; and the younger Fuscaro wants to see such stories supersede the fiction of Italian-American life told on television today.
The $2.5 million raised by the Columbus Citizens Foundation’s 2011 campaign will go toward that end—it will be used to educate 550 Italian-American youth in New York City.
“That’s how we’re going to fight “The Sopranos,” and “Jersey Boys,” and “Growing up Gotti,” and all that other crap that’s on television these days,” Fuscaro said.
The $2.5 million raised by the Columbus Citizens Foundation’s 2011 campaign will go toward that end—it will be used to educate 550 Italian-American youth in New York City.
“That’s how we’re going to fight “The Sopranos,” and “Jersey Boys,” and “Growing up Gotti,” and all that other crap that’s on television these days,” Fuscaro said.
Approximately 120 Italian civil servants arrived in New York five days ago to join their Italian-American brethren in a Columbus Day celebration. They shook hands and mingled in good cheer as a red, white, and green wreath was placed at the base of the Columbus Monument, which has stood its ground since 1892.
On Monday, 35,000 people will march from 44th Street to 79th Street along Fifth Avenue.
On Monday, 35,000 people will march from 44th Street to 79th Street along Fifth Avenue.
