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Zooming into the holidays Dec. 20
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(see DON’T, page 3)
When our newsletter editor,Ken Kane, asked me towrite something
for thisissue with the Holidays inmind, my first reaction wasHow
will that be possible?I thought: this has been a terrible year in
somany ways. How can I be positive?
Then, with a little bit of thought, I discoveredthere have been
many reasons for optimism inthis past year and for the years to
come. Myfamily is alive and well, despite bouts with theinfection,
and we are growing, a great-grandchild born in April and another
due inFebruary.
Being in a lockdown situation has not been asbad as originally
thought. We can still do ourcharitable and volunteer work when
conditionsallow. It is surprising how much can be doneon the
telephone and online. I encourage
We’re taking our annual holiday party virtual on Sunday, Dec. 20
at 3:30pm. Tuscan Club members havebeen emailed the link to the
Zoom. We’ll toast the new year(it has to be better than 2020,
right?) and engage inconversation. Jimmie Moglia, Audrey Perino and
Ken Kanewill sing some holiday classics (and at least one
non-classic); then we’ll all sing some carols. After that, thosewho
want to will stay on for a group cookie bake (see page3 for
details). It should be fun.If it’s been a while since you’ve
Zoomed, brush up on yourskills before the gathering please. Know
where your videoand audio (mute) controls are, and where your view
optionsare located. In that way, the group doesn’t have to wait
foryou to connect or come up to speed. If you need Zoomhelp,
contact Ken at 503.246.6462 on or before Saturday.
Italian Portland seeks to bring clubs together …………..…………
2………………..…………………………………..….……..……………… 2
Turn on your virtual oven …………….…………………..…………………………… 3For your
listening enjoyment …………………………………………..………….. 4
The prez sez…by George LaFrazia
A Christmas I will never forget! by Carlo Ilio MannocciChristmas
1945 in Italy. The war has been over for eightmonths. My little
village of Gallicano was still halfdestroyed, and accumulations of
rubble were scattered allover the place. It was Christmas Eve – La
Vigilia di Natale– very cold, stars were shining on a clear sky,
bells wereringing inviting people to the traditional midnight
Mass.And after the Mass people were exchanging greetings andwishes
now that the terrible war was over; the majority ofthem converging
toward the main square, trying to keepwarm with Vin Brulee (Italian
mulled wine).
(see PROCESSION, page 2)
Next Zoom:Sunday, Dec. 20,
3:30 pm
Come join us forsome holiday fun!
Gallicano, Tuscanyc. 1945
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Italian Portland makes itself over as it copes with COVIDFive
years into its existence, the Westside ItalianCulture group has a
new name and an expandedmission. In November, the group officially
became anonprofit charitable organization, calling itselfItalian
Portland.
Italian Portland’s mission is to “Raise awareness ofItalian
culture and its influence in the world, throughcultural events,
education, and service,” according towww.ItalianPortland.com, and
the group’s president,Tonya Russo Hamilton.
Italian Portland is putting together monthlyprograms, often
involving guest speakers in Italy inreal time. It also maintains a
calendar of events thatall Portland-area Italian clubs can use to
publicizetheir happenings. Russo Hamilton, treasurerChristina
Cavallaro Edick, and the club board areworking to establish the
group within the localItalian community – no small task given
theobstacles the Coronavirus has presented.
“Our biggest challenge has been figuring out how tokeep
virtually connected to our members, the ItalianCommunity, and
especially the people who are nottechnically savvy,” said Russo
Hamilton.
“We decided to do our best to present programs that
areinteresting and consistent with our message andoutreach.”
On Jan. 5 at 8:00pm, Italian Portland is presentingexecutive
coach, author and blogger Susan Pohl, anexpatriate American who has
lived in Umbria for thepast seven years. During this free Zoom
conversationshe will discuss how she made the leap across
theAtlantic and how others can, too. You can register forthe event
here.
On Feb. 2 at 8:00pm, former Portlander and Internetchef Grazia
Solazzi will demonstrate her recipe fortiramisu, live from her home
near the Cinque Terre. Toregister for this free event, click
here.
Future Italian Portland virtual sessions include a tour ofan
Italian archaeological museum, a session onNeapolitan food and a
refresher on the Italian language.
“Tapping the Italian community here in Portland, otherparts of
the U.S., as well as Italy has been instrumentalin our efforts to
present interesting speakers andprograms to our growing audience,”
said RussoHamilton. It’s clear they are trying their best to do
so.
Un altro Natale con unvoltafaccia completo dato che
itradizionali convivi saranno ridotti alminimo o addirittura
vietati.Purtroppo la pandemia ha quasitotalmente sconvolto quelle
usanzeche si tramandano da secoli, Natale
festa dell'amore e della famiglia che sara' ridottaad una festa
...virtuale!
In Italia restrizioni sugli spostamenti, ristorantichiusi sia a
Natale che a Capodanno ed altrenorme di protezione per evitare un
ulteriorepropagazione del virus gia' a livelli alti.
Rassegnamoci a celebrare in spirito ricordandole persone che ci
sono care e augurandoci che il 2021 ci porti la normalita'.
Auguri natalizi a tutti voi!
Procession brings a tear, 75 years later(continued from page
1)Suddenly from the road to the north of the village asoft sound of
drums was heard and a group of peoplewith rudimentary torches
appeared. A few men werecarrying the torches, with a young woman
with childriding a horse, followed by adrummer. It was asurprising,
unexpectedscene: an impromptu,unplanned and simplerevival of the
Nativity.
They were indeed poor,simple local farmers whoseonly riches was
the horse.Yet these people decided togive the town a sign of
hopeand peace, improvising thescene.
I was then 14 years old … now I am 89 and everyChristmas I do
shed a tear remembering that scene onDecember 25, 1945.
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Gallicano, c. 1945
https://www.italianportland.com/calendarhttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScUZa4-okrkP-IsYU9ksskyV1Adb741nhS57TJoLDF_5IuY0Q/viewformhttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdJTP9KrcofM-ifro8YlcAtzDAo_ee-lsTlTnaD2R7Dr4FY6A/viewform
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Let’s bake up some holiday cheer on Dec. 20of coffee or tea for
dipping in order to avoid potentialdental disasters. For the sake
of my teeth, and in hermemory, that recipe made the cut.
But all biscotti and nothing else makes Ken a dullcook, so I
kept thinking … and visions of pizzelledanced in my head. Those
light, embossed wafers,dusted with powdered sugar were just the
thing. Heck,I could almost taste them!
But could I make them? First, I’d need a pizzelle iron,so, much
to my economist’s distain(“Another kitchen gadget? Really?”)I
ordered one from Bed, Bath &
Beyond. But then, a few days later, I vaguelyremembered a
sandwich press which I hadn’tseen in years. Could it have pizzelle
plates?
After turning the kitchen cupboards upsidedown, my senior moment
was complete: Ifound the old appliance in a back cornerof a shelf.
And wouldn’t you know that,wrapped in a few pages of a 2003
newspaper, was a second set of pristinecast-iron plates …
pizzelle plates!
I can just hear my dearest economist once she finds outI ordered
something that I already had … which shouldbe any moment now, just
as soon as she reads this![Editor’s note to self: check on Bed,
Bath & Beyond’sreturn policy!]
OK, so I’ve got a pizzelle iron. Now what? That’swhere you could
come in. After the singing andchatting at our Dec. 20 meeting, once
the non-cookshave “left the building,” let’s do a bake-in.
Maybeyou’ve got a special baking tradition you can share forthe
holidays. Or you just like cranking out cookies atthis time of
year. Or maybe you can show me the tricksof my new/old pizzelle
iron!
Bring a recipe, a glass of wine, and some Christmaskitchen
memories. We’ll conclude the Zoom bymaking some goodies and
swapping some stories.
It might save time to assemble your ingredients beforethe Zoom
starts. If there’s interest, we’ll share therecipes among the chefs
after the fact. A late afternoon,late in this infamous year, when
it’ll be nice to turn ourattention from COVID to cookies, if only
for a while.
by Ken KaneIt’s said that the road to hell is paved with
goodintentions. Maybe it’s paved with cookie dough as well.
My idea seemed innocent enough: let’s bake someholiday cookies.
Since I’m the only cook, “let’s” is asingle pronoun in our kitchen.
Our division of labor isquite precise: Audrey, with two economics
degrees,handles the checkbook. Ken, who once took a cookingclass in
college, handles the spatula.
The Oregonian ran a special section on cookies lastweek, which I
rescued from the recycle bin. Ithumbed through the recipe for
SwedishButter Thumbprints. I considered theChristmas Cut-outs and
pondered thePeppermint Bark Shortbread Bites. Butnone of them spoke
to me.
So, I let my Italian-by-marriageimagination run wild. Hmmmmmm
…biscotti. That’s more like it! But the recipe inthe paper was
pretty pedestrian.
So, I checked my files and, sure enough, I found onefrom
OregonTuscan Dorrie Palandrani. EverythingDorrie makes is great, so
that made my “to-bake” list.And I got to thinking about a friend,
now sadlydeparted, who used to make a yummy biscotti with justa tad
of “give” to it. That meant you didn’t need a cup
Don’t forget to check up on your neighbors(continued from page
1)everyone to reach out to those people who are isolatedat home or
in retirement centers and provide somesocial contact for them.
Then again, we must not despair, but remember thatevent of 20
centuries ago that so changed our world.We still can have hope that
all this pain will pass andlife will return to the normal that we
so much desire,and the human condition will achieve its
greatestpotential.
So, here we are at the end of a difficult year. We arestill the
Tuscan Association of Oregon. We have hadour meetings on social
media and maintained ourcontacts with the other Italian clubs. This
New Yearwill be better and bring many new delights andchallenges
for us. BUON NATALE E FELICE ANNO!
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continues its series of virtual monthly programsAs Festa
Italiana workstoward its 30th anniversaryevent next June,
itcontinues to host monthlygatherings online. OnDec. 12 it joined
forceswith the Portland Opera ina program featuring ariasperformed
by up-and-coming singers. TheChristmas in Italy programis still
available forviewing on YouTube, viathis
link:https://youtu.be/vrA_ITUTjbQ.
On Jan. 15 at 7:00pm, Festa Italiana’s next program looks at the
history of Italian music. The host for thisvirtual exploration will
be Andrea Scasso, the host of The Italian Hour on KBOO radio.
Additionalinformation on the program will soon appear at
https://www.festa-italiana.org/.
Check out theseThree teen tenors!It’s tough to beat
LucianoPavarotti’s rendition ofO Solo Mio, but try thisyouthful
version as seenon Italian TV.
An online series you canbinge … that comes with 12strings
attachedIt’s often said you can findanything on the Internet.Maybe
more than anything.There’s an eight-partYouTube documentary,
Italyof a Thousand Mandolins,that will surely teach yousomething
about the 12-stringed instrument. (Atleast the episodes are
short!)
https://youtu.be/vrA_ITUTjbQhttps://youtu.be/vrA_ITUTjbQhttps://www.festa-italiana.org/https://www.wimp.com/tenor-singing-voices/https://www.wimp.com/tenor-singing-voices/https://www.youtube.com/c/CarloAonzohttps://www.youtube.com/c/CarloAonzo