An odd scene from the Sopranos

A friend brought my attention to a scene from the HBO series 'The Sopranos', which was first aired in 1999. In this scene, the Soprano family was having dinner. That day, the FBI had searched their home, and mob boss "Tony Soprano" was not happy. In the ensuing conversation, in response to their bruised egos apparently, they brought up the names Michelangelo, John Cabot, Mother Cabrini, A.P. Gianinni, and Antonio Meucci. All Northern Italians. Tony even exclaimed that Meucci "wuz robbed" in his forced New Jersey accent. His daughter played the devil's advocate by returning "Who invented the Mafia dad?" and went on about Lucky Luciano, and his organizing of the five families, etc.

At least they were consistent. They got everything wrong. First off, just the use of the name "Soprano" poisons that element of culture within any part of the Italian peninsula. It would be like portraying a bad Jewish family named "Mozaltov." It's outrageous, to say the least.

Second, the actors weren't even of Southern Italian origin, including James Gandolfini, who I was told is of Emilian origin, adding to the incorrigible nature of the scene. So here is this guy, who looks more Irish than Sicilian, carrying on about Italian defamation, and being Northern Italian of all things. Do you see how crazy this is? It actually passes for logic to many people.

Third, Meucci didn't invent the telephone, and we have already covered the fact versus fiction of that already. It's a myth carried on by people who probably wouldn't even identify themselves with Florentines anyway. Interestingly, the scene left out Columbus, Mazzei, Fermi, Verrazano, Marconi, Busti, Beltrami, Vigo, da Nizza, and many other "great Italians" in America who were, in fact, Northern Italians. I know that may irritate some, but look at it from our point of view for once please. Thinking of things from other points of view is part of critical thought, and usually helps one's own grievance as well. I realize that there are other ways of looking at this.

The problem with the issue of Italian defamation is a comparative one. Without stepping on toes, for now, maybe someone needs to do a study on dangerous secret societies and subversive movements in American history, and line them all up for examination. I know that "subversive" is an ambiguous term. What is subversive for some, is good for others. However, line them up, take in account all pertinent information, have no group getting "special protection," and see what it looks like. I suspect that there would be many, many bruised egos; and I also suspect that there would be no "Northern Italian groups."

I know for an absolute fact that many ethnic groups, from numerous races, do receive special protection from media exposure, and members of those dangerous secret societies have done tremendous harm to our country.

I wanted to add, and I think it's somewhat relative enough to this subject, one ethnic group which endured tremendous loss within this land. REAL loss too. That being the Cajuns. They were forced out of Canada, and force-migrated to Louisiana by the British. Literally millions died! We never hear about that, and it happened here; albeit not at the hands of Americans.

3-28-09 Addition: I came across one item that I wanted to add here, but didn't want to devote another entry for. I'm not trying to make a mountain out've a mole hill, but wanted to briefly touch upon it.

From YouTube user pjccannella: "Italians bult America!!! we brought them great food great singers great craftsman we built the capital building!! and the white house! and they still call us w**s!.......... while they eat are great food an listen to are great singers and try to learn our arts! columbus is only the begining. there needs to be a day for us Italian Americans we found and built this country and we dont get any credit! why is saint patricks day such a big deal what the hell did the irish do for this country? columbus day is a joke! where known for a hell of alot more than that! sorry to sound angry but im sick of takeing a back seat to other coltures that have not done nothing for this country.We are the chosen people just look at our histroy! nobody can touch us."

I had to censor one word, as to not have problems with blogspot. As to who "built America," which I'm assuming is a reference to the America that was once the best in almost every human endeavor at one point, I think that some demographic groupings contributed more than others. It's still somewhat of a moronic statement to say that "we built America." Yes, the traditional "Italian-Americans" did their share as paving the roads and laying the bricks, but so did many others.

As far as food, all cuisine of the Italian peninsula is very good or great, so I think he has a point there. The great singers and musicians in America were of Southern Italian descent. As far as building the capitol building, those were Florentines if I remember correctly. The craftmanship and art of Northern Italians is second to none in the world. Sure, there can be some very good stone masonry in Southern Italy and other places, but I don't think he's really on the level here.

His only really valid point is Columbus Day, and Columbus as a "politically incorrect" figure. Someone could argue that Saint Patrick is politically incorrect for bringing Vatican power into Ireland. The Vatican is one of the most powerful banking institutions in the world. Also, this all but eliminated the native spirituality/religions in the country. So, therefore, the Columbus question is one that can't be solved. Either an individual believes that there should have been an America, or not. There can be no compromise there. I have a lot more to say about that, and tons of inconvenient facts to present, but I will save that, for now.

I get a strong impression that pjccannella's master list of "Italian and Italian-American" accomplishments were those of Florentines, Genoese, Torinese, Milanese, Venetians, etc. C'mon, most Italian-Americans in NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia, etc., never met a single person of Northern Italian decent in their cities, in their entire lives. It's the theory of "Italian-Americans," but not the reality.

San Pedro, Los Angeles, California

Selected Text From Wikipedia:

San Pedro is a beach community within Los Angeles, California, USA. It was annexed in 1909 and is a major seaport of the area. The town has grown from being dominated by the fishing industry to become primarily a working class town within the City of Los Angeles. The name of the town is pronounced "San Pidro" by its residents, even its Hispanic residents, rather than by its Spanish pronunciation.

History

The site, at the southern end of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, on the west side of San Pedro Bay, was used by Spanish ships starting in the 1540s.

Origin of name

San Pedro was named after St. Peter of Alexandria, a 4th century bishop in Alexandria, Egypt. His feast day is November 24 on the local ecclesiastical calendar of Spain, the day on which Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discovered the bay in 1542 which would become "San Pedro." Santa Catalina Island, named after St. Katherine of Alexandria, was also claimed for the Spanish Empire the next day, on her feast day, November 25th. In 1602-1603, Sebastián Vizcaíno (1548-1624) officially surveyed and mapped the California coastline, including San Pedro Bay, for New Spain.

Settlement

Regular settlement began in 1769 as part of the effort to populate California, although trade restrictions encouraged more smuggling than regular business. The Rancho San Pedro is the site of the first Spanish land grant in Alta California, New Spain. The land was granted in 1784 by King Carlos III to Juan Jose Dominguez, a retired Spanish soldier who came to California with the Gaspar de Portolà expedition.

When New Spain won its independence from the Spanish Empire and Alta California became part of Mexico, the trade restrictions were lifted, and the town flourished. Under United States control after 1848, when the United States defeated Mexico in the Mexican-American war, the harbor was greatly improved and expanded under the guidance of Phineas Banning. San Pedro became a major port of the West Coast and is now the busiest port in the country.

In 1888, the War Department took control of a tract of land next to the bay and added to it in 1897 and 1910. This became Fort MacArthur in 1914 and was a coastal defense site for many years. Many other facilities were established in the San Pedro area, and it was a popular port of call for U.S. Navy ships, especially during World War II. The town became a well known watering hole for sailors and Marines during leave and established a reputation as a rough-and-tumble town.

Los Angeles Annexation

In 1906, the City of Los Angeles annexed a long narrow strip of land connecting the city to the coast, and in 1909, the city annexed San Pedro and the adjacent town of Wilmington. The odd shape is still seen in the map of the city.

Port of Los Angeles

San Pedro, Wilmington, and Terminal Island are the locations of the Port of Los Angeles.

Demographic history

Ethnically diverse, San Pedro was a magnet for European immigrants from various countries for years, reflected in the number of restaurants representing diverse cuisines, especially Croatian, Portuguese, Mexican, Italian, and Greek. San Pedro is home to the largest Italian-American community in Southern California, centered on the "Via Italia" (South Cabrillo Avenue). Estimates state that the community numbers about 45,000 Italian-Americans. San Pedro is also considered the heart of the Croatian community in Los Angeles. This community, originally comprised of seafarers and fishermen from the Dalmatia (especially the islands of Brač, Hvar, Vis and Korčula) region, has been present in San Pedro since the settlement began more than 200 years ago. The City of Los Angeles even named a stretch of 9th Street "Croatian Place" in honor of the city's old Croatian community. There are reportedly more than 35,000 Croats in San Pedro, making it the biggest Croatian community on the Pacific.

A large portion of San Pedro is also composed of Mexican-Americans with long-time roots in the community, Mexican and other Hispanic immigrants, and African-Americans. Much of their populations are based in the older, east side of the community surrounding the downtown area and bordering the Port of Los Angeles.

Until February 1942, San Pedro was home to a vibrant Japanese immigrant community of about 3,000 people who lived in what had been described as a" typical Japanese Fishing Village" on Terminal Island (East San Pedro).

These Japanese immigrants pioneered albacore fishing out of San Pedro Bay and harvesting abalone off of White Point,thus leading the way in establishing a viable fishing industry in San Pedro.

The 48-hour forced expulsion of these San Pedro residents and the razing of their homes and shops, as part of the Japanese-American internment during World War II, is described in Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston's memoir Farewell to Manzanar.

Ethnicity & race

(Population 72,146) The racial make up of San Pedro according to the 2000 U.S. Census data is 63.02% Caucasian (Croatian, Italian, Hispanic-Whites, Middle Eastern) 18.45% Black, 1.02% American Indian and Alaska Native alone, 4.78% Asian, 0.40% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, 18.02% some other race, and 6.30% two or more races. Separate from those statistics, 12.14% of "Caucasians" identify themselves as Hispanic or Latino, and 20.41% as "Caucasian" alone, not Hispanic or Latino.

Wikipedia: San Pedro [with more information & links]

**************************************************

One local wrote: "People are not ashamed to admit Pedro is a blue-collar town. Its roots run deep in the longshoring and fishing industry."

I have never visited San Pedro, but it sounds like it's situated in a very interesting location. I would recommend finding some of the very interesting images online of this Port of Los Angeles neighborhood. I wasn't able to find all the ones I had before, at the time of this entry. It's like an old downtown, coastal port district, with charming old houses from another era.

He also wrote: "San Pedro is home to the largest Italian-American community in Southern California. Most Italian residents are from Ischia or Sicily" (in descent).

Having heard of the Italian-American community there, and being in California, I had always just assumed that it was primarily Ligurian/Tuscan. However, it appears that it was basically Sicilians and Southern Italians who migrated to some small parts of Los Angeles, and also to the "Little Italy" in San Diego. I'm not sure about Fresno.

**************************************************

San Pedro Bay Historical Society

The Homes of San Pedro

SanPedro.com

The link "The Homes of San Pedro" gives some further idea of the flavor of the district I think. I would like to visit there sometime. I wish I had more time to delve into this deeper. It's very interesting. I'm not really sure how much we have in common with San Pedro. It sounds somewhat like North Beach's history. The Genoese fisherman, who later were replaced by the Sicilian fisherman. Also, the canneries, the longshoreman, etc. Come to think of it, it also seems similar to Monterey, California.

Lastly, I almost forgot, there was a book written about San Pedro entitled 'Yugoslavs and Italians in San Pedro: Political culture and civic involvement' [Nicholas P. Lovrich; 1977]. I recall hearing about this book before I was even aware of San Pedro. Before there was an internet. It appears that this is a hard book to get. If anyone has read this, please give a short review if possible. I'm a little bit all over the place with this entry, because there is so much to learn and so many connections that I feel I'm not doing some of these subjects justice! I keep saying that I will get back to them, but so far I haven't. Lets keep gathering information.