For Vivian Catenaccio, president of the Sons of San Gennaro, the name of the association is not only symbolic. «In a way, I am myself a Daughter of San Gennaro». His grandfather Alexander Tisi was among the organizers of the first feast, in 1926, while the great-grandfather Luigi Vitale was the first president. The history of his family coincides with that of the celebration brought to Mulberry Street by Neapolitan immigrants.
The first edition lasted one day. Today the festival occupies eleven and since 1996 is managed by the nonprofit association chaired by Catenaccio. “We are very happy to have reached the hundred years and we want to reach the next hundred. We continue to celebrate it for our faith and to preserve the Italian tradition and heritage”.
Bankers, concerts and gastronomic competitions have made San Gennaro one of the biggest street events in New York, but for organizers the center of the festival remains primarily a religious event. On 19 September, the day dedicated to the saint, a solemn Mass is celebrated in the presence of priests and Monsignors. At the end, the statue preserved in the church of Most Precious Blood is carried on the side in procession through the streets of Little Italy. “The main purpose of the festival is to pay tribute to San Gennaro, patron of Naples”, Catenaccio explained.
On the same day, in the Cathedral of Naples, the faithful await the liquefaction of the blood of the saint. The popular tradition considers the lack of dissolution a negative omen, a belief that Catenaccio recalled in the interview: “Let us hope that the blood is still liquefied. If it does not happen, we must pray, because there might be some problem in the world». It is one of the links that the New York party has kept more directly with the Neapolitan celebration.
In the meantime Little Italy has changed. The Italian community that once lived in the neighborhood has been reduced and many of the patronal festivals organized by immigrants have disappeared. According to Catenaccio, San Gennaro is the only one of those celebrations survived in Little Italy: while the Italian district became smaller, the party continued to grow. «Napoli, you have begun this tradition, we are here to try to carry it forward».
L’articolo The Children of San Gennaro, one hundred years after Mulberry Street’s first party proviene da IlNewyorkese.
