Adesso!
The FIERI Boston Newsletter
Edizione Year in Review 2000

Italia Unita 2000 Rocks East Boston!
By Bob Yantosca and Antoinetta Polcaro

This past July was definitely a July to remember for Boston residents. Several extraordinary events, including the Pops' 4th of July concert, the Grand Parade of Sail, the Shriners' Parades, the B2K Celebration, and the "Battle of the Fireworks Barges", drew hundreds of thousands of tourists into the city over a period of several weeks. Much to the annoyance of the local residents, tourists clogged the streets, subways, and buses as they made their way throughout Boston with cameras clicking and pocketbooks wide open. However, the real standout event of the month did not take place on the waterfront, or the Esplanade, or even in the Back Bay. It took place in Central Square, East Boston. It was Italia Unita 2000.

Italia Unita, which is now in its 6th year, has always been a festival for the locals. Organizers Pat Capogreco, Maria Capogreco,and Lisa Capogreco are to be congratulated for their hard work and diligent efforts to bring a truly enjoyable weekend of to the people of East Boston. For much of the last century, Central Square, and the nearby neighborhoods of Maverick Square and Jeffries Point, were mostly occupied by Italian immigrants and their descendants. Italia Unita seeks to remember, and to celebrate, the Italian heritage of East Boston.

The festival ran from Friday July 21 to Sunday July 23. A small army of food vendors was on hand to supply patrons with a variety of Italian delectables. From the Meridian St. Market's arancini, to Anzalone's pizza, to the Big Italian Sausage, to the Cannoli Girl, to Richie's Slush, to the cherrystones and fried calamari, you could have eaten like a king (or a marquese). On Meridian St., there was a small bocce court, which drew both young and old alike. The Vegas Night kept the casual gamblers happy, and for the kids there were rides, a fun house, and carnival games.

On Friday night, the Italian folklore group "Ricordi D'Italia" performed traditional songs and dances, such as the Sicilian
tarantella. Later that night, NYC disco cover band "Boogie Knights" kept alive the memory of disco balls, polyester leisure suits, John Travolta, and 55-cent-a-gallon gas.

However, the high point of the entire weekend was the free concert by 70's legends "The Village People" on Saturday night. The air was charged with electricity as The Village People took the stage and performed a stirring rendition of the old Grand Funk Railroad standby "We're an American Band", as the crowd of approximately 6000 people were singing along and dancing in the streets. The Village People (in case you forgot, they are: a cop, an Indian chief, a biker, a marine, a construction worker, and a cowboy) went on to perform other crowdpleasers such as "Trash Disco", "In the Navy", and, of course "YMCA".

Sunday night's entertainment consisted of the traditional Italian songs. The popular local band "Sea Breeze" played several Italian favorites such as "Mamma", as well as selections by Englebert Humperdinck ("Quando Quando Quando" and "The man without Love"). Sea Breeze was followed by Italian superstar "Gigione", who has been described as "the Italian Jimmy Buffett"), who regaled the crowd with his unique, but often raunchy, style of singing.

We would like to extend a very special thanks to the Capogreco family for donating the space for the FIERI Boston information booth at Italia Unita 2000. Several FIERI Boston members, including Antoinetta Polcaro, Bob Yantosca, Mary Nigro, Anna Scimemi, Rina Crugnale, Jim Leccese, Sal Onorato, Joseph Frenna, Sal Di Stefano, and Ralph D'Angelo, were on hand to man the booth. Thanks to their hard work and dedication, FIERI Boston gained two new members during Italia Unita - Alba Frasco and Gary Gengo.

Italia Unita 2000 was a great success, and a good time was had by all. Nearly 20,000 people came to enjoy the festival during the entire weekend. This was the biggest turnout ever. We are already looking forward to next year!