Honoring an
Italian Tradition: The East Harlem Giglio di Sant'
Antonio Feast
"East
Harlem, once the largest Italian community
in NYC is a pleasant memory for countless
former inhabitants. To renew that memory,
thousands of former residents along with
their children and grandchildren will be
returning to renew that bond and meet up
with friends in the old neighborhood for the
Feast of Giglio di Sant’Antonio sponsored by
the Giglio Society of East Harlem.
The Giglio Society of East Harlem is a group
of men who have dedicated their lives to
honor Sant’ Antonio, their beloved saint.
Their love and devotion is on display each
year during their Annual Festival held in
East Harlem, New York. They honor their
Patron Saint in very much the same fashion
as their ancestry did and still do annually
today in Brusciano, Italy by building a
Giglio and dancing it in the streets of
Manhattan, N.Y.
For those unfamiliar with the Giglio
(pronounced JEEL-YO)-it is a 75 to 85 foot
tall wooden structure weighing approx 8,000
lbs with a paper-mache face adorned with
beloved saints and colorful flowers. On the
platform just above the base of the Giglio
sits a multi-piece band along with several
singers. The music is an instrumental part
of the dancing of the Giglio as it inspires
the Lifters (also known as the ‘”Paranza” in
Italian) to take on the burdening weight of
the Giglio and band and dance it in harmony
to the music being played.
The origins of the Giglio Society trace
their heritage back to the town of Brusciano,
Italy approximately 20 miles outside of
Naples. Here an annual Feast called the
Dance of the Giglio takes place yearly in
honor of Sant’ Antonio. The feast originally
began back in the 1880’s when Francisco
Vivolo prayed to Sant’ Antonio to help cure
his deathly ill child. In exchange for this
cure, Francisco vowed to honor Sant’ Antonio
in the same manner the town’s people of
Nola, Italy, a nearby town honoring San
Paolino di Nola, by constructing Gigli in
honor of Sant’ Antonio and dancing them in
the streets of Brusciano. Francisco’s
prayers were answered and the dancing of the
Gigli in Brusciano was born. It continues
today where 6 Gigli are built for the Annual
Festival during the latter part of August
and danced on the shoulders of hundreds of
men..
Around the turn of 1900’s, Italian
immigrants left Italy in search of a better
life for their families. Many families from
the town of Brusciano, Italy migrated to
East Harlem, NY to start anew with other
families and friends that came before them.
Although these Immigrants brought little
with them on their 30-day long voyage across
the Atlantic Ocean in the tight confines of
the boat, what they did carry with them were
their beloved traditions. For the people of
Brusciano, this included the yearly Dance of
the Giglio Festival in honor of Sant’Antonio.
Upon their arrival, the Italian
immigrants of East 106th Street in East
Harlem decided to initiate their beloved
traditions by building a Giglio and dancing
it in the ‘New World’. The Festival on 106th
Street grew for many years becoming one of
the largest street fairs in America and
remained that way until 1955. Then in 1957,
the Festival moved a few blocks uptown to
108th Street where the Dance of the Giglio
continued until 1971 .
After a 29 year hiatus, the Dance of the
Giglio returned to East Harlem in 2000 as a
Cooperative Feast with the Shrine Church of
Our Lady of Mount Carmel that resides on
115th Street between 1st and Pleasant
Avenues. The Festival enjoyed several years
dancing the Giglio during the Annual Feast
of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel that takes
place each year on July 16th, the Feast Date
of the Madonna..
Giglio
Feast 2010 Still Pictures
The
following pages contain pictures from the
Giglio Feast of Sant'Antonio which were
taken by Bobby Maida
This
is a feast that is being prepared all year round by
volunteers of the Italian community in East
Harlem, who share their time, talent, energy and
great kindness. This group is blessed with an
inexhaustible supply of energy, enthusiasm,
and optimism struggling to create a fun atmosphere
for you, your family and friends. The sound of their
joyous chatter and laughter is ear splitting as they
all talk at once, working together in
disciplined harmony to bring about this event. For more details
visit my blog page:
2009 Giglio di Sant' Antonio Feast in East Harlem.
Special Mention:
Still Pictures of the
Italian Feasts of the Saints in New York City: From
the NYPL Digital Gallery
Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel #2 1930
Crowd waiting in line on 115th st., between First
and Pleasant Avenue, bringing candles and votive
offerings to the Church. The woman shown here has a
tall candle and a waxen image of a foot, to be
offered in gratitude for a cure.
