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Marcantonio was born in Jamaica, NY on July 16th 1961. He was raised in South Jamaica, which at the time was a working class poor neighborhood inhabited by many Italian Americans. His parents were average second generation Italian Americans. His mother, Teresa, was a secretary by trade, and his father Joseph was a truck driver.
Marcantonio lived in his maternal grandparents house. They were wonderful jolly people from the Naples region of Italy. His Grandpa made wine in the cellar, had fig and cherry trees, and taught him everythign about Southern Italian peasant culture including gardening, and wine making. His Grandma relieved his anxieties, and bad feelings by lifting "the eyes" from him (The evil eye known as malochio). This was done by performing a ritual using a bowl of water and drops of oil. After analyzing the oil formations she would begin mumbling folk prayers and making crosses on his head. You may believe what you will, but after his Grandmothers prayers he always felt light as a feather and without a trouble in the word.
Being so close to these wonderful people he naturally fell in love with and shared in their taste in music. Marcantonio loved processional dialect hymns to the saints and to a Madonna, beloved by the Neapolitan people. A Maronna 'E Muntevergine (Our Lady of Mount Virgin). |
Every year, in his neighborhood, a grand event was celebrated in honor of the feast of beloved St. Anthony. The celebration included processions, fabulous Neapolitan singers and great comics performed.
Marcantonio recalls, "I stood in the crowd in awe as I listened to these wonderful passionate voices and hilarous comics that made your buttons burst!" "Some of the wonderful performers I remember were Salvatore Ferrara, Anna Fantasia, Comic Salvatore Scialo', Luciano Doria, Luigi Cinque and the fabulous till this day , my dear friend Rita Berti"
Marcantonio began an obsession for collecting Neapolitan and other Southern Italian recordings. "I had a dream of some day being one of those performers, and started singing in the garden, in the shower, almost everywhere." One day he decided to attend the Feast of St. Andrew, held by the people of Amalfi in New Haven. A great freind and talented singer Nina Pane Sanseverino was scheduled to sing that evening. She ws to be accompanied on the piano by a multi talented Renaissance man with a great love for Neapolitan song, Professor Ralph Marcarelli. After hearing Nina's earth shattering rendition of "Desiderio", Professor Ralph called Marcantonio to the stage and asked, "Would you like to do something?"
Marcantonio recalls, "I responded shyly, and asked if I could sing a famous Neapolitan song called Tammuriata Nera and Ralph began to play and I began to sing... I will never forget my knees trembling and my rapid heart beat!" "At the end of the song, I could not believe the applause I received". "And thanks to my two irreplaceable friends from New Haven, my dream came true!".
That was 1985. Since then, Marcantonio has been a regular at Italian feasts throughout the Tri-state area and beyond. |
The following are some of the feasts that Marcantonio has performed at: |
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• St. Andrew - New Haven Ct.
• West Haven Italian Feast - Ct.
• St. Anthony North End - Boston
• Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Franklin Square, NY
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• Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Brooklyn, NY.
• St. Anthony Feast - Elmont NY.
• Madonna Assunta - Westbury NY.
• Madonna Del Martiri - Hoboken |
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| Marcantonio has also been the entertainment for the American Italian Historical Association in both Washington DC and San Francisco. |
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