Convivio

Meet Tom Cesarini, Convivio founder and executive director, and learn more about Convivio in our community!

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Most visitors to the Convivio Center would first see the paladino, the knight in armor standing in view through the front window (and donated by Umberto Falcone, resident of Little Italy), just as Hillary and Justin did last year and noted it in their blog, An Uncontained Life.

(Read their blog post, Celebrating Little Italy’s “Fishy” Past.)

It’s a nice piece about walking through the Little Italy neighborhood, but it also accentuates the charm of the Convivio Center and its focus on community and bringing people together in a third place, a core component of the Convivio vision and mission.

We opened the Convivio Center in May of 2013, and for a couple years served the community as a venue for the Italian and broader cultural communities of San Diego, a space in which to engage in arts, culture, and heritage programs and find that third place as a means for connection. Many visitors would immediately comment on the center’s vibe, its welcoming look and feel, which made them feel right at home.

Perhaps some of the more enduring impact comes from the many children, young adults, and college-aged students who performed at the Convivio Center, such as the Carlsbad Showcase Company (under the direction of Ric Henry), Point Loma Opera Theatre, and SDSU School of Music and Dance Opera Theatre. As a result, the Convivio Center not only provided a multicultural venue but a space that gave opportunity to these rising stars to showcase their artistry. And for this, we are privileged.

This overview video below from Louis Cutino encapsulates some of the musical events we featured at the center. You can find many of our events captured on video, and for that we are grateful to Louis for his work and generosity–manifesting the very spirit of community though his time and talent.

But this commentary is not meant to be merely a nostalgic saunter down memory lane–it is meant to honor an important resource in bringing people together, and it also serves as a nod to our active pursuit of a new space and once again bringing to San Diego an Italian cultural institute through which culture, connection, and camaraderie will be the order of the day.

In the interim, we are busy with our cultural programming in partnership with other venues in the county and our important work in preserving the quickly diminishing Italian American history of San Diego. And this fall we launch our scholarship program, and we are already planning our Communitas Award festivities for next year.

Ultimately, we wish to express our immense gratitude to all our Convivio donors, center co-founders, volunteers, and of course, all the talented artists and guests for their support through the years in helping to realize this dream of a cultural and educational space, a dream for many Italian Americans in San Diego.

For everything the Convivio Center represented, it was merely a start, a stepping stone on a path to greater things. We look forward to continuing to pursue our vision with you.

Sempre avanti!

The lights dim, the near-capacity crowd begins to settle, and on the screen above the stage where the musicians are poised for greatness, the Paramount logo materializes, and then…the solo trumpet begins its wail and the credits appear. You know the tune…The Godfather Waltz…dark, foreboding, and unforgettable. Thus, the San Diego Symphony’s The Godfather Live event begins–quietly, without fanfare–and an evening of pure magic follows. A cinematic capolavoro. A musical masterpiece. And another testament to Italian and Italian American influences on cinema and music, as well as the artistic merits of our own San Diego Symphony.

The event was brought to you by the San Diego Symphony, CineConcerts, and the San Diego Symphony conductor Justin Freers. You can read more about the event, the score restoration, and the conductor here through the Film Music Society.

Convivio is privileged to have been a part of this special evening, and we look forward to more San Diego Symphony events celebrating the masterful Italian film scores accompanying some of the silver screen’s greatest achievements by Italian filmmakers.

For more information on the San Diego Symphony, please visit the San Diego Symphony online.

As part of its Fox Theatre Film Series, the San Diego Symphony will perform the iconic score to The Godfather while patrons watch the film. The San Diego Symphony will also host a pre-film “Mafia party.”

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In response to recent criticism from professional friends and city neighbors of the San Diego Symphony’s “The Godfather Live” event on April 24, we feel compelled to share Convivio’s position:

We empathize with the sentiments that have been expressed. Many community members assert that any “celebration” of the Mafia stereotype reflects poorly on Italian Americans. Some viewpoints have urged that the event be cancelled and our support withdrawn. But this suggestion, often framed as an imperative, raises serious concerns.

Others in our community choose different lenses through which to view Italian American cultural identity. Moreover, the apparent perceptions about the origin and planning of the event, the intentions of the event organizers, and the reactions to the event are elements that should be explored further—without a rush to judgment.

We support the San Diego Symphony and are happy it continues to raise vital funds for its important programs. We look forward to further opportunities to partner with the San Diego Symphony on more programs highlighting the broad and rich artistic contributions that Italian Americans have made to American culture.

Given our organization’s mission, vision, and values, Convivio will be organizing an event (coming soon) around the appropriation of Italian culture so that our community can have an open and useful conversation—not a debate—about these relevant issues. Many viewpoints exist, and this is a time that calls for reflection and deliberation rather than reaction and ethnic defensiveness, in order to work even more harmoniously as a community—and further educate others in San Diego about our vibrant and special culture.

In our view, the issue is initially about the Mafia party and event. Upon further scrutiny, it is also about the Italian American experience writ large, in both historical and contemporary contexts. Because Convivio is devoted to providing opportunities for dialogue around how our truest values and rituals continue to enrich American culture, we intend to conduct a forum in which these relevant issues can be explored. Questions should address the degree to which negative depictions of Italian Americans continue to persist; the effects of these images on people of Italian descent; the goals of protests (as a mechanism for response); and why, arguably, there has not been more of a focus (as a collective) on fostering alternative images of Italian Americans. What we propose is to consider this issue in a broader context. Overall, what does this current dynamic mean in the larger context of Italian Americana today?

The word Convivio itself conveys our commitment to dialogue, and so we invite the San Diego community to consider that space be offered to other viewpoints. That is a key priority for our organization, in addition to promoting positive Italian-cultural programming in San Diego, of course. Indeed, an obvious example is the Convivio Communitas Award for Leadership launched this year (and the celebration of our inaugural recipient, Joe Panetta, CEO of Biocom). We see this as an important initiative for the Italian community of San Diego, one that promotes the great elements and individuals in our local academic, business, and civic communities.

Ultimately, Convivio, through its mission, promotes all the great aspects of Italian culture, establishing many innovations that have been lacking or absent in San Diego regarding Italian culture and heritage. Our commitment is to continue to do this important work while also emphasizing the cultivation of fellowship and dialogue.

 

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About Convivio

Convivio cultivates community and fellowship while celebrating all things Italian, advancing Italian cultural identity through education, community engagement, and innovative programming. For more information, please visit www.conviviosociety.org.

It was a grand celebration as we honored Biocom CEO, Joe Panetta, on March 12, at the Lafayette Hotel!

Our gratitude goes to all our guests, with special recognition for our host, Carlo Cecchetto, and Jerry Sanders, CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Guest speakers, a congressional proclamation, the divine Sacha Boutros, exemplary Point Loma Nazarene opera students, a video tribute, letters from the Italian towns of the honoree’s parents, and Mr. Panetta singing New York, New York with the band were some of the touchstones as we honored a leader in the biotech industry.