The San Gennaro Festival in Las Vegas. Old acquaintances renewed

Sometimes it’s actually possible, given the circumstances, to catch “two birds with one stone”. It happened to the undersigned on the weekend of last May 10 in fabulous Las Vegas, where we had gone to “enjoy” a few days of fun and games. Little did we realize that the aforementioned weekend coincided with the springtime edition of the Feast of Saint Gennaro, or Januarius.

More reason indeed to have more fun and absorb the color, enjoy the folklore, and – one cannot help it – make mental comparisons, not with the New York edition which we have never seen, but at least with the one held in Hollywood in September. Parenthetically, September is the month when the Patron of Naples’ blood liquefies in the basilica (supposedly on the 19th), launching the populace into a frenzy of festivi- ties.

We, unfortunately, do not know the reason why there is a spring celebration of the Saint, which we must deduce, not knowing better, is held to raise funds for the one in September by the son of the founder of the festival, young Anthony Palmisano, conspicuous for his absence on this occasion from the microphone as well as from the public eye.

Aside from these observations, chronicled only for the sake of narration, Mr. Palmisano holds its festival outside the Las Vegas city limits, therefore in more spacious surroundings than those available in Los Angeles or Hollywood. What really surprised us was the number of people attending every evening, as well as thenumber of booths selling their food specialties or their wares.

The Las Vegas edition also sells other ethnic foods, besides the usual pasta, meatballs and sausage sandwiches and pizza. The festival also seems to be run without guid- ance, as well as without a master of ceremonies announcing the various artists who follow one another on the smallish stage. But, fortunately, also without one who might refer to the saint as ‘Sen Gennero’, as frequently happens in Hollywood.

Another surprise indeed was the list of entertainers who graced the stage, beginning with the folksy and relaxing songs interpreted by Orange County- based Enzo Selvaggi, introspect- ed Tony DeBruno, appearing for the 31st year in Las Vegas, accordionist Giuseppe Vento, who regaled us personally with the beloved music of Gioachino Rossini on the side, and another old acquaintance we were only too happy to see again, the concertina playing Emilio Baglioni, the erstwhile owner of the once very reputable “Emilio Ristorante” in West Hollywood.

A pleasant surprise was a young tenor from New York, John Garafalo, who regaled the listeners with a resounding ren- dition of “Nessun dorma” from Puccini’s “Turandot”, in paying homage to the late Luciano Pavarotti. His voice made my day, or to be more exact, my early evening.

All in all, the San Gennaro Festival was a pleasant experience indeed, perhaps quite a bit more gratifying than to be in a hotel where the music (so it’s called} is thunderous as well as deafening, and to revisit a city obviously unprincipled and materialistic as well as seeping with insatiable greediness.

L.S.