2024-08-05 22:48:43
BOLZANO. “When I took American citizenship I was moved. At the ceremony I cried for at least an hour. For me it was like closing a circle: my great-grandfather Vincenzo arrived in New York in 1905, at Ellis Island I found his name in the lists. In 1920 my grandfather was born in Brooklyn then, as often happened, they returned to Italy, to Caserta. After more than two hundred years I brought America back to our family.” Umberto Marinoborn in Bolzano 1990, today works between New York and the Caribbean for a major winery. He married a girl from the Bronx, Kathleen, they have two little girls and live in a house with a garden: the American dream, exactly like you see in the movies.
Raised in via Resia, he attended school in Bolzano and immediately started working after graduation for a well-known local company in the food sector. “My family was humble, and I couldn’t afford college. My mother worked double shifts cleaning to pay for my private German lessons. I had great ambitions, but I felt that gap so even if I had tried hard I wouldn’t have been able to achieve them. I was obsessed with America: for me it represented redemption.”
It was destiny that brought him to the States, almost eight years ago. But helped by willpower and great ambition. Since November 2023 he has been a full-fledged American citizen, he supports the Yankees, he loves celebrating Thanksgiving, but he does not forget his origins: «I do not want the message to pass that you have to leave to fulfill yourself. Alto Adige is a region that offers great opportunities, I advise young people to take advantage of them».
Let’s take a step back: you said that America was almost an obsession for you. Where did this obsession come from?
First of all from my family origins. In my bedroom on Via Resia I had a black and white photo of my grandfather in Brooklyn. Then from Eminem (very famous American rapper, ed.), I listened to him a lot as a boy. I remember that when the film inspired by his life, “8 Mile”, came out, I went to see it with my mother at the Eden cinema. It struck me. From there I began to cultivate the dream of America.
How did it get there?
Let me start with order: after a few years of working in Bolzano, I was offered a company transfer to London. However, I wasn’t convinced. I wanted to go to the States, but with my job there wasn’t the possibility. I decided to take a week-long trip to New York and something absurd happened at the airport. I was talking on the phone with a colleague of mine when a woman approached me to ask if I also worked in the food sector. I said yes, and she asked me which company I was going to the US for. At which point I told her none, but that I would have liked to. We exchanged business cards. Seven months later she called me: a position had opened up in her company. It was 2017, they gave me a visa and I went. I’m not someone who believes too much in fate, but it was truly a huge stroke of luck.
Luck also needs to be helped…
Let’s say that in those months I adopted a bit of the exhaustion technique. I am a salesman after all (smiles, ed.). I wrote her several emails, asking her to contact me if opportunities suited to my profile arose. She did, and eleven months after the day we met I was again on a flight to America, this time to stay forever.
What were the biggest difficulties?
As soon as I arrived I immediately realized that living in New York is not easy. It is a city that demands a lot, and you have to make great sacrifices. The American society is competitive and can be very tiring. There are no permanent contracts: the definition is “at will”, I keep you as long as I think and need you. You are always on edge. Another really difficult thing was leaving my parents and my friends. I have a special relationship with my mother. She has always lived with an illness, and when I left I felt guilty: I felt like I was leaving her behind. In reality I understood that relationships can also be strengthened with distance. We talk almost every day, and we manage to see each other several times a year. My wife and I return to Bolzano whenever we can and my mother often comes here. The last difficulty, especially in the beginning, was integrating into the culture. I have a very exuberant character, but when you move to another country you have to pay attention to every single gesture. I tried to keep my “Italian” ways, but always respecting those I met. This remains a daily challenge, at work and in the family.
You said earlier that you have two little girls. What is their relationship with Italy?
Olivia is 4 years old and Kennedy is only a few months old. They are both still small but I try to speak only Italian with them. They will grow up bilingual, in my opinion it is a great value. I try to convey to them a lot of Italianness. The thing that the eldest loves most about Italy is the food: the snack after school consists of pieces of parmesan with cooked ham. I try not to give in to the many American “junk”. She drinks San Pellegrino water, looks at me and asks me for “bubbles”.
Last question: let’s get to current events. The US election campaign this year is taking place in a climate of strong tension. How do you live this very different atmosphere as an Italian who moved to New York?
In this topic I tend to be neutral but objective. America is a very large country. Everywhere you turn you find different cultures and backgrounds, in a wonderful richness. What honestly worries me is seeing a contrast between the two political parties that is much closer to hatred than politics. In every debate the candidates insult each other, in a crescendo of tension that leads to very serious episodes, such as the attempted assassination of Trump. A country that decides the fate of the world must have a constructive opposition policy. Two clear and reasoned internal and external political programs, not a war of insults and hatred, fueled by social media. In this, America still has a lot to learn.
2024-08-05 22:48:43