Erica Davis
The beginning two paragraphs of Robert A. Orsi’s “The Madonna of 115th Street,” explore the struggles of families who came to America in search of a better life, often finding there “a world often not very different from the one they had left. It was a place of hope and ambitions, where fear of failure, despair, and uncertainty were just a given” (48). The Italian Harlem Orsi describes was “a place of separation where people came to work on behalf of those from whom they were separated” (48), and while “the decision to emigrate was a family decision,” still, “the pain of the separation—on both sides of the Atlantic—was no less real for this” (23). Italian Harlem was a place in which both the longing for home, which anecdotal proof from the passage shows led one woman to die after “a long depression brought on by the dislocations of immigration” (20), and the unyielding endurance of wanting to make this new land a home for families combined in such a way that while some lost their Italian identities upon reaching the shores of this new land, others discovered it after living in the area for ages and letting the community change them.
At the epicenter of the balance between longing for this new home and the place people came from was a strong and continual dedication that these immigrants had to their faith. The description of the festa of Mount Carmel and the procession of la Madonna provide a powerful and edifying glance at the gravity of the people of Italian Harlem’s emphasis on prayer. Their promises to la bella Madonna, among which were marching with candles that were the same weight as the one carrying them, licking the pavement of the alter, crawling on hands and feet through the searing streets in procession, and spending money that family’s didn’t have on clothing and donations to the church in an attempt to go to any lengths necessary to win the favor of la figura, were taken extremely seriously, with generations taking on the burdens of their predecessors promises years after their passing. The emphasis on religion as something that brought the Italian community from places as far apart as California and New York together was something that I thought was a true indicator of the dedication these immigrants have to their tradition and their beliefs. The saint’s statues were seen as a “rallying point” that united the entire community and gave them a sense of comfort and community despite the miles and miles that separated them from Italy. The strength of togetherness brought out in these ceremonies, processionals in which the strong helped the weak, the rich the poor, and all out of the goodness of their hearts and with nothing to gain but good favor in the eyes of the Madonna, is a truly potent image that Orsi describes beautifully.
Outside of the traditions of this festival, which spread beyond the church and religious practices themselves to a neighborhood wide cleaning, cooking and hosting spree in which the community transforms into a bustling center for cultural appreciation for an indeterminate period of time, the realization that Eastern Harlem was an area crumbling around these immigrant people also rallies them together. While “the residents of Italian Harlem did not need outside researchers and statisticians to inform them about the plight of their community” (43), and many “improved their lot,” and “left the neighborhood [when they did]” (45), “while they lived in the neighborhood they found it a secure and supportive community where neighbors helped each other in times of trouble and shared in each other’s celebrations” (45). An appreciation for their home and want to better it is something that made the Italians of Harlem a very powerful group, drawn together not only by their appreciation for their customs and neighborhood wide plights, but in their want to share in the experiences with the people around them. These people worked tirelessly and devoted themselves so fully that shrines in their households were not uncommon, and through it all they managed to stay a devoted and united community.
