Author: Alexandra Santesso
Table of Contents
Introduction
The following is a project featuring an interview with an Italian immigrant to Canada, Maria Santesso (my nonna), in an effort to preserve an Italian Canadian immigration story from the 1960s. My grandparents (Maria and John/ Giovanni Santesso) came to Canada on October 21st, 1960, just over three weeks after they married on the first. Over this past summer (2024), I was fortunate enough to travel to Italy for the first time and visit their hometown of Concordia Saggitaria in the Veneto region. My relatives who remain in Venice led me to see both houses my nonno and nonna grew up in (Concordia Saggitaria), separated only by a small bridge, and where their love story began. Finally seeing the town my nonni would reference in the stories of their upbringings, inspired me to conduct this oral history project. Fortunately, my nonna loves to chat about the past and reminisce in her memories, which is what most afternoons and evenings look like when I visit. Normally, we sit at her kitchen table with coffee and cookies while she recounts the story of how she and my nonno met, and the secret to making a marriage last sixty-three years. My nonno’s drawing and calculation skills are attributed to their ultimate journey to Canada. What started as a trip working at a steel factory in Welland, Ontario, led to an opportunity in professional soccer, and ultimately a permanent move to Canada for himself and my nonna. From then, my nonno became a successful structural engineer, building his own business, and much of the structures the city of Niagara Falls knows today.
As a humble man, my nonno did not often speak about his own accomplishments or journey to Canada, so the purpose of my interview is to find out more about my nonno’s experiences playing soccer and working in Canada through the perspective of my nonna, along with her own experiences becoming a mother in a new country, and adapting to a new way of life. For this project, I will be using a semi-structured interview consisting of predetermined questions, guided by the interviewee’s response, alongside my own personal questions about my nonno John’s history. Using my nonna’s responses and the pictures she provides, I will create an oral history, and document a personal archive, preserving my nonni’s immigration story.
Interview Section
Interview With Maria
Summary of Interview
Interview Analysis
My interview with my nonna Maria successfully provided the information about our family’s history that I was most curious to uncover. Initially, when I interviewed her on October 14th, our discussion was focussed on her personal experience coming to Canada where she provided insight into how she and my nonno met, the trip to Canada itself and how they made their way to Thorold, Ontario. Together, we discussed the steps she took to adapt to Canadian culture, which I found related to one of our course readings by Bapsi Sidhwa (2019) titled Two Way Culture Shock. In this article, Sidhwa discusses her journey as an immigrant in America, navigating cultural differences and her new environment, along with interactions between newcomers like herself and locals. For Maria, coming to Canada was difficult at first due to the language, which she then took courses to help her learn and experience the english language, and she additionally changed her clothing style to fit in. It was a difficult task for her to adapt to the food as well, since it was very different from what she was used to in Italy, and having to learn subtle ways to incorporate her Italian identity so that it did not offend other Canadians. The ease of Maria’s transition to Canadian culture was mainly due to Miranda, the woman who she and my nonno were staying with and who had previously immigrated from Italy to Canada. As she was already familiar with the “ropes” of Canadian society and culture, she acted as a guiding mentor for Maria which emphasizes the importance of helping newcomers adapt.
In this interview, Maria briefly touched on my nonno John’s experience playing soccer in Scotland but elaborated more on this subject during our second interview on the 22nd of October. In this portion of the interview, we discussed more about his decision to work in Canada and how it affected their relationship at the time, how soccer played a role in John’s life and led him to an opportunity to play professionally once he arrived in Canada, and finally we discussed how John prepared for their move to Canada through job security, housing and their parents’ approvals. An article I read by Gianluca Agostinelli (2020) titled Strings Attached, tributing his late brother who was a successful tennis player, reminded me of the legacies sports and culture leave from individuals and their shared histories with society. Talents and hobbies such as sports become a part of identity, much like culture, and I found many similarities between Agostinelli’s brother and John’s story. The impact of tennis in Agostinelli’s brother’s life struck me most seeing as each day he works hard to ensure his brother’s legacy lives on, especially in the sport. Soccer was a large part of John’s life since the age of twelve, maybe even younger. Not many people are able to say they played soccer professionally and be as humble about the opportunity as John was, but playing for The Scotland Celtics F.C. was what helped bring my nonni to Canada. Despite the hardships and discrimination he faced, playing for another country’s team while being of Italian background, he still managed to find success and make the most of his skills. Even more, staying in Scotland gave John two opportunities; to return back to Canada and continue working, or return back to Italy which is what allowed him to return to my nonna Maria and take her to Canada alongside of him. Soccer not only played a small role in shaping my nonni’s journey to Canada, but was also honoured through my dad playing as a child, and now my brother who has been playing for approximately twenty years at various Italian and non-Italian soccer clubs located in the Niagara Region such as Club Roma. Soccer and its Italian culture is a part of my family’s identity, and it is through my nonno’s legacy that it continues to live generationally.
Reflection
Reflecting on the interview that took place with Maria, I have learned about the professional process of facilitating conversations with individuals to produce meaningful research, and how it contributes to society. Research exists regarding Italian history, however, not every experience is the same for individuals. Racism, culture shock, housing and job security are all hardships experienced at different levels of intensity which immigrants are consistently having to navigate which shows, despite recorded knowledge and history, nothing about locals’ attitudes towards immigration has changed. Most immigrants today experience the same prejudice my grandparents, Maria and John Santesso experienced during the 1960s. My role as an interviewer, conversing with Maria has uncovered the ability researchers hold to share the oral histories of others with society, not only to educate others but to shift perspectives on immigration. The interviews conducted for this project can be used to advocate for immigrants so that they can be granted transitional resources and help from locals to make their adaptation to a different culture easier and free of judgment. Immigration is a learning experience for all, as newcomers are forced to quickly learn the customs of another culture while being familiarized with their own, while locals are set in their own traditions, and must learn to embrace the cultures of others. By conducting oral history projects, others can learn as I did, about why certain items, food, and actions are staples in households and the importance they hold to that individual.
As a student who has always been interested in studying histories; whether it be world-related, Canadian, or anthropology, the enjoyment I received from being given the opportunity to study my personal history opened up new doors for me. Not only has learning about my family and culture pieced together my understanding of identity, but it has also made me rethink career paths. Professionally, I have always been drawn to the idea of being a lawyer, which is why I am currently an undergraduate student in Criminology however, academics have more recently become interesting to me. Law and history are two of my best subjects which have made me rethink my career path toward a position more teaching-oriented., whether it be a professor at a university level or a secondary teacher, this project has given me insight into developing direction to a career path.
Along with the professional aspect, I have also received personal development as a result of this project from a social standpoint. Although chatting with my nonna Maria is not something unusual for me, speaking to her in an interview-style manner about her history has made me learn patience. Being patient during conversation is an important life skill to have as sometimes individuals like Maria have a hard time remembering words, places, and people, or have an accent or language barrier. Further, learning about a person’s history and hardships provides insight into what makes them who they are which sometimes requires patience. For example, Maria is very headstrong but as I have now learned, she is used to being independent and having to rely on her own resources. Coming to Canada at a young age, newly wedded, and leaving family behind is an incredibly difficult journey to face and figure out on your own in a new country. Patience is thus needed to be personable with others and understand what they have been through.
Gallery
Bibliography
All photographs included have been approved for sharing from the private collections of Maria Santesso.
Agostinelli, G. Strings Attached. ONTennis. 2020.
Bapsi, S. Two Way Culture Shock. Landscapes of Writings: Collected Essays by Bapsi Sidhwa. 2019. pp. 61-64.
Santesso, Alexandra. “HUMN*3800 and the Italian Heritage Project: Interview of Maria S.” YouTube, 4 November 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi-gP0KVHmQ; access at Italian Communities in Canada: Heritage, Cultural, and Ethnographic Studies as of November 2024.
Santesso, Alexandra. “Building a Legacy of Life, Family, and Soccer in Canada; The Story of John and Maria Santesso.” In Italian Communities in Canada: Heritage, Cultural and Ethnographic
Studies, suprv. Teresa Russo. University of Guelph: 4 November 2024, Guelph (academic
poster, www.italianheritage.ca).
How to Cite this Page
Santesso, Alexandra. “Building a Legacy of Life, Family, and Soccer in Canada; The Story of John and Maria Santesso.” In Italian Communities in Canada: Heritage, Cultural and Ethnographic Studies, suprv. Teresa Russo. University of Guelph, 4 November 2024, Niagara Falls