Carla Rotondo talks to Michael Giacon about his kiwi-Italian upbringing and identity. Michael is a poet, songwriter, performer and former senior lecturer. He was born in Auckland in the ’50s in a large Italian-Pākehā family. His father Luigi was from Montebelluna in Veneto and his mother Mary was from Napier, where they met in the aftermath of the earthquake. His father arrived in NZ in 1928, aged 18 and shortly after started the Terrazzo flooring trade, which still continues today as a well-known family business. Michael grew up in Herne Bay, the youngest of five children, in a house with terrazzo floors and murals built by his father, that was also the center of the Italian and expat community of that time. To convey some of his emotions, Michael read from his book “Undressing in slow motion” recollections about love and loss: his childhood memories of the Italian Club in the ‘60s, the glamour of the Sunday night club gatherings, the singers and film stars of the time….a mix of sadness and wonder, evocative of a time and people all gone.

Per il supporto alla realizzazione di questo programma Ondazzurra ringrazia l’Ambasciata d’Italia a Wellington, https://ambwellington.esteri.it/en/ che promuove la lingua e cultura italiana in Nuova Zelanda, e il Ministry for Ethnic Communities che promuove la diversità ed inclusione in Aotearoa. https://www.ethniccommunities.govt.nz/