All posts by Jana

Administrative Assistant to the Chief

Learn Italian, the Il Volo way!

Hello my friends!

NIAF/Ann
NIAF/Ann

Well, with any luck (and lots of voting) Il Volo will be coming to Vegas to join us in the greatest celebration of our lives, in one of the most exciting places on earth!

“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas?”  Well, we might have to break that rule! Lol!

Even though they speak English quite well, we all want to speak to them in THEIR native language – Italian!

I also know that a few of you, maybe more, are planning trips to Italy this year.  So, let me help you and everyone else, learn a little Italian to make our guys feel at home, and you feel comfortable in their home!  Remember… “when in Rome….”  Ok, maybe literally!

I say the “Il Volo” way, because I’d like to zone in and target certain words and phrases that we are most familiar with that we hear them singing in their songs, as well as in their many interviews.  I plan to first dissect a few of their songs – of course we all know “grand amore” is big/grande love.  We probably know more Italian than we think we do.  I’ll start with basic common words we likely already know, to gain an instant familiarity, then throw in some we don’t know, taking other words – both nouns and verbs, as well as other parts of speech, from the songs and interviews.  Of course, I will have to throw in some grammar and basic pronunciation, and even some games – have to make learning fun!  Since we’ve listened to them, most of us probably have a good basis for pronunciation, however, I know from my personal experience, the words and how they pronounce them are not always how we think they should be spelled!

What will be a bit fun, is that I will be learning right along with you!  I had 4 years of Spanish in high school and a short refresher in college, but that was MANY years ago.  Although, I remember much more than I thought I would, I don’t remember everything.  If you are at all familiar with Spanish, you will recognize that Italian is actually very similar.  Many words and verbs are the same, or almost identical, except for a few letters different here and there.

I know there are some of you out there that are Italian and speak Italian, so feel free to add your “2 cents worth,” or correct me, at any time!

So, stroll along with me, down the Appian Way, and learn Italian – the Il Volo way!

Ciao, for now!

Jana

If you love something, set it free…

If you love something set it free, if it comes back to you, it was meant to be. We’ve all heard this quote, or variations thereof, many times and it means different things to different people.

s - feb 5.15 (4)

I’ve been following the announcements of Il Volo’s various concerts around Italy and a really sad and scary thought came to mind – Il Volo may not be coming to the US at all this year? I know we are all hoping it is not so and maybe they’ll squeeze North and South America into October & November, but what if they don’t come back to the US this year, even though they said they would? But, isn’t this what we wanted for them? To finally get recognized in their own country? Il Volo is living their dream right now, being mobbed by Italian fans in every city they travel to.

i - rec ambassadore

So, we can’t be begrudging them their happiness right now. It’s time we set them free to live their lives as Il Volo and not just “our” guys – for they are the “world’s” guys, now! It’s like we were their adoptive parents that nurtured, encouraged, and watched them grow into the men they are today. But even though we gave them all of our love, it just wasn’t enough. There was still something missing in their lives. We all knew what it was – they wanted to find their real parents. In saying this, their real parents are Italy! Now they have found their real parents and we are feeling like we have been abandoned; that they don’t care about us anymore and will forget about us with their instant fame and fortune. But it’s not really instant, they have been working hard for over five long years, leaving their real families and friends behind to do what they love. They’ve finally found the love they were missing – love from their homeland, Italy. But don’t worry, they will not forget us. We may not see them as often as we’d like, but they will be back to visit. They just have more people to visit now. And think of this, there are many countries who love them and they have never even been to those countries! We have to learn to share them with the world…

I just finished watching the Porta a Porta show (great, if you haven’t seen it yet!) and they did admit that they were experiencing now the “price” of fame – they have now really lost their privacy! No longer are they invisible walking down the street!

We really are so fortunate today, living in this high-tech world with social media. They are literally at our fingertips whenever we want to see them, be it FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, or the countless videos and interviews that have been uploaded onto You Tube! No, it’s not the same as being there, but it’s pretty close…and of course we have their music everywhere we go, our iPods, at work, in the car, or anywhere else!

In less than three months, they will be competing for Eurovision. As proud parents, we will cheer them on until our voices get hoarse! Of course we want the best for them – we want them to win! Even though their winning may take them away from us even more? Yes! Because they’ve worked hard and they deserve it. And if they don’t win? We’ll be right there to catch them when they fall. Of course, I did just read somewhere recently, can’t really remember though, that the bookies, once again, have Il Volo winning Eurovision! Although by a slim margin, they did win Sanremo and the bookies were right!
a - sanremo win

So, as cliché as this might sound, our guys, the “world’s guys,” are flying high right now. This is what they wanted. As parents, we always want our children to achieve their goals and be happy. We should be happy for them right now, and not feeling sorry for ourselves if they might not come back to the US this year.

…if it comes back to you, it was meant to be. Don’t worry, Il Volovers – they will be back; because it’s meant to be! They may be somewhat out of sight, but never out of mind!

Pensively…

Jana

Revised: Vote for Il Volo for Eurovision 2015

So sorry, forgot to add the link…

Click here —> Vote For Il Volo as Your Favorite Act

 

 

Eurovision 2015 Logo
Eurovision 2015 Logo

 

vota!! vota vota vota! You can vote more than once. If every one of my friends on here votes just twice, it will land them in 2nd place! Right now they are tied for 3rd!!

Vota!! Vota vota vota! È possibile votare più di una volta. Se tutti i miei amici di qui voti solo due volte, si fanno in 2° posto! Adesso sono legati per 3rd!!

Vota!” ! Vota vota vota! Es posible votar más de una vez. Si todos mis amigos de aquí votos sólo dos veces, se hacen en 2° puesto! Ahora están vinculados por 3RD!

 

Some say they can’t vote more than once, but I and several others were.  So give it a try.  Don’t believe the picture above, it is from a few hours ago.  At present, 11:18pm EST Il Volo is in 3rd place with 744 votes.  First place is 1501 and no one seems to be voting for her right now.  I’ve watched the Il Volo numbers go from low 700s to this!!

This voting ends tomorrow, but didn’t notice a time?

 

Don’t know how “critical” this voting is, but you never know!  Looks like the guys are already on their way to Vienna to check things out after their trip to Abu Dhabi!

Ok, all Il Volovers – let’s vote!

 

jana

Welcome Home Ignazio, and Congratulations!

i - rec ambassadore marsala

After many months of wondering if Marsala would honor Ignazio, as the other cities have honored Piero and Gianluca, the day had finally come for Ignazio! Marsala bestowed upon him the honor of “Ambassador of Marsala in the World!” on February 16 at approximately 17 hundred hours, which is about 5:00pm Marsala time. The ceremony lasted about 45 minutes…and due to the small space where the ceremony took place, the city had staged a “maxischermo” outside of the municipal building, since not everyone could fit inside.

There are several videos floating around out there, but my favorite one has to be the one where he is on the stage in the city and all the townsfolk are there and he is singing Grande Amore and the crowd is singing with him. The crowd is quite good and they already know most of the words to Grande Amore in just a few short days. Then, Ignazio, is Ignazio, gently correcting the crowd on some of their misdirected words and pronunciations! When he is finished, the crowd cheers. I believe his mother was on stage with him, as at one point I think I heard him say “mama” during the refrain of Grande Amore.

 

Of course, everyone in the city is so proud of Ignazio, their Prince, and now Ambassador! Everyone at home, and around the world, is proud of him, as well as Piero and Gianluca. They are such beautiful souls with grounded thoughts and values. Such a rare thing in this world today!

 

At last Ignazio has received the accolades and honor of his hometown. But was it too much, too late? If it was, he certainly didn’t portray any of those feelings. He seemed very happy in all of the pictures and videos, and why not? They are flying so high right now, let’s hope they don’t come down for a long, long, time!

 

Wishing you the best…

 

Jana

Grande Amore – the wait is over! ~~ By Jana

a - jana

 

We knew it was coming, but when would that be?

We waited, and waited, then shouted with glee!

It was coming soon, but not til after Sanremo;

How long could I last, without a new song from Il Volo?

 

We then heard the news, it was on Amazon.IT!

There I went with my visa, to order it quickly!

I wanted it now, so express shipping I paid;

Hoping and praying, it would not be delayed!

 

Three weeks and counting, how much more can I bear?

I kept watch on my email, when would it be there?

The contest had started and Il Volo appeared;

Singing their hearts out, while everyone cheered!

 

But on Friday the 13th, not bad luck for me,

I read in my mail; the CD would be early!

I jumped up and down, how lucky am I?

I’ll have it soon in my hands; I could just cry.

 

The day finally came, it was arriving today;

I waited and paced, for the delivery all day.

I tracked it online, it came straight from Milan.

On to Bergamo and Brussells, then finally MY town!

 

I raced home to get it, but it was not there?

DHL had not come yet – how much more could I bear?

I went to the store, to pick up my dinner.

They had til 8pm, then there was a knock at my door!

 

It was here, finally, at last, it was here!

I’m sorry, but I could not wait to open it, I fear.

I quickly took pictures and then opened it with care;

Staring lovingly at my hand, so wishing they were there!

 

I listened and listened, and listened again.

Over and over I played it, I did not want it to end.

But bedtime was coming, I so needed my sleep,

I can listen again tomorrow, for I know it will keep.

 

Il Volo is love, Grand Amore, to be exact!

The heck with all the critics, they are just hacks!

So listen with joy, Il Volovers everywhere;

And know that we give them our tender loving care!

~Jana