It’s the noise that gets you first. There are police vehicles blocking streets, people milling about, and more Ferraris than you might see on a rainy winter’s day in Monaco. So what’s going on? The clues are there for all to see. It’s Columbus Day in Chicago.
This is not a long article, but an impromptu opportunity to take pictures. Thankfully, I had my Leica Q3 28 with me. A quick change to the “Street” profile, and I could shoot away without too much distracting thought about settings. It’s occasions like this when I can leap for joy like Piglet at how good this camera is.
Italian flags are everywhere. There are more Vespas than you would see on a Bank Holiday Monday on Brighton’s promenade in the 1960s. And there are characters galore.
For a brief piece of history, children are taught that, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue” and discovered America in the process. None of this is actually true. The Atlantic is rarely blue — more a brooding metallic grey, and it’s more likely that the first western discoverer of North America was Leif Erikson, who is believed to have arrived 500 years earlier. Not that 500 years should get in the way of a celebration and a good story.
In Chicago at least, Italian-Americans have adopted Columbus Day as their own and celebrate it enthusiastically, noting that Columbus came from the port city of Genoa.
Floats are on the move and celebrating
The parade starts on Wacker Drive, which is a bit like the inner beltway for Chicago, running almost parallel to the river. There a floats galore with representation from Italian-American neighbourhoods around the city.
It might be a cliché, but Italians know how to enjoy themselves and celebrate. The following is the equivalent of an “Antipasto Misto” of shots I took that day.
Smile for the camera and wave
Dignities, mayors, and TV personalities are packed in open-top cars. A band plays on. A vintage police car keeps a watchful eye, and then the characters in cars all follow along.
When your hairdresser is Italian
And my favourite set from the old-fashioned photo booth:
They will all be back next year, trust me. And it will be noisier and more colourful than ever. Let’s hope the same set of characters come back for an encore. “Auguri! Ci vediamo l’anno prossimo.”
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Jon
Thank you for posting this colourful Italian themed article. As the owner of two Italian cars, a Fiat Panda and an Alfa Romeo Giulia, I was able to engage in a bit of Italian car spotting. I identified three models and the Alfa 4C is to me the most distinctive. With the upheaval in the European car market, one hopes the Alfa Romeo brand survives. Alfas are certainly fun to drive.
Chris