The Calabrian Community and Its Cultural Practices

Abstract

In this chapter the focus moves from general perceptions of being Italian to specific cultural sites and practices. These are sites where participating in the life of ‘being an Italian in Australia’ are manifested. I chose the sites reported specifically by the participants—such as Calabrian community clubs and events, stores and businesses, and regional feste (festivals)—where a linguistic and cultural landscape might be perceived, created and recreated as ‘ethnic’ across the three generations. A cultural and linguistic space, often understood by the participants as ‘Calabrian’, is observed together with its common sense made by the shared practices of those who claim to belong to such a group. The cultural sites of ethnicity show the practices that are retained over time and how they are interpreted—modified diachronically and creatively—in interaction with the dominant society in Australia.