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Thursday, March 23, 2023
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(This story by Ciaran Ganley
was published in The
Windsor Star on March 22, 1977. It will be published
on this site as a courtesy of Armando Viselli)
Ever
since he was a youngster in Italy, Armando Viselli had a penchant
for writing. But, after moving to Canada and
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P10877 -
Cast from “La
Passatella”, created and produced by Armando and Carmine
Viselli. Courtesy of Armando Viselli
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raising a family, he had
little time or chance to pursue his goal, until three years ago. |
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| At that time, he saw a movie which was
very moving, and it urged him and his brother, Carmine, to reproduce
something similar, but for radio instead. Armando wrote a tragedy,
in rhyme,
about street gangs in Rome in the 1920s. They hired a couple of guitar
players,
gathered some friends, produced a play and put it on tape. It was broadcast
on WMZK in Detroit, on the Italian Musical Program. |
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From that inconspicuous
beginning, the Viselli brothers now have nine full-length productions
to their credit, dealing with many aspects of the Italian culture
from the experience of Italian immigrants arriving in Canada to
re-enacting the effects of the earthquake that struck Italy last
May. |
P10850 - Carmine and Armando Viselli, Seniors Video and Camera Club,
1994
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“This was our dream,” Carmine,
53, a Windsor barber for the past 25 years, said. “Armando
and I have always |
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| wanted to do something
like this.” They
built a room onto Armando’s house to serve as their recording
studio and had it soundproofed. Piece by piece they accumu1ated and
improved on their equipment. The brothers, who live next door to each
other, now have about $6,000 worth of recording equipment which they
paid for themselves. Armando, 50, a meter-reader with Hydro for 22
years, is the writer, narrator, talent scout, producer and also plays
Uncle Checco. Carmine is the technician. Uncle Checco is a character
that Armando developed to serve as a wise, old man who plays a sage-like
role in many of their productions. |
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“We
needed a character that all the listeners could identify with
and learn from,” Armando said. “Uncle Checco is a
regular character who adds colour to our productions.” The
Visellis have had their work broadcast on several radio and TV
stations in Windsor, London, |
P10871A
- Press Card. Both Carmine and Armando Viselli had these cards
from
the Federazione Mondiale Della Stampa Italiana All’Estero.
The brothers ran a radio show together in Windsor for many years “Armando
and Carmine radio productions”. Courtesy of Armando Viselli
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Toronto,
Detroit and Edmonton. They spend an average of four hours a day,
writing, bouncing ideas back and forth, researching and producing
their programs. “Sometimes we forget our families,” Carmine
said. |
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| Carmine said that the public library has
been extremely helpful to them. It supplies them with music and much
of their information comes from books in the library. They even bought
a set of encyclopedias to help in their research. When they started
out it was difficult to get sponsors to pay for the radio time, Armando
said. Now it only takes one phone call, he added. |
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For
their last production, an in-depth, 7 ½-hour study of
Sicily, which is currently being broadcast on WMZK Detroit,
they had 46 sponsors.
The
brothers don’t receive any pay for their efforts, but
are satisfied with having the radio time paid for by the
sponsors. Carmine and Armando are now |
P10865 - Armando Viselli Photo - Armando and Carmine Viselli, 2002
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members
of the Italian World-Wide Press Federation, and were awarded
the honour from the Italian government in |
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Italy, for their
excellent achievements in Italian radio programming.
When Italy was
struck by an earthquake in May of last year, the Fogolar Furlan
Club asked the brothers to produce a play re-enacting the catastrophe.
Their production brought the reality of the disaster to the awareness
of the Italian community, and stimulated a financial response to
assist the refugees in Italy.
“We try to make the people laugh, and make them cry,” Armando
said. In his quest for authenticity, Armando recalled one instance
when he had to actually choke Carmine’s daughter, Lori, to
make her cry for real.
Lori, 13, a grade nine student at Lowe Tech,
does the voice of Mario, another regular character in their productions.
According to Carmine,
no one has yet been able to tell that the voice of Mario is really
done by a girl. As the brothers develop experience, producing their
programs has become less difficult. “At first, it was very
hard to express and produce our thoughts,” Armando said, “but
now it is getting much easier.” The main emphasis of their
productions has been to “Canadianize” Italians and keep
alive the Italian culture and heritage. “Every day is another
day dedicated to the Italian-Canadian community,” Armando said.
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The
opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada. |
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