People ask, "Hey, Rocky, what were you doing at a Mercadante family reunion?"  It's an epic story, actually, spanning 130 years.

In Lucca, Sicily, on October 15th, 1881, Tommaso Mercadante married Francesca Musso.  They struggled for fifteen years before word trickled back to Tommaso about opportunities in America.  In 1897, he sailed from Palermo to New Orleans aboard the S.S. Montebello, bringing his oldest daughter, Lucia. 

Tommaso soon found work cutting sugar cane in Lousiana.  He sent for Francesca and their four other children - Antonia, Paolo, Carmelo and Maria. 

The twentieth century began with the unification of two storied lineages, when Lucia Mercadante married Salvatore Petralia on February 10, 1900.  The young power couple moved to Florida, where they eventually were joined by Tommaso, Francesca and the rest of the family.  Sometime during WWI, the entire clan, including married children and grandchildren, moved to southern California.  They settled in San Bernardino, saying it reminded them of the Sicilian countryside. 

Lucia and Salvatore had a son, Giosue.  People called him Joe.  My sisters and I called him Grampa.  Joe gave the world Sam Petralia.  Sam gave the world me.  Later, he gave me his '68 Mustang.  Petralias are givers.


So when we heard through the sangiovese grapevine about the Mercadante "Cousin's Party 2009" in nearby Fullerton, we said, "va bene!"

Noted restauranteurs Tony and Pat Florentine hosted the party (Tony is descended from Lucia Mecadante Petralia's younger sister, Antonia Mercadante).  To everyone's delight, the Florentine's catered their own party:


The lively crowd included molto surnames, including Trozeras, Cannellas, Pattons, Kimballs - even an odd Costanza or two.  Under the hot sun everybody enjoyed cool drinks with warm friends:


Other than my sisters and my aunt Judy, the only other Petralia encountered was Angie Petralia, pictured here with her recently wed husband:


We couldn't nail down exactly how we are related due to some murky record keeping (possibly intentional - you do what you gotta do) by the Petralia side of the family.  Nonetheless, she is a welcome addition not to be messed with since, as the old schoolers say, she's "a friend of ours."

Epiphany - San Bernardino seems a lot more inviting when you appreciate its similarity to the Sicilian countryside.  It reminds you of what America is: the best of the rest of the world with the added bonuses of Freedom and Opportunity.  Maria Mercadante Trozera penned her life history in 1969.  Recalling the house her parents (Tomasso and Francesca) built on 9th Street in San Bernardino, Maria writes:

There was a big walnut tree in the backyard and in the summertime they would set a table and eat outdoors in the shade of the tree.

Happiness isn't complicated.