Help Us Preserve 45 Years of Italian Folk Music, Dance & the Black Madonna Tradition

I Giullari di Piazza — the only professional Italian folk music, dance, and theater company in the U.S. — is celebrating its 45th anniversary. After an oversold-out retrospective at NYU’s Casa Italiana and major new awards, we now need your help to preserve this living cultural treasure.

From Artistic Director Alessandra Belloni:

Dear friends and supporters around the world,

I am writing to invite you to celebrate and support a truly special milestone — the 45th anniversary of I Giullari di Piazza (The Players in the Square), the Italian Folk Music, Theater & Dance Company I co-founded with composer and guitarist John T. La Barbera in 1980. We are still honored to serve as artists-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

This year has already been filled with profound blessings. On November 24th, at NYU’s Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò, we presented our 45-year retrospective, FROM GREENWICH VILLAGE TO THE CATHEDRAL — a program that was so well received it became oversold-out, with an audience full of emotion, enthusiasm, and longtime supporters. (see some photos here)

We were deeply honored by the presence of former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was part of our organization in the 1980s and 90s. His heartfelt speech reflected on how I Giullari di Piazza shaped his life when he first met us in 1985, and reaffirmed the importance of preserving Italian folk music, dance, and sacred traditions in the United States.

We also welcomed our first mentor and former Board Chairman, Professor Luigi Ballerini, presented by Prof. Stefano Albertini, Director of Casa Italiana — whose continued mentorship is a gift.

The response to this retrospective reinforced what many have told us for years: our company is a vital cultural, artistic, and spiritual bridge, serving Italians, Italian-Americans, scholars, musicians, and communities across the U.S. and around the world.

YEAR END IN-PERSON FUNDRAISER — JANUARY 4th at LUNELLA' S RESTAURANT - & Christmas concert December 20 at the Italian American Museum in Little Italy New York City.

We continue our anniversary celebrations on January 4th at Lunella’s Restaurant with a special dinner and fundraiser.

We will perform excerpts from our beloved Christmas folk opera LA CANTATA DEI PASTORI, featuring LA BEFANA, the Good Christmas Witch — a rare theatrical tradition still performed annually in Naples and Sicily.

This event is crucial to sustaining our work and launching the next phase of the Retrospective as a feature documentary film.

There will be special honoree guests to be announced, and great Italian food and wine. LINK COMING SOON

tickets for the CANTATA DI NATALE CHRISTMAS SHOW HERE:

OUR NEED FOR SUPPORT NOW

Your past support has been essential in helping us keep alive the ancient Southern Italian traditions of:

● Italian folk music, dance and drumming

● healing trance dances

● traditional ritual theater and mystery plays

● pilgrimages to the sacred sites of the Black Madonna in Southern Italy

● Documentary film "MUSICAL JOURNEYS WITH THE BLACK MADONNA IN SOUTHERN ITALY,” winner of two film festivals.

These traditions are not simply performances — they are powerful, embodied rituals of healing for body and spirit.

However, ticket revenue alone cannot sustain our work.

Due to political budget cuts at federal and state levels, several of our most critical public grant sources are no longer available. Meanwhile, operating costs for artists, technicians, and administrative support continue to rise.

To continue this work into 2026 and beyond, we urgently need your support.

I Giullari di Piazza is a 501(c)(3); your gift is tax-deductible.

Rising costs and the loss of several public arts grants have put our work at risk.

We must raise $7,000 by the end of 2025 to:

● Pay production expenses and adequate Artist fees for our Christmas performances December 20 at the Italian American Museum and January 4th at LUNELLA’s.

• Digitize our entire archive of photos, videos, music scores, posters, playbills, and recordings (vinyl, cassettes, CDs)

● Produce our 45 years retrospective and Power Point into a feature documentary

“From Greenwich Village to the Cathedral — A 45-Year Journey of Southern Italian Folk Magic in New York City.”

● Support fees for artists, crew, classes, and new productions

● Fund pilgrimages, workshops, and education programs in the US and in Italy

● Our magnum opus: establishing an Italian Folkloric School & Black Madonna Mystery School, offering 3- to 6-month Teacher Training Certification, ensuring this lineage continues to future generations.

• Create a series of films dedicated to our folk operas and theatrical productions

Your donation helps to keep Southern Italy’s healing traditions, sacred rhythms, and folk theater alive for future generations.

Please donate and share — help us keep this powerful cultural lineage thriving and sustain our artists.

OUR GOAL

We need to raise $7,000 by the end of 2025 to:

I Giullari di Piazza is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your donation is tax-deductible.

(Per IRS rules, no perks or giveaways can be offered.)

Please give what you can, and share this campaign widely. Together, we can preserve the sacred artistic lineage of Southern Italy’s music, dance, theater, and the powerful traditions of the Black Madonna.

With deep gratitude and blessings,

Alessandra Belloni & John T. La Barbera

I Giullari di Piazza

www.alessandrabelloni.com

Instagram: @belloni.alessandra

Facebook: facebook.com/alessandrabelloni

NOTE: Alessandra Belloni received the Lifetime Achievement New Jersey Heritage Fellowship Folk & Traditional Artist Award in 202

RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS

• The feature-length documentary Musical Journeys with the Black Madonna in Southern Italy premiered at NYU Casa Italiana on February 6, 2025

→ Winner of Best Documentary Feature at the HER VISION Film Festival and Documentaries Without Borders

→ Screened at Italian Charities of America, Bronx Music Heritage Center, and Regents University (London, UK) among others

• New production at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine:

“Mystic Rhythms and Sacred Chants for the Black Madonna” — met with critical acclaim

AWARDS (2024-2025)

• 2025 Italian Arts Award from the Italian Teachers of America

• Renaissance Award for Lifetime Achievement (Italian Charities of America)

• Lifetime Achievement New Jersey Heritage Fellowship (Folk & Traditional Arts)

• Alessandra featured in PBS’s Dream of Italy, narrated by Marisa Tomei

Alessandra Belloni's books:

John La Barbera's books:

For more information, check out www.alessandrabelloni.com

instagram Bellon-Alessandra

Facebook: www.facebook.com/alessandrabelloni54