Close-up of my grandmother, 1919 New Year's celebration.

Happy 2019 New Year from 1919 by da-AL

Posted on by da-AL
vintage photo from Argentina of a New Year's celebration
1919 New Year’s, my grandmother celebrating with friends and family. Abuela sits in the middle with flowers in her hair.

A lovely cousin recently gave me a copy of this photo of my grandmother, Julia Vaccaro who was an Italian-Argentine of Buenos Aires — ringing in 1919 with family and friends! Like the United States and so many other places, Argentina is a country of immigrants.

My grandmother's mother, dressed in a dark dress, stands in the middle.
My grandmother’s mother, Rosa, dressed in a dark dress, stands in the middle.

It fascinates me to see such an old photo where everyone appears relaxed and candid. The man who’s wearing pajamas in the tree — did he just wake from a nap in what could be a hammock to his left? Is the woman below worried he’ll fall or does she think he’s crazy? At the bottom, the man toasting looks comfy in his socks. That young boy who seems to have skinned his face is my cousin’s dad. The large woman in the dark dress is my great grandmother. Whatever the woman told the flapper in the middle, it’s given her pause for thought…

Close-up of my grandmother, 1919 New Year's celebration.
Close-up of my grandmother, 1919 New Year’s celebration.

Wishing each of you, dear readers, a New Year filled with joy, vibrancy, love, and good fortune!

With optimism and love,

da-Al

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Published by da-AL

Happiness Between Tails speaks to and from the heart. It connects lovers — of pets, authors, books — and of my still-unreleased novels, “Flamenco + the Sitting Cat” and “Tango + the Sitting Cat.” The stories are my love letters to all who fear they're too odd, too damaged, too old, too whatever to find happiness. ContactdaAL@gmail.com • BuyMeACoffee.com/SupportHBT

43 thoughts on “Happy 2019 New Year from 1919 by da-AL”

  3. Buon girono e Buone feste per te, cara amica. I am glad that you pay homage to your unique and marvellous Italian-American roots by posting a picture of “la Nonna” like she must have been called in those days. Her rounded, slightly riddled face that attempts to smile speaks a lot to us. She was a descendant of the first wave of poor Italians that started arriving in the River Plate in 1880, called by the government of Julio Rocca to populate the vast, fertile Pampas plains. Even though many of them became farmers, some remained in the big, wealthy city of Buenos Aires to work as handymen, seamstresses, police officers, trash collectors, tailors, bakers, delivery men, maids, etc. Thanks to them the city became more clean and hospitable. My relatives arrived from Piemonte and Campania around that time and had to slog through their duties. But they instilled in us a great sense of entrepreneurship and labor that has propelled us higher in the social pecking order. That woman was tired of her outside-inside the house chores but she made an effort to smile. Grazie Nonna Julia! By the way, when are you going to start learning Italian, dear? It is never too late. I started at 40 years old when I was in Columbia University, studying for my Doctoral thesis about the Health Care Reform in the Regione Veneto. Let me also tell you also that yesterday I put a blog where I specifically thank you for making me work harder when you inspired the sub-section “a nugget of Wisdom.” Women. Please read it and comment it, if you like it. Say hello to your tango companion and the baby in the house.
    Un baccione. Arrivvederci!

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