WTI Magazine #45    2014 October, 15
Author : Eszter Vajda      Translation by:

"You, Me & Sicily!" is a TV program that sprang from conversations that I had in the winter of 2014 with author/attorney Alfred Zappala in Massachusetts. Alfred has written 3 books (4th one out in December) on Sicily. He also lives and practices law in Catania 7 months of the year. I have been a TV journalist for over 15 years, focusing mostly on politics and international issues. Getting people to bare their soul is my strength.
We soon created EVAZ Media Group with a project called "You, Me & Sicily!" Born in Hungary, and having travelled world-wide, I did not hesitate to come to Sicily for one month to film the project. I've now been here for four months!

We finished the hugely successful production of Season 1, and started shooting Season 2 in September. The episodes run state-wide in Massachusetts on COZI and Retro TV. We also have a robust Facebook Page
and YouTube Channel. Links to episodes here!

Alfred loves Sicily with all its bumps and bruises. Over a 20 year period on the island, Alfred has made many life long friends. As a writer, he knows how to paint a vivid picture with words. As an attorney, he has handled many important international matters for US clients in Italy. I like to explore stories of struggle, oppression, persecution, dig deep and discover what makes people tick. I too have a knack for making new friends and a home anywhere I go.

"You, Me & Sicily!" was a perfect new adventure. According to some historians, it is one of the first "melting pot" in recorded history where the Greeks, Romans, Normans, Byzantines, Arabs, Christians and Jews lived together creating majestic art and rich culture.

Having survived numerous conquerors, Sicilians live life to the fullest with a passion that is contagious. On the east coast the sometimes ferocious, yet giving Mt. Etna, nourishes the soil and soul of its people. On the west coast, Palermo and Trapani fuses the cultures together into beautiful monuments, structures and vistas. Sicily is nestled within the waters of the Ionian, Tyrrhenian and Mediterranean Seas. As Ranzino Barbera wrote "...where He (God) put his lips... that is Sicily!"

We at "You, Me & Sicily!" do not want to deny that the mafia played and still in many ways influences the island. But our goal is to paint a picture of Sicily that highlights its true treasure: its people. One of our most important episodes highlights the Italian Navy's rescue operation of refugees in the Mediterranean Sea called "Mare Nostrum". In another segment we feature Santo Musumeci, the "King of Gelato" in Randazzo and a vineyard at the foot Mount Etna, Gambino Vini in Linguaglossa. In a segment called "Ensuring Sicily's Future", we speak to students, educators, and town leaders about the importance of English in schools and how a group of generous Americans is helping fund classes through a non-profit organization called "The Sicilian Project". In "Sicilian Rebirth!" we meet four Sicilians who are part of the new generation fighting against the old tide. They are trail blazers who passionately fight the stereotypes set on Sicily by the rest of the world.

We call these episodes "points of light", it is our attempt to expose and explore the positive attributes of Sicily, this wondrous Isola de Sole.