Watching the Gallo family converse in their native tongue is like watching a stage show, but you quickly realize language is a very important connection from one generation to the other.
“My dad always told me the more languages you know the more friends you will have. He was right,” said Maryda Nicole Gallo, who speaks three languages.
Gallo was born and raised in Italy but now makes her home in Utah. She is a successful linguist, communication specialist, television talent, and proud parent.
Seated in the living room of their Salt Lake City residence, Maryda Gallo chats with her 23 year-old son while her mother chimes in whenever she sees fit. It’s a peppy back and forth Italian that catches visitors by surprise. That’s how it was for her son’s school friends each time they visited.
“My son David would receive his instructions from my mother and I only in Italian. His friends listened intently to the exchanges until the Italian stopped. Then this line of three or four eight year-olds would turn their heads in unison to my son for the interpretation. It was like a little one act theater play,” said Gallo with a reflective smile.
It’s a mix of old school and contemporary when you visit the Gallo residence and are invited to take a seat in the kitchen area. It’s Maryda’s mother Clelia who runs that department.
“Of course my mother loves to cook. I realize it helps define her and this goes back to Italy. We love her cooking and we love her,” said Gallo.
Clelia’s kitchen is a big, open place where food is prepared and guests gather. Also, free Italian language lessons have been given to anyone who wants to visit. Clelia has been widowed since 2002 and does not speak English. In a way her food speaks for her. She’s known for making certain no one goes home hungry. It feels like a restaurant and it feels like home.
The Gallo family stays connected to their homeland 6,000 miles away, holding onto their heritage and culture. A big screen television flashes scenes of Italy on the Italian channel.
“Social media are wonderful. We Skype our friends and family often. It’s fun but difficult seeing their faces and not being able to be there. But our hearts are with them,” said Gallo.
For Gallo the language push started in Italy from her earliest years. Both parents spoke Italian at home but urged her to look at the bigger picture. They enrolled her in Liceo Linguistico Internazionale in Bologna, Italy.
“This school emphasized languages and this is where I learned English and French, and where I was introduced to German and Latin. It was challenging yet rewarding. This specialized school brought out the passion I now have for languages,” said Gallo.
From this strong language foundation she has parlayed an exciting career across a number of important fields. She moved to the United States in the 1980’s, enrolled at a community college and started an Italian TV show while pursuing her first undergraduate degree. She acquired US citizenship in 2004, worked in the dental industry as a lecture series organizer and company representative.
Gallo did important public relations work in Salt Lake City during the 2002 Olympic Winter Games for the Italian and American organizing committees. Soon she was a member of the Sister Cities organization as the Torino representative. In this capacity she brought an art show called Torino Over to Salt Lake City that created a lot of buzz for its cutting edge approach to art. Marriage and a baby added to her life and she didn’t slow down a bit.
“She may be small in stature but she’s a pillar in the Italian community. Having been born in Italy she has that deep love for her culture. As a working single mom she raised her son to be fluent in Italian. She has furthered her education in America. Yet she still has time to be a very active volunteer worker for the Italian community,” said Jinger LaGuardia, Founder of Utah Ferragosto.
Growing up in Italy also gave Gallo a stark view of politics. The turmoil of the Red Brigades was disheartening even though she was quite young. On the other hand, Italian politics taught her to protect historical sites, appreciate art, food and culture. In the US she has managed to be involved with the world of politics but from a distance.
She worked on a congressional political campaign and collaborated with Salt Lake City and County Mayors on a number of key community issues. Gallo and her son traveled to Italy in 2009 bearing gifts and ideas from Salt Lake City to Torino and then Mayor Sergio Chiamparino.
“Politics is the art of listening, learning, and getting along. It sounds simple but it works. Politics is the attempt to see both sides. I stay involved but don’t jump into the ring,” Gallo said.
At a recent meeting with officials in the Utah Office of Tourism, Gallo showed another of her talents while discussing marketing, social media, and upcoming projects. Maryda briefed the group on her work with the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area (MPNHA) and the Discovery Road television project.
“She is the communications director for the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area. She is responsible for wide-ranging activities, including media and press relations, coordination with the Utah Office of Travel, Alliance of National Heritage Areas, National Park Service and other governmental entities. Her current emphasis centers on social media. She does an outstanding job,” said Monte Bona, executive director of the MPNHA.
Gallo plays a pivotal role in the tourism and destination marketing of Utah. When heritage groups from around America gathered in central Utah last year, Gallo was there. She made sure they saw the state and national parks and answered their wide range of questions about polygamy, movies, skiing, and Mormons.
“We want people from around the world to visit Utah. You have to know what is trending and be ready to respond. ‘Life Elevated’ is the perfect slogan for what the state is telling the world. I enjoy this work,” Gallo said.
In Kanab, Utah, a tourist bus rolls to a stop. “Benvenuti in Utah!” says Maryda welcoming the Italian – but also French, German, and other – tourists as they step into the town where western movies were made famous.
“They love out here. They come here to see where John Wayne rode horses and where those gunfights took place. It’s an incredible connection for them,” said Gallo.
Gallo is co-host of a television show called Discovery Road, which featured an episode on international tourists visiting southern Utah. It gave her a chance to use her language skills while showcasing the iconic western culture where she now lives. Just like great Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone, who made movies with his own style of entertainment but always respecting the American West.
It also took her back to Italy, to her youth and lessons learned from her late father, Attilio.
“My dad would often tell me we are going to see a western movie. It was a time when English was the preferred language and America the place to know about. Those movies helped me learn the language. The language has brought me many friends, ” smiled Gallo.
Maryda Nicole Gallo is not making movies for the silver screen but you might say she is directing a pretty interesting life called once upon a time in the west.
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