The Trenton Times published the following article on February 18, 2013. To read the full article, click here.
Documentary by TCNJ professor chronicles transformation of Trenton’s Chambersburg neighborhood
By David Karas/The Times
on February 18, 2013 at 10:50 AM, updated February 18, 2013 at 10:54 AMTRENTON – Chambersburg used to be a neighborhood that was called home by Italian immigrants seeking to start a new life. Eateries, bakeries and cannoli were commonplace, and a close-knit community emerged.
Today, elements of that same atmosphere remain, just with a different international flavor. While some of the neighborhood’s newest residents hail from Guatemala, Costa Rico, Ecuador and other Latin American countries, they share many of the same characteristics of their predecessors.
It was this transformation that piqued the interest of Susan Ryan, a filmmaker and professor of film and documentary studies at The College of New Jersey, who decided to make the ‘Burg’s history the subject of her latest film.
“I was very interested in the process of how a neighborhood changes,” said Ryan. “I really wanted to understand more about what it is that is so special to so many people about Chambersburg.”
From the ‘Burg to the Barrio’ is a 45-minute film that highlights the changing landscape of the city’s historic “Little Italy” neighborhood from its roots to the present day, paying particular attention to the transformation of the cultural setting as the population has shifted.
What Ryan discovered is that the neighborhood has long served as a sort of first step for recent immigrants to the United States. Whether it is being within walking distance of work opportunities, taking advantage of the richness of a community environment or the chance to find affordable housing and open local businesses, something pulls in new residents.
“I hope that I have been able to show not only the differences between what much of the Italian community remembers of Chambersburg, but also a lot of the similarities that they share with the newer residents in terms of their interests in family, food, and work, and religion,” said Ryan.
From street festivals to community meetings with Trenton police officials, English as a second language classrooms to bakeries, the film takes viewers throughout the historic neighborhood, interviewing residents and business owners to paint a picture of how the neighborhood has changed, and how it has stayed the same.
While some of the historic mainstay eateries have closed their doors, others remain open and continue to serve the same customers who attended their grand-opening celebrations.
Some have also changed hands from owners of Italian heritage to those from Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala or other Latin American countries. With the shift has come a change in the types of food offered, now catering to the evolving Latino population in the neighborhood.
The piece also captures the reaction of a previous generation of immigrants — primarily Italian individuals and families — to a new group that has brought with them a different language and culture.
“One of the most surprising things that I learned was that in the beginning, the Italians weren’t always welcomed in Chambersburg and were criticized in many of the same ways that the Latinos are today,” said Ryan. “For example, they were criticized for having too many people living in a single house, and for bringing crime into the neighborhood, similar to the complaints that you hear today about the Latinos.”
Using archival photos, the film also presents images of the origins of Chambersburg as it evolved to serve as Trenton’s restaurant district, even drawing celebrities and movie stars from New York City to grab a dinner or early evening snack.
Ryan began thinking about the film several years ago with a colleague, Rachel Adler, a coproducer of the film and associate professor of sociology at TCNJ. Adler’s work, Ryan said, has focused on researching ethnic neighborhood change in cities across the country — in particular, the evolution of Trenton’s “Little Italy” to a haven for South and Central American immigrants.
Over the last four years, Ryan shot the film and conducted interviews with the help of current and former TCNJ students. She credited their assistance in putting together a film covering such a broad period of history.
It took a while to whittle down the more than 40 hours of footage to a mere 45 minutes, Ryan said, but the process revealed some interesting observations about the progression of the neighborhood.
The film will be shown in its entirety during the “Jersey Fresh” screening of the New Jersey Film Festival featuring filmmakers from the state, on Friday Feb. 22 from 7-9 p.m. in Voorhees Hall, at 71 Hamilton St. on New Brunswick’s Rutgers University campus. Tickets are $10 for the general public and $9 for senior citizens and students.
Here is the link to the “From the ‘Burg to the Barrio” trailer:
Contact David Karas at dkaras@njtimes.com.