Diversity is Canada’s Strength – art and culture series: Giorgia Fumanti

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Transcript: “Diversity is Canada’s Strength – art and culture series: Giorgia Fumanti”

Video length: 02:42 minutes

Red maple leaves fall against a white background.

Text displays : "Diversity is Canada’s Strength – Arts and Culture Series".

A woman sings "O Canada" while standing at a podium beside a man wearing a judicial robe.

She speaks while sitting outside in a courtyard water garden.

Text displays : "Ritz-Carlton Montréal Hotel - Giorgia Fumanti – New Canadian Citizen".

Narrator: I was born and raised in Italy. I never would have thought that I would one day come to Canada. I discovered my voice at age 17. I didn’t want to be a singer, but I discovered this voice, a voice bigger than… than my heart.

She sings on a professional stage backed by an orchestra.

(Excerpt from a song)

Narrator: I met my manager at age 27. And my manager became my husband. And he arrived in Canada at two years old.

She speaks while sitting outside in a courtyard water garden.

Narrator: When I became a mom for the first time seven years ago, it was then that I truly understood the significance of Canada, the significance of the community where I live here in Quebec. And it is here that I decided to give birth to my first child even though my mother was in Italy.

She sits at a table and sifts through various family photos.

She speaks while sitting outside in a courtyard water garden.

Narrator: And I also discovered a city very… that is very similar to France. But at the same time, we’re in America.

So we have French, English and... the immigrants, all maintaining their language. Personally, I love this multi… multi… this multiethnic pool. And my music is like that. I have a classical voice, but I sing everything that touches my heart. I sing in Chinese when I am in China, in Indian, in French, in English. Personally, I believe that languages are different ways of expressing our heart.

She sings on a professional stage backed by an orchestra and sharing the spotlight with a flutist.

(Excerpt from a song)

Narrator: I think here you can really create everything you have in your heart.

She speaks while sitting outside in a courtyard water garden.

Narrator: Sure, you’ve got to stay firmly rooted in... inside and also be open to outside. Of course languages can be difficult in the beginning. The accent... which never goes away... But there has to be a lot of respect for the place we are coming to. That’s why I think of it as entering someone’s home. There has to be respect.

She stands with a man in a suit, a man and a woman wearing judicial robes and a woman in an RCMP dress uniform. A woman takes their picture with her smartphone against a background of a Canadian flag and a display that reads : "Unity in diversity". She holds a small Canadian flag.

Narrator: And I find here that the immigrants are being given a magnificent welcome, but there must also be respect for the people here before us.

Fade to Black.

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada corporate signature and the copyright message “Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 2016” are displayed followed by the Canada wordmark.

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