Historical Portrait
Francisco Sanfilippo, half-length portrait, photograph
Archive record
Francisco Sanfilippo is in the foreground, unidentified persons are in the background. Photograph caption: "Going back to his cronies on the fishing wharf in the sun." Forms part of a group of field materials documenting Francisco Sanfilippo performing unaccompanied Sicilian songs from Italy on February 11, 1939, collected by Sidney Robertson Cowell in Martinez, California.
About this photograph
The archive record describes Francisco Sanfilippo returning to companions on a Martinez fishing wharf. The photograph was made during a recording session on February 11, 1939, when Sidney Robertson Cowell documented him performing unaccompanied Sicilian songs.
Cowell directed the W.P.A. California Folk Music Project between 1938 and 1940, recording traditional musicians across Northern California's immigrant communities. The project's materials are held by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
The caption notes unidentified persons in the background. The description "going back to his cronies" and the wharf setting suggest Sanfilippo's connection to Martinez's fishing community, though the record does not specify his occupation or circumstances beyond his performance of Italian traditional songs that day.
Compiled from the catalogue record and reference notes on the formats and events involved. The archive record above is the primary source.
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