ITALIAN NOBILITY

THE HISTORY

CRIVELLI ITALIAN SALSA

CRIVELLI ITALIAN SALSA - OAKLAND TRIBUNE NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

Oakland Tribune,

East Bay woman's salsa may be a hot commodity

Apr 30, 2005

Erin Pursell CORRESPONDENT

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Five-hundred years of italian heritage fill the bootle, soon to appear on grocery shelves

ALAMEDA -- Caroline Kennedy was up late one night with her grandmother in Dixon talking about their family's rich Italian and Latino history when the two women headed into the kitchen and started creating all kinds of noise and smells.

CRIVELLI ITALIAN SALSA THE HOUSE WHERE GRANDMA PASSED DOWN HER RECIPE

Half an hour later they had produced a batch of traditional Italian salsa, also known as "chili" to the family, which has passed the recipe down through the generations

GRANDMA ESTELLA CRIVELLI CERVANTYES AND GRANDDAUGTHER CAROLINA

I wanted to remember some recipes so they wouldn't get lost with time," Kennedy said recently in her Alameda apartment.

CRIVELLI ITALIAN SALSA - OAKLAND TRIBUNE PICTURE BY JUSTIN MOTT

CRIVELLI ITALIAN SALSA - CHILI PEPPERS - CHRISTHOPER COLUMBUS

CRIVELLI ITALIAN SALSA - AMERICAN CANCER RESEARCH

The salsa has helped Kennedy not only keep her family's mixed heritage alive, it has helped her economically. Her Crivelli Italian Salsa is headed for mainstream grocery shelves in coming months and each jar will bear an image of Mary Magdalene, as painted by KENNEDY'S her most famous ancestor -- the Italian Renaissance artist Carlos Crivelli.

CRIVELLI ITALIAN SALSA - CARLO CRIVELLI - MASTER PAINTER

"It's definitely been a journey," says the 46-year-old, who has steadily built her business during the last 10 years. She hopes it will become a product people all over the Bay Area will be able to enjoy.

The salsa is already a hit at the Lincoln Market in Alameda, a neighborhood grocery store where owner Sunny Sahini said every customer who has tasted it has come back.

"I really like her product," said Sahini, who described it as tasting very fresh and different than the larger salsa companies whose products he carries.

Kennedy's Italian roots reach back to the 1400s, when original works of Carlo Crivelli were first being hung in the Vatican.

CRIVELLI ITALIAN SALSA - CARLO CRIVELLI MASTER PAINTER - THE VATICAN

Kennedy's great-great grandfather, Vincent Crivelli, set sail for Mexico in the late 1800s to start his family.

His son, named after Carlos Crivelli, born and raised in Mexico, became an Italian chef and was the creator of the family's salsa recipe.

The salsa was such an important part of her family's heritage it "was served at every meal at Grandma's house," she said.

CRIVELLI ITALIAN SALSA - GRANDMA & GRANDPA CERVANTES

HOME

LOS ANGELES , CALIFORNIA

MONTEBELLO CITY

Kennedy was a graphic artist for 12 years and has started several other small businesses, including designing renaissance clothing, all of which she said have prepared her for her biggest step yet

FASHIONS FOR MY LADY

When Kennedy was 32 and in her second marriage, she learned to make the traditional salsa, which her friends encouraged her to keep making.

" I was making it in beer bottles and baby food jars then," Kennedy remembered with a laugh.

"Just about any container I could find."

After such a positive response from family and friends, she decided to make a more serious attempt at legitimizing her business.

CRIVELLI ITALIAN SALSA - PATRON SAINT OF CRIVELLI ITALIAN SALSA -

CARL LEABO - ALAMEDA POWER & TEL COM -EMPLOYEE

She 's very dedicated." said close friend Yvette Gonzales of Kennedy's business ambitions.

Kennedy said she'd never forget the moment when she found the painting she wanted to use for the label.

CRIVELLI ITALIAN SALSA LABEL

MY ORGINAL WAS STOLEN OFF MY COMPUTER

THIS IS NOT THE ORGINAL LABEL

"It was like angelic," she said of the famous Crivelli painting of Mary Magdalene, which she incorporated into the design of the label on her salsa jar.

CRIVELLI ITALIAN SALSA - WHILE I BRUSHING MY TEETH THIS PICTURE CAME TO ME IN AN ANGELIC WAY - THIS IS A PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

CRIVELLI ITALIAN SALSA PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL - PRODUCT LINE

Using her on the label brings this thing full circle not only for my great-grandfather's recipe but also for Carlos Crivelli."

Kennedy hopes now, 500 years later, her product also may help raise awareness and help people appreciate the art of Crivelli, who has been overshadowed by many other Renaissance artists.