The Entertainer
Natale-A shining talent beyond compare
By Amy De Vour
Of the Print
The stage is darkened, the
audience sits tittering quietly.
[The sound of a. growing
thunderstorm envelopes the
loom; an ever-increasing
stacatto rhythm of a jungle
drum filters in. Then, there is a
fleeting fan fare. “Ladies and
gentlemen, having no choice
we present to you tonight, at
our own risk, the fantastically
funny, the unbelievably
talented, the incredibly sexy,
ha ha ha, excuse me, Natale!
What exactly is a Natale?
Natale, pronounced Nah-tah-
lee is the current entertainer at
Mama - Lena’s
Italian
Restaurant and Lounge. This
one-man act brings the appeal
of great music, the mystery of
magic, and the fun of comedy
to Oregon City in a Las Vegas
style show.
The Italian Stallion towers
at an unbeljevable 6’5”, this is
documented by a wooden pla­
que hanging on the wall of his
set. Natale is the epitome of
clean fun. He leads his “dirty-
minded” audience to the very
edge of the gutter and lets them
decide whether or not to jump
in; usually they plunge in.
Says Natale, “I’ve got the
cleanest show in the West and
the dirtiest audience, I love
’em!
The audience is constantly
having their “leg”pulled in
some way or another, and they
love it.
On one occasion, Natale,
seemingly oblivious to his au­
dience picked out a twangy
country tune. He stops abrupt­
ly, much to the chagrin of a
lady exiting on the sly to the
bathroom, and yells, “Lady,
where do you think you are go­
ing? You come back here and
raise your hand.”
More often than not, the
victim of Natale’s teasing will
shuffle back to their seat. It’s
hard to escape without
everyone being notified of your
attempted departure. Then,
after what seems to be an eter­
nity, Natale says mercifully,
“Okay, lady, you can go now.’-’
Donning a black felt
cowboy hat, and “strapping”
on his “gee-tare,” Natale
becomes an amazirigly-real
Johnny Cash, making the
female section of the audience
squeal with anticipation.
Just as easily, he sports a
thick black moustache and a
“wop” hat and croons a sweet
“Return to Sorento.”
Not neglecting the male
sector, he dedicates a love
song to a man in his audience.
Thoroughly embarrassed, the
man seems to melt into the
floor. Says Natale with
sheepish feminity, “That
doesn’t make him a bad per­
son.” But poking fun at
everybody is all in fun, which
according to Natale, is the way
it should be.
Natale’s magic is more
than a mystery, for he performs
mind illusions that leave the au­
dience wondering, How did he
do that? or as Natale puts it
“Why did he do that?”
Proving that Italians can
turn “anything” on, Natale
entertains as the great Elvis
Presley, an impression that
reflects the gyrating King.
“Elvis used to throw scarves, I
can’t afford that so I throw what
I’ve got the most of.” He says,
laughing, picking up a roil of
Natale embossed toilet tissue,
complete with' his picture and
he says, “Here’s looking at
you.”
In all fairness, Natale gives
the audience what is called a
“practice” scream when he
does Elvis. “Don’t scream until
you see my body,” Natale
teases. He jumps out from
behind his organ and the
screams echo throughout the
lounge.
V
“Can you imagine a
grown man doing this for a liv­
ing?” he questions his au­
dience.
Everyone laughs, but what
many don’t realize is that there
is a real heart-felt reason for
Natale’s 26-year involvement
in show business. “I wanted to
help people; I was going to be a
doctor, but there was too much
pressure involved. So, I enter­
tain, and in a way I help peo­
ple, I make them happy,” he
says.
Natale’s music is so full,
one hardly remembers he is an
individual, not a group of musi­
cians. With the aid of an elec­
tric drummer and an instru­
ment called a “vocoder” (which
provides one or many voices)
Natale sings his way into your
heart.
His costumes are sequen-
ed and sparkled, and his j
lighting and prop manipulation
are fantastic. Natale entertains
at Mama Lena’s, 895 Molalla
Ave., in Oregon City, Tuesday
through Saturday with two
shows per evening, the first of
which begins at 9 p.m. Natale
will continue through the end
of July with a vacation from
Dec. 19 - Jan. 19.
Natale closes his show
with a love song to his au­
dience entitled, “A Magic
Mystery.” He thanks the Lord
for his talents. Natale is truly
amazing and talented. Come in
and see him, he’ll make you
smile and more importantly,
he’ll leave you feeling good!
Foreign students adapt to new religion and beliefs
Rfy Tracy Tiegland
R)f the Print
There are many students
•at Clackamas that people refer
Boldly to as “boat people,” Not
Rnany people really know much
■bout them or take the time to
Hind
out.
They
just
Acknowledge the fact that they
■re from another place with a
■ifferent background.
These people have gone
■rough many changes since
Homing to America and for
Home Indochinese, they have
■ven undergone a change in
■heir religious beliefs.
Most East Asian countries
Relieve in Buddhism, where in
HXmerica, Christianity is the
Heading religion.
Of the three people from
Bifferent parts of Indochina in-
Herviewed, each represented a
■inique lifestyle, although with
Borne parallels.
Kao Sori Saechao from
Hdein has been particularly in-
Herested in finding out about
Rhe difference in religious
Beliefs between Mein and the
■Jnited States.
Kao talked vaguely about
Riis old beliefs. He respectfully
Believed in the religion that his
Barents taught him as a child.
■Vhen asked exactly what he
Believed in when he lived in
Wednesday, Nov. 25, 1981
Mein , he got a puzzled look on
his face and commented, “My
religions confused me, I.never
knew what to believe.”
The name of his religion is
Annimist. Kao could not really
explain his religion, but
remarked, “to know the
religion you must study many
years.”
The Oregon City First
Baptist Church sponsored Kao
and his family to come to
America. That was the first
time Kao was introduced to
God, the Father of Christianity.
Kao had never been
around Christianity before and
it overwhelmed him and today
Kao is happy to tell people that
he and his family are Chris­
tians.
For Kao it was an easy
decision to become a Christian
and give up his family’s tradi­
tional beliefs of Annimist,
because he never understood
them fully.
Kao stated happily, “It is
so evident. that God brought
me to. this country,”
Kao was asked about his‘
children, and what he would
raise them to believe. He stated
logically, “My children will
believe in God, because I do.”
Savat Keo from Cam­
bodia, shared how he combin­
ed his old and new beliefs, to
In Viet Nam, Buddah people,” they aré not just In­
get that happy medium.
Savat was a Buddhist reigns, just as it does in Mein dochinese. They are many
monk for three years when he and Cambodia, with a scatter­ varieties of people with a new,
lived in Cambodia. He studied ing of Christians. Hung did not sometimes, scary life ahead of
Buddhism faithfully and follow either Buddah or Chris­ them in this new country.
dedicated his life to it. When tianity in Viet Nam, and he Some of those people might
Savat came to Oregon in hasn’t decided to now that he is find a comfort in believing in
August of 1980, he started at­ in the States. It has nevex been God while still others prefer to
bring with them their own tradi­
tending the Hilltop Community an “important part” of his life.
tions.
These are not just “boat
Friends. Church. Now Savat
considers himself a Christian.
However, he stated, a bit con­
cerned, “We keep a part of
Buddah. The part that is good
for us. We threw some of it
away so we wouldn’t get in
trouble with American laws.”
Savat doesn’t seem com­
pletely satisfied with what the
Western World’s “Christianity”
has to offer. Therefore, Bud­
dah remains a small part of his
life. Savat is anxious to learn all
about Christianity. He is amaz­
ed at how much there is to
learn. Savat was asked, “how
will you raise your daughter,
Christian or Buddah?” Savat
did not seem concerned about
the fact that he had mixed two
religions, and he doesn’t think
it will be confusing to his
daughter. He stated confident­
ly, “my child will be a
Christian.”
Finally, Hung Nguyn of
Viet Nam expressed a totally
different view from Kao and THIS LITTLE ONE will be raised with the newly adapted
tradition and beliefs of his mother; a student here at the
Savat.
college.
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