Marta is a content creator and influencer – or, as she prefers to call herself, a “Storyteller.” She has lived in New York City since 2010 and, for the past several years, has been chronicling her life through NYPicsAndTips.com, a blog that collects virtually everything there is to know about the Big Apple. We interviewed her to let her tell us more about her experience of her American dream realized.
– Questa intervista fa parte del quarto numero cartaceo de IlNewyorkese: ACQUISTALO QUI
When did you arrive here in New York? Why did you come here? And what were the difficulties you encountered?
“So I came in 2010 following my husband. So actually he was the one who brought us here. He works at the United Nations. So I followed what was his work, his opportunity. Not without difficulty, in the sense that I was working at the time … I have a degree in Communication Psychology. I studied at the Catholic University. I was born and raised in Como. And then I studied at the university in Milan. And I was working at the time in Milan. I had my good life, serene, made up of my first work experiences. Among other things in a media center where I was also very comfortable. And so it was a bit of a trauma to move. I’m not one of those who had New York in her heart, who had to leave, quite the contrary. And at first I worked a little bit in the same media center, which had a location here, however worked a little bit for Italy, whatever. Experiments. Until I stopped working in the office and started this Instagram page. Which today is called New York City Pics & Tips. Which started with the idea of writing a personal diary of mine. Because the first years for me here were difficult. I never deny it, I never hide it. In fact, the more I talk about it, the more I met people who had similar experiences anyway. Especially those who actually, like me, maybe came not really by their own choice, but following the decisions somewhat of the family. So I’ve been struggling. I’m not ashamed. For me, to live here, it’s really like jumping in. To be curious, yes man, to really have the attitude of openness, to experiment. And I didn’t have that in the beginning, I just didn’t have that.”
A very hard moment of when you responded?
“But a specific time maybe I can’t tell you very much. What I suffered was a little bit the social context. I mean I really struggled in the beginning to meet people, moving anyway already as a couple, it’s different from moving alone. There was no social, or they were starting to be there anyway, but in 2010 there was no Instagram. And so I suffered a little bit from isolation. Paradoxically, because I am someone who then makes friends easily. But there you go, that was kind of the most difficult aspect.”
And so you opened the page, how did you come up with the idea of opening the page? In what spirit?
“The spirit is what I think is a little bit left today. And it’s really to write my diary, to chronicle my days. Anyway, New York is a brand, it’s something that works, that interests, especially in Italy. So actually there was curiosity: my friends, who trivially, always asked me what I was doing all day. I’ll tell you. I always tried, and still do, to make sure that the protagonist of the page was not me but the city. So I actually kind of let the city introduce itself. And so the purpose is kind of that, to tell my diary and actually still create contacts, opportunities to meet people. And I have to say on that front I’m hyper satisfied because it’s changed so much the way I am in New York.”
And when was it that you saw that as a more or less private project anyway it was attracting a lot of interest?
“So, the Covid years certainly were a bit decisive, to call it a turning point is a big word, but actually it was a bit of a moment of change, because there were very few of us left here anyway, not that I don’t give myself other credit, but actually there was a lot of interest even in seeing what was going on outside and then we were all at home attached to these phones, so actually even there I then told the Covid story in my own way. In the sense that I was so afraid to go out, even though we could here, that in retrospect I kind of regret not telling it enough. But yes, maybe that was a bit of a moment again.”
Let’s say that everyone who does content creation gets a little bit guided by the Algorithm and, therefore, they create and change their way of telling things depending on what is rewarded most by the Algorithm. Are you always a stickler for your way of storytelling?
“Yes, wrong probably. Everything I do is very spontaneous and I really want to be able to maintain that. I never had numerical goals, of numerical growth, which is what then makes you submit to the rules of the Algorithm trivially. Then I don’t deny you, clear, I mean it’s not that I suck at making good numbers, however that’s not my goal. And so I do what I think I can do best: I can do better pictures than videos. Why do I have to make you these reels that nobody likes and I don’t like? I make an incredible effort, then I do them occasionally, however, why? Because of the Algorithm? No. And so I’ve always kind of kept to this form of the journal, kind of boomer maybe. But in the end it’s what reflects me the most.”
The thing that differentiates you a bit from others who do something similar is the fact that you are kind of like giving insider advice, that is, not tourist advice. What are the things that people ask you most about?
“I’m actually quite conscious of addressing not the mainstream anyway. I talk a lot about this mini project that I started on books set in New York, I talk about museums, that is, the things that I am interested in, so. However I get a lot of requests. Yes, actually I’ve always done it in my own way, so there’s no clear project, however, I do publish books set in New York from time to time. There, that is something I would like to develop a little bit better. But for example I talk about books, I talk about museums, I talk about what my interests are, and actually the questions I get are a little bit of that audience interested in the same things as me.
Otherwise generally what to do in New York, maybe just I often show less touristy neighborhoods, so Greenpoint, Tribeca which are also among my favorite areas. Less traveled areas of Central Park, so here, maybe questions about things to do that are not super touristy-that’s the most common question.
Do you ever go and look at the data of what are the most viewed places and things of most interest or do you just keep going?
“Little.”
What do you think are the things, that is, what do you see are the things that you like the most?
“What I like less to write-no whatever anyway it’s true, in the end a good picture of the Empire State Building is still a picture of the Empire, I mean anyway people recognize it, they have something to say because they’ve seen it, because it creates more proximity, right? Whereas maybe when I talk about something a little bit more niche in the niche, which to me seems to have done super content, maybe they go less.”
Strangest request or most peculiar anecdote that happened to you?
“I don’t know, it doesn’t come to me, I have to think about it. In general I have a very kind, polite, friendly target audience, so I don’t really have weird things, ever, I’ve created a lot of relationships coming out of social, which is then one of my goals, so I don’t know so much to answer you, too difficult question.”
Your three New York places?
“So, definitely Seaport. When I’m looking for a place to be a little bit with my thoughts, I definitely go on the water, which for me who grew up on Lake Como is kind of the natural habitat, so Seaport also because it remained one of the historic neighborhoods anyway in the city. For a similar reason I could tell you Tribeca, which in my opinion is aesthetically the most beautiful neighborhood in New York, again not very toured maybe, also not very touristy and where every time I go I can really discover new things. Because after so many years New York is not so obvious. And the third place I would say Greenpoint, in Brooklyn, which is also a place, for me who is a very curious person, where I really like to poke around, wander around, discover new places. Those are kind of similar motivations if you will, however, there you go, those are my three neighborhoods.”
Tips for those who live in New York and do not experience it fully.
“Being curious, always. Experimenting, getting out of your neighborhood. Then I realize that obviously I have the possibility to do that on a daily basis because I make up my days according to what I want to tell. Rightly so if you have a job, a family that still binds you to those daily commitments there, it’s not like you then have all these possibilities. But it’s really a shame not to take advantage of the city because objectively it’s a unique city in the world. So lots of curiosity, always. And then, this however more for those who have just moved: don’t be afraid to lose the Italian authenticity. That is, to also let go a little bit of this baggage of being Italian, of bringing food from Italy. I still bring cookies, too. But really it’s also an opportunity to immerse yourself in other cultures. Even just comparing. I don’t know, maybe because it was an exhausting thing for me in the beginning. I felt that I had to stay Italian. But letting go is fine too. We remain Italian anyway. Nobody takes that away from us.”
What do you miss about Italy?
“Obviously family … In the end after years I actually miss Italy less and less, bad to say. But I have very much internalized my important things. And I can carry them now when I come back here. I’m quite peaceful about that. But I really struggled a lot in the beginning. I used to miss everything, everything, everything. Now I miss very little. I miss the affections. That always.”
Your future plans?
“I have a lot of ideas. Then whether they become projects we’ll see. But yes, there is an exhibition of photographs that is going around in my head quite a bit. So that’s something I’m also working on a little bit.
And then I would like to develop more, precisely, this thing I was telling you about books set in New York. I read so much. Not just about New York, however to carry on this thing here a little bit, more literary, if you will, I would like to.”
What is the best book set in New York City?
“I am super fond of New York, by Rutherford. Which is kind of the Bible, my mom gave it to me. So it also has a little bit of sentimental value. It’s the story of New York, from the creation of the city to the 9/11 attacks. It’s kind of a family saga, but really the main character is the city. So basically from the founding, from the Indians, the history of the city intertwining. Then the history of the United States. It’s a beautiful basis, in my opinion, just to understand the city, to understand how it’s structured even today.”
Where do you see yourself or how do you see yourself in five years?
“I see myself here, doing similar things to what I’m doing. Maybe a little more structured, maybe. But yes, I don’t see any major upheavals five years from now. I’m pretty happy with where I am today. I mean, I hope to continue like this.”
The article Marta Galfetti: my New York among dreams, challenges and stories to tell comes from TheNewyorker.
