The Art of Making Do in Naples

The "art of making do" refers to the informal and sometimes illicit entrepreneurial tactics of some Neapolitans who are pursuing a better life for themselves and their families. In the neomelodica music scene, the art of makingdo involves operating do-it-yourself recording studios and performing at the private parties of crime bosses. It can also require associating with crime boss impresarios who guarantee their success by underwriting it with extortion,drug trafficking, and territorial influence. Pine, likewise "making do," gradually realized that the completion of his ethnographic work also depended on the aid of forbidding figures.