Born in the town of Grammichele (province of Catania) in 1884, Agrippino Manteo was orphaned at the age of four or possibly earlier. Although he and his sister subsequently lived with their grandmother, Agrippino often ran away due to her harsh measures and the incessant farm chores. The puppeteer Giuseppe (Peppino) Crimi, son of the famed puppeteer Gaetano Crimi, took the boy under his wing, setting the stage for a life devoted to Sicilian
opera dei pupi[puppet theatre] across three continents.
At the age of twenty-one Agrippino immigrated to Mendoza, Argentina, and was shortly thereafter followed by his wife, Caterina, and their first child, Ida (neé Agata, also known as Aida). He worked as a baker while constructing marionettes, and, when he had amassed a sufficient number, he opened
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Citation: Cavallo, Jo Ann. "Agrippino Manteo". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 March 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13090, accessed 24 April 2024.]
