The Dance of the Giglio (the "Lily") is about as Italian as you get.  It comes from Nola, Italy, where it is a huge celebration. This link explains more about the origins of the festival.

http://www.giglio-usa.org/Harlem.htm

There are several Giglio dances in New York - the biggest is in Brooklyn, but I've never seen it.  The one I know is in what is now Spanish Harlem or East Harlem, depending on how politically correct you want to be. This is a neighborhood that used to be Italian, and is now predominantly Hispanic.  A famous old pizza restaurant - Patsy's - and a notorious Italian restaurant named Rao's are among the few remnants of the Italian heritage.  And the church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel - one of the largest churches in Manhattan - which hosts the festival.

The Dance of the Giglio can only loosely be described as a "dance."  The Giglio is a shrine - an immense wood-and-plaster structure more than five stories high, carrying a band of musicians, the "master of ceremonies," and a number of children. Dozens of large, muscular men lift the Giglio, using support poles, and carry it, to the beat of songs like "Funiculi, Funicula," and the directives shouted, in Italian, by the M.C.  In East Harlem, the dancers carry the Giglio only about half a block, but other Dances carry them further.

Today was a glorious New York summer day - in the 90s, with blazing sun.  We were sweating profusely just standing watching.  You can imagine how the dancers looked!

In East Harlem, the official "Giglio Boys" wear brilliant red and green (Italian colors, of course) t-shirts and caps.  Then there are the unofficial ones - wearing "Giglio Boys" and "Giglio Girls" t-shirts in all the colors of the rainbow.  I saw some for sale that said "Giglio Princess" in little-girl sizes.

Everybody seems to have a great time - I took photos.