AnnaMaria Cardinalli

AnnaMaria Cardinalli

Cardinalli playing classical Spanish guitar as 'AnnaMaria' on the CD Spain Never Sleeps
Born AnnaMaria Cardinalli-Padilla
1979
Santa Fe, New Mexico,
United States
Nationality American
Ethnicity Hispanic
Education Saint Mary's College of California (B.A.), St. John's College (M.A.), University of Notre Dame (Ph.D.)
Parent(s) Giovanna Cardinalli
Awards Joint Service Civilian Commendation Medal, Secretary of Defense Medal, Mother Teresa Award
Website www.annamaria.ws

AnnaMaria Cardinalli (born AnnaMaria Cardinalli-Padilla) (born 1979) is an American military investigator, classical guitarist, and operatic contralto.

Education

Cardinalli graduated from high school at the age of 14 and college at the age of 18. Her M.A. was awarded at age 20, and, at the age of 24, she became the youngest person to complete a doctoral degree at the University of Notre Dame.[1] She received a B.A. in Performing Arts from St. Mary's College of California, her M.A. in the Great Books Program from St. John’s College in Santa Fe,[2] and completed her Ph.D. in Theology, where she majored in Liturgical Studies with a minor in Latino Studies.[2] Her doctoral research focused upon the music and worship practices of the Penitentes, a secretive Catholic religious society with roots in medieval Spain.[3][4]

Also at 14, Cardinalli published the nonfiction book Why Wait? Graduate! (Northwest Publishing, 1995), intended to assist other students seeking early graduation from high school.[5]

Musical career

Cardinalli, performing as "AnnaMaria",[6][7] is a classical and flamenco guitarist, as well an operatic contralto, noted by reviewers for both technical complexity and a feminine sensuality in her interpretive style.[8][9] Her performances include a solo recital at the Kennedy Center, appearances for the Prince of Spain and Pope John Paul II, and multiple performances of the Concierto de Aranjuez with various orchestras.[10]

Operatic roles of note have included the First Norn in Wagner’s Gotterdammerung at New York’s Lincoln Center and La Zia Principessa in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, which Cardinalli has performed frequently in the United States and Europe.[10]

Cardinalli's discography includes guitar and vocal work,[10] as well as one operatic contribution to a hip-hop album featuring Kanye West and John Legend.[11]

A characteristic of Cardinalli’s career is the extent to which she donates proceeds and performs benefit engagements to assist Catholic, humanitarian, and veterans’ causes. In 2015, examples included a filmed concert benefiting the preservation of San Miguel Mission, the oldest church in the U.S.,[12][13] which airs frequently on the global cable network EWTN (with a reach of 250 million homes in 140 countries), and a New York performance of Elgar’s Sea Pictures, a rarely-performed song cycle for contralto with Orchestra Amadeus to benefit the anti-human-trafficking efforts of Covenant House with homeless youth.

Cardinalli is closely associated with the Chicago Studio of Professional Singing and highly credits Janice Pantazelos as her vocal instructor.[14]

Working as AnnaMaria, Cardinalli has released 12 CD's.[7][15]

Investigative career

Independent of her more public musical career, Cardinalli's previous employers include the FBI and the Joint Special Operations Command, as well as the U.S. Marine Corps, working in Helmand Province, Afghanistan while serving on a Human Terrain Team.[16] She is the owner of D'Angelo Global Solutions,[17] a consulting firm functioning as a Private Military Company (PMC) and security operation. Cardinalli is a licensed private investigator.[16]

During her time with the Human Terrain Team, Cardinalli was tasked to research the sexual practices of the Pashtun. Her investigation and subsequent report brought to light the prevalent sexual abuse of young boys,[18] and as Sara Carter described it in the Washington Examiner, the "vast gulf between U.S. and Afghan attitudes about homosexuality and pedophilia".[19]

Cardinalli asserts that the practice of abuse plays a role in the early development of terrorists and describes how child sex slaves are often trapped and hidden as young “recruits” to various police, military, and insurgent organizations in Afghanistan.[20] Cardinalli's report led to the announcement that "NATO officials have been aware of the recruitment problem for some time, and the former military commander, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, issued an order in 2010 warning troops to be on the lookout for under-age recruits."[21]

By 2011, international pressure, significantly fueled by the attention to Cardinalli’s report, led Afghanistan to enter into a historic agreement with the United Nations to “to stop the recruitment of children into its police forces and ban the common practice of boys being used as sex slaves by military commanders.” [22]

While the sexuality issue was leaked, and is therefore the most publicized aspect of her investigative career, it is not indicative of its extent. Cardinalli has been associated with the inception of the U.S. Marine Corps Female Engagement Team, the first official involvement of women in an operational capacity "outside the wire", and served as a member of, and mentor to, the first team.[16]

Controversy

Cardinalli's work on sexuality came to national media attention in late 2010.[18][19] Her report was covered by Joel Brinkley in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Examiner, CNN, Fox News and other media outlets.[18]

Cardinalli's better-known musical background caused some responders to question her selection as a researcher for this topic. Cardinalli's academic biography, however, provides insight by mentioning her study of the religious and socio-cultural dynamics underlying conflict between Islamic and western cultures, and her previous use of the ethnographic research techniques required for Human Terrain work.[16]

In 2012, a surprising reversal occurred in the U.S. administration’s stance on the issue, when a “U.S. military handbook for troops deployed to the Middle East ordered soldiers not to make derogatory comments about the Taliban or criticize pedophilia.” [23][24]

However, some high-ranking military officials continued to support Cardinalli’s original condemnation of the pedophilia issue as both a moral and critical security concern. U.S. Marine General John R. Allen, the top commander in Afghanistan, did not endorse the handbook and rejected a proposed forward drafted by Army officials in his name.[23] “He does not approve of its contents,” according to a military spokesman quoted in the Wall Street Journal.[24]

Beyond the report, Cardinalli has articulated her insistence on the non-acceptance of pedophilia as a “cultural norm,” pointing out its role in the psychological development of extremist fighters and its damaging impact on affected cultures, both in media interviews subsequent to the report's leak, and in the book Crossing the Wire: One Woman’s Journey into the Hidden Dangers of the Afghan War. (ISBN 9781612001913) Cardinalli remains an advocate against human trafficking and the exploitation of children, and donates a portion of book proceeds to the Polaris Project.[25]

It is unknown whether Cardinalli possessed any proficiency in Afghan languages while completing her research, which could have prevented her from direct communication with subjects and access to historical and cultural documents. However, it is typical that military intelligence personnel have some proficiency but work additionally through translators.[26][27]

While listing her credentials as a professor of National Security and Intelligence studies, Cardinalli does acknowledge having worked "as a contractor on numerous intelligence, training, defense, and counterintelligence/security projects."[16] It is also known that Cardinalli was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy, though injury appears to have discontinued that service.[28]

This notorious combination of involvements, combined with her profession as a performer, has earned Cardinalli a somewhat "shadowy" reputation—inviting inevitable comparison to a modern Mata Hari.

Academic appointments and awards

Cardinalli is a current professor in the Graduate Program of Intelligence and National Security Studies at American Military University.[16] Cardinalli’s military and civilian awards include the Joint Service Civilian Commendation Medal and the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Global War on Terrorism. She is also a 2006 Laureate of the Mother Teresa Award for her artistic efforts.[1]

Bibliography

Discography

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "The Mother Teresa Awards". The Mother Teresa Awards. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
  2. 1 2 "Women of Influence: Dr. Anna Maria Cardinalli '97 | Saint Mary's College". Stmarys-ca.edu. 2010-09-30. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  3. ↑ "Title page for ETD etd-04052004-140627". Etd.nd.edu. 2004-03-19. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  4. ↑ UR Student Worker on April 8, 2011 11:48 AM (2011-04-08). "Classical Flamenco Guitarist Comes to Eastern - Press Releases". Easternct.edu. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  5. ↑ Fernandez, Christina. “Padilla: Why Wait?” Hispanic Magazine, September 1995: 9, Cole, Melanie. “Underage Overachievers.” Hispanic Magazine January/February 1997: 84-85
  6. ↑ "Wally's World - Anna Maria". Retrieved November 2011.
  7. 1 2 Cardinalli-Padilla, AnnaMaria. "AnnaMaria CDs". AnnaMaria CDs. annamaria.ws. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Aldendell.com". Retrieved November 2011.
  9. ↑ "En Fuego El Duo Duende » Kitsap Sun Mobile". M.kitsapsun.com. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "annamaria.ws". Retrieved November 2011.
  11. ↑ "Kanye West - Good Morning Good Night: Dawn [PA] in Music: Rap". JR.com. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  12. ↑ "AnnaMaria Cardinalli-Saving San Miguel Teaser". youtube.com. Retrieved 2015-11-06.
  13. ↑ "SAVING SAN MIGUEL MISSION: A MUSICAL JOURNEY". ewtnreligiouscatalogue.com. Retrieved 2015-11-06.
  14. ↑ "Director: Janice's Bio | Chicago Studio of Professional Singing". Professionalsinging.com. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
  15. ↑ "Catholic Music Network: AnnaMaria". AnnaMaria CDs. catholicmusicnetwork.com. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "APU Faculty Member: AnnaMaria C Cardinalli". Apu.apus.edu. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  17. ↑ D'Angelo Global Solutions Retrieved November 30, 2011
  18. 1 2 3 Brinkley, Joel (2011-06-27). "Afghanistan's dirty little secret". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 2011.
  19. 1 2 "Afghan sex practices concern U.S., British forces | Sara A. Carter | World". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  20. ↑ HTT AF-6 Pashtun Sexuality Research Update and Findings, www.imagesoflife-online.co.uk/HTTAF6.doc
  21. ↑ Bradby, Tom (January 31, 2011). "ITV News". And another thing on Afghanistan. itv.com. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  22. ↑ "Afghans Plan to Stop Recruiting Children as Police". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  23. 1 2 "New Army Manual Orders Soldiers Not to Criticize Taliban". judicialwatch.org. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  24. 1 2 "Draft Army Handbook Wades Into Divisive Afghan Issue". wsj.com. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  25. ↑ "Crossing the Wire". crossing-the-wire.com. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  26. ↑ "Skilled Linguist". goarmy.com. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  27. ↑ "Intelligence Collector". goarmy.com. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  28. ↑ "The Song and the Sword". nmmagazine.com. 2012-12-20. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  29. ↑ "Crossing the Wire". casematepublishers.com. 2012-12-20. Retrieved 2013-01-11.
  30. ↑ "Title page for ETD etd-04052004-140627". Etd.nd.edu. 2004-03-19. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
  31. ↑ "Musica Mundial Features". Musica Mundial Features. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
  32. ↑ Menard, Valerie. “Recommended.” Hispanic Magazine December 1997:82
  33. ↑ Fernandez, Christina. “Padilla: Why Wait?.” Hispanic Magazine September 1995: 9

External links


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