And you thought you knew everything about Cha Cha

John, “Cha Cha” Ciarcia, who later became known as Cha Cha, because of the pronunciation, of his last name. From the beginning he was known all over the neighborhood. His passion for helping new immigrants out, whether it with finding housing or jobs, his caring passion eventually lead to his title as the “Unofficial Mayor of Little Italy”. Madison Square Garden announcer John Condon is credited for this. John’s early career was as a promoter of boxers in the ring. Some of Cha Cha’s is credited for the successful boxing career of Tony Danza, before he got into show business.

Cha Cha is also the original owner of the legendary boardwalk establishment, “Cha Cha’s of Coney Island” the home of Wild Women and Wise Guys. His first club, The Atlantic, is where Jimmy Durante, Bob Hope and Al Capone got their start on the stage there. Cha Cha expanded to the Island of Manhattan and opened his Mulberry Street restaurant, Cha Cha’s in Bocca Al Lupo Outdoor Cafe’. His Gelato is considered the best in New York City ’s five boroughs.

Over the years, John has been involved in a slew of other projects, most of which have been in film production. In 1998, he produced the movie “Mamamia” with director Tony Danza, which went on to win Best Short Film Award at the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival. The movie, “Men Lie”, which Cha Cha produced, won “The Grand Jury Award” at the Florida Film Festival in 1994. It garnished numerous film awards at the film festivals held in Houston , Charleston , South Carolina and Fort Lauderdale. This film featured sshining and rising stars as Frank Vincent, Tony Sirico, Aida Turturro, Michael Baladucco, Michael Imperioli, Tony Darrow and Catherine Scorsese.

John Cha Cha Ciarcia stands on both sides of the camera. His transition from back to front was seamless. John has been featured in the Martin Scorsese film, “Goodfellas”, Mickey Blue Eyes, and more recently he can be seen in the upcoming movie, “Spy”. Cha Cha has also appeared on the small screen in “The Sopranos”, where he plays the character of Albie Cianflone, who is part of Phil Leotardo’s New York Crew. He has also made an appearance on the Emmy nominated television series, “100 Centre Street”

Other movies include; “A Brooklyn State of Mind”, “It had to be you”, “Honeymoon in Vegas”, and “Me and the Mob”.