If you ask John and Maria Silvestri how they met, they will tell you “it’s a long story.” It starts in Costa Rica in 2001, when John and a few of his friends met two girls from Argentina. But that wasn’t when John (also known as Johnny Vegas) and Maria (also known as Maria Acosta-Silvestri) met. Instead, two years later, it was one of John’s friend’s getting married to one of the girls he met in Costa Rica. At their wedding in Greensboro, North Carolina, the pair met. Maria (Argentinian herself) was a friend of the bride, and John was a friend of the groom. The two hit it off, and they are now nearing their 19th wedding anniversary! 

The couple has two sons, Frankie (15) and Lucas (12). After their wedding in 2004, the couple moved out to Las Vegas, where their sons were born. The family lived in Vegas for eight years. However, a longing for the beach brought them to New Jersey. 

“When you live out in Vegas, it’s awesome, but there’s no beach,” John said. 

Maria works as an English as a Second Language teacher at Adelphia school in Howell. She has taught English and Spanish to both children and teens in private and public schools, as well as adults second language learners in the United States and in Argentina. She first moved from Argentina to the United States to work in North Carolina as an English teacher after working as an English teacher in Argentina for many years. Maria was a part of a three-year teaching exchange program that brought her to the United States in August of 2001. During that time, she also earned a Master’s degree. After her marriage to John, she got a job teaching Spanish in Los Vegas. 

John works as a mechanic and has his whole life. He started working when he was 17. He was taught by his grandfather, who owned and operated a forklift business. In 1982, he started working for Chrysler, where he worked until 1994. He then opened his own business, which he has owned for 11 years. He now runs his grandfather’s forklift business and works alongside his cousin and uncle. 

John grew up in West Orange, New Jersey. His family still lives nearby; his parents are in East Brunswick, his sister is in South River, and his brother is out in Pennsylvania. His adolescent hockey games would frequently bring him down to the Jersey Shore, which gave him an appreciation for the Wall Township area, as well as the beaches. 

The family moved to Wall in 2014. 

“When we came back, we were temporarily in Central Jersey while we figured out where we wanted to settle,” John said, “so we went to all the shore towns, and we picked Wall. We’ve got a great house here on the dead end. We’ve got tons of friends here, and our boys do sports. It’s a good place to raise the kids.” 

The family’s real passion, though, isn’t for staying home, no matter how nice the beaches are. Instead, they take every opportunity to travel, taking at least one big vacation a year, as well as at least one trip back to Argentina to visit Maria’s family. 

Maria’s family currently lives in the small city of Paraná. She grew up in a small town, Nogoya, about an hour from Paraná. The family moved to the city when she was eighteen, before she moved by herself to Buenos Aires (where she lived for seven years), and then to North Carolina. Maria still enjoys small town life and the privacy that her Wall Township home offers. 

“I came from a small town, so that’s why I like Manasquan. That Main Street gives it the small town feeling,” she said. “There’s only three houses on our street. It’s nice and quiet. We have a pool in the yard. We have a bar. We have lots of parties. So it’s a nice setup.

She’s the only one in her family who lives in the United States, so every time she comes to visit, there is a big celebration waiting. There are large Sunday dinners, gatherings every night, and endless food. She is also happy to have the opportunity to immerse her sons in Spanish during the visit. The boys are two of 17 grandchildren on that side of the family! 

Next year is Maria’s 50th birthday, and the family is planning a large celebration in Argentina, attended by about 75 people, including some local New Jersey friends! 

Argentina isn’t the only vacation destination, though. Last summer the family spent 17 days in Europe, visiting Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Turkey. While both parents had been to Europe before, this was the first time they had gone as a family with their boys. The family loved the views, the Moorish castle in Spain and the Acropolis in Greece, the long drives and ferry rides along the coasts, and especially the food. 

“My son actually started eating salad on this trip!” Maria said. “The Greek salad because, I guess, it was hot, and it looked tasty with all these colors. He tried my salad and loved it. So he ordered his own, and now he wants to eat salad at home. Now the Greek salad has become part of our food repertoire!” 

Costa Rica is another favorite vacation spot for the family. They remembered one trip where they had wild monkeys swinging in the trees right outside their hotel balcony. They couldn’t leave the windows open with any bananas in sight, or the monkeys would jump right into the room! 

The family also just got back from a big skiing and snowboarding trip. They rented a house with six other families and spent a few days up on Hunter Mountain in New York. This was their second year participating in the trip. 

Back in Wall, Maria loves to dance. She has a background in tango, salsa, ballet, and belly dancing and now she takes Zumba classes for fun. She recently joined a gym, and she is looking forward to starting Volleyball in the Spring. She used to play the sport back in high school. John races motorcycles and motocross. He also enjoys cooking home cooked Italian meals for the family. 

“If I make 40 meatballs, they’re gone in two days,” John said. 

Maria’s specialty is empanadas. 

Frankie and Lucas are both active in sports. Their main sport is soccer, but Lucas also plays football, and Frankie keeps up with basketball. Both also love to snowboard. Both attend Wall public schools. 

“We have all these friends from Wall that we made along the way through our kids,” John Said. 

Whether they’re in Wall or abroad, the family finds no shortage of friends or exciting new experiences. They’re always focused on saving up for their next trip. 

“Make it happen, no excuses,” the family said.