CHATSWORTH >> Sign language interpreter Tina Cleveland and her fiance wanted to do something creative and quirky during their first dance as husband and wife at their wedding in October in Moorpark.
So she taught Paul Sirimarco — who knew only a few words in sign language — how to interpret the song “You’re the One that I Want” from the “Grease” movie soundtrack. After the Chatsworth couple practiced in their car on their way to Mammoth in late July with the music blaring, Cleveland posted a video of it on Facebook not realizing the public could see it. Three days later, they were shocked to see it had been viewed several thousand times and “liked” by more than 10,000 users.
The video, which has been posted on several Websites, has since gone viral, garnering more than 1.24 million views on YouTube alone and introducing the wonder of American Sign Language to viewers around the world.
“It has turned into something so incredible,” Cleveland, who is an interpreter for Los Angeles Unified School District’s West Valley Occupational Center, said Sunday from their spacious town home. “Being able to put a smile on somebody’s face or change someone’s day, that’s really powerful.”
Over the last five weeks, the couple has made nearly a dozen “signalong” videos to popular songs — including Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” and a “Glee” remix of the band Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” — and has received thousands of song requests. Cleveland’s sign language interpretation of Beyoncé’s “Halo” prompted the artist herself to share that video on her own Facebook fan page on Aug. 20.
Cleveland, 31, and Sirimarco, 46, will also be interpreting a few songs at the 2014 DEAFFestival in Los Angeles on Sept. 27. And while they’ve gotten comments from a variety of people on their Facebook fan page called “Paul and Tina’s Signalong,” it’s the positive reactions from those who are deaf or hard of hearing that have touched them the most.
Among them is a boy from Tennessee named Mason, also known as NooDy, who is deaf and doesn’t speak. His mother posted a message on their Facebook page explaining that the nearly 7-year-old boy uses a version of American Sign Language and learns signs as fast as his mother can teach them to him.
“He loves to watch your YouTube videos,” mother Carrie Millsaps wrote. “You have touched my heart with these videos…One of NooDy’s favorite things is to ‘sing’ in the car.”
At the mother’s request, the couple is planning to create “signalongs” to “Take Me out to the Ball Game” and the “Star-Spangled Banner” for the boy, who loves attending baseball games, Sirimarco said.
Another woman wrote to tell them that she hadn’t been able to connect to music since losing her hearing about eight years ago but that their energetic “Grease” video helped her do that again. Another fan said the two are “becoming heroes.” And the outpouring of gratitude and support goes on.
“We have not cried more in our entire lives, I swear,” Cleveland said.
They see a story in their comments practically every day that makes them cry, Sirimarco, an Internet retailer, added.
Much of the attraction of their videos stems from the strong chemistry between Sirimarco and Cleveland. The couple met about six years ago when he was a patron at Fleming’s Steakhouse in Woodland Hills and she was a part-time server. Sirimarco asked Cleveland, then a student at Pierce College, out “like 20 times” but she was always busy and he finally gave up hope, he said.
But after some time had passed, Cleveland eventually asked Sirimarco out to lunch. They went out on some 15 dates before sharing their first kiss in 2009. They have been living together for the last four years.
“It’s the first relationship I’ve ever had where there are no secrets,” Sirimarco, 46, said. “She’s my best friend…Everything I like to do, she likes to do” from golf, to tennis to cycling. “It’s great.”
Cleveland loves how supportive and encouraging Sirimarco is of her professional and personal endeavors. She calls him “my rock.”
“You’ve always supported me and gotten my back,” she said. “You’re not a naysayer.”
Since Sirimarco is a certified private pilot, the couple plans to do a “signalong” in the coming days to R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” with multiple cameras in the plane. (Sirimarco will be flying while Cleveland will be signing to the words.) They chose to sign that particular song after polling their fans and receiving thousands of replies.
Sirimarco estimates they’ve spent countless hours and about $2,000 of their own money so far to produce the “signalongs.” They are in the process of starting a nonprofit and have started a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to help them sustain their passion as well as improve the quality and reach of their videos. They’ve entertained the idea of having a reality TV show where they visit deaf and hard-of-hearing children around the country and surprise them with their favorite song interpretations.
The couple still plans to sign to a song at their wedding on Oct. 18 but they haven’t yet decided what tune they will interpret. They intend to keep it a surprise, however, for their new fans around the country and beyond.
“This is life-changing for me,” Sirimarco said. “Business has been the most important thing in my life, for my whole life. Now, with all the comments we’re getting, all these people we’ve helped and who love what we’re doing, I have a new outlook…I just want to help people and make people happy.”
Being able to positively affect youth in particular, Cleveland says, “touches our hearts beyond imagine.”
