Half a century ago, a group of workers found a space to meet and spend time together, a time made of music and theater, thoughts and art. That time becomes a fixed appointment, for human need, for urgency of the soul.
It was a few years after the opening of Alfasud (an Italian company that operated in the automotive sector and that was located in Pomigliano D’Arco, Napoli, Italy) which, proposing itself as a possibility of evolution through scientific technological development, had already started that anthropological transformation that paralyzed and infected its workers, the surrounding territory and its inhabitants, until then mostly farmers.
A mockery of capitalism in total disharmony with nature and with the human being.
Against the single thought, always in favor of awareness, integration and human rights through the language of the earth, with flutes and tambourines, with voices “a ffronn’ ‘e limone”(a precursor genre of freestyle born centuries before the usa&getta music market proposed the freestyle fellowship), the Zezi Gruppo Operaio cried out in pain for the devastating conditions of the earth and of man whose direction is leading to the emptying of his vital essence.
They anticipated the ecological catastrophe, the spread of toxicity through venoms, the cult of permanent profit and the capitalism that fuels it. They contested the myth of technology, always remaining rooted in the land and in harmony with nature.
50 years of struggle and musical militancy among tammurriate, civil parades theatrical plays, with over 500 musicians and actors, and the release of 8 albums.
The celebrations began last May with the release of their unreleased titled “Vocca d’oro“(Golden mouth) and continues with the release of a new album, a documentary film and a European tour.
Honest, coherent and strongly identifying, Zezi Gruppo Operaio resists social and artistic degradation in a context, today’s, dazzled by globalization.
On Saturday 7th September, Zezi Gruppo Operaio celebrated their anniversary together with the people of Pomigliano D’Arco, retracing their history through some of their most representative songs.
On stage the most recent formation:
Alessio Sica on drums, Enzo Salerno on bass, Francesco Di Cristofaro on accordion, Francesco Perreca on wind instruments, Massimo Ferrante, voice and guitar; Toto Toralbo, voice and castanets; Dario Mogavero, voice and tambourine; Myriam Lattanzio, voice and castanets. Angelo De Falco, founder and leader of the group, played folk instruments and introduced each song, sometimes telling its story, other times associating it with an anecdote.
Massimo Ferrante as if whispering a prayer, opens with “L’occhio de lu suli” (the eye of the sun). The show continues with other historical songs such as “Giuvinòtte e signurìne” (boys and girls), “Bella Ciao delle mondine” (Bella Ciao of the rice weeders) with the voice of Myriam Lattanzio, and then “Malaràzza” (bad breed) “Vocca d’oro” (Golden mouth) clearly, as from the balconies of a square, the voices of Dario Mogavero and Toto Toralbo emerge. Angelo De Falco aka “‘O Prufessore”(professor) introduces the special guest Maurizio Capone, famous artist and activist who creates musical instruments with recycled material and who, before his performance, tells the story about his bin-drum that sounds like a bin and a djembe therefore he called it bidè, a name that resembles “bidet”. It is the percussion that he brought at Sanremo Festival in 2007 so “It is a very famous bidè” he says. Starting with a solo of bidè percussion he continues by joining Zezi Gruppo Operaio in their other songs the audience participates by clapping hands and castanets, young, and less young, begin to dance the tammurriate singing along, taking part to the celebration. Again a performance by Capone who, this time, brings on stage a brum-guitar with which he plays the US anthem the same way Jimi Hendrix played at Woodstock. Yes! The whole band and is against the war and in favor of Free Palestine and it seems that the audience as well do agree.
Other masterpieces like “Riace”(Riace), “’A Flobert” (The Flobert) (Factory exploded in 1975 killing 13 workers) aka “Sant’Anastasia” (Saint Anastasia),“Posa ‘e sorde”(Put the money down) and the powerful “Vesuvio”(Vesuvius) move the audience and there is an air of nostalgia for the silent thought that many have addressed to Marcello Colasurdo, the historic voice of the group who passed away last year.
Again Capone takes the microphone and calls a very young special guest on stage. His name is Adam and he is a boy with a tammorra who, very confident, follows every improvisation of the group. Capone sings and plays, Adam accompanies him and the audience too. Real fun and total participation!
After 50 minutes of show Angelo De Falco announces the end of the concert but “It’s not fair! Only one minute for each year of career is not enough” says Toralbo and so they start again with more energy than before. Another special guest is invited on stage. He is Bruno Senese who joins the band singing and playing the tammorra. And as it is usually done with fireworks, where the last three shots are more powerful before the end, in the same way few more engaging songs to thank everyone and remember to never stop fighting.
Thursday September 19th, don’t miss the Photographic Exhibition that will tell 50 years of history and songs of I Zezi Gruppo Operaio, at the Palazzo dell’Orologio in Pomigliano D’Arco.
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