Growing up, I didn’t really watch Sanremo much. Once I moved to Canada, I became aware that a lot of people of Italian descent still see it as a piece of Italian culture they can hold on to and watch it with a lot of interest every year! This year (2023), I had the chance to watch some of it with my in-laws. I was honestly very disappointed in what I saw. The show seemed a lot less about music and a lot more about showing uniqueness. The artists tried to impress the audience with their elaborate looks, their questionable behaviors, and their confusing names. Is the festival of Italian music still about music, or is it rather a place to showcase everything else? When has it stopped promoting Italian music? And how do viewers feel about this new take on Sanremo?
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3 responses to “Sanremo: Il festival della canzone italiana (?)”
Thank you for taking the time and interest to write this very thoughtful article! Although I agree with your viewpoint that SanRemo seems to be more a place to show off all kinds of different mannerisms and viewpoints from fashion, comedy, political viewpoints and the like, we need to remember that Italy like every other corner of the world evolves.
My 95 year old mom has seen lots of San Remo Festivals, as you say, because it’s such an Italian tradition. I asked her what she thought of Marco Mengoni? She responded he has a nice voice, pleasant to listen to song and above all no tattoos!
It’s something different to everyone! Now if you want to really discuss bad things to take away from the Festival you should look at Blanco’s total disrespect, Chiara Ferragnoni over the top exhibitionism and Angelo Duro’s blatant comedy antagonistic remarks. They could have spared us the shock effect but like I said Italy is changing and possibly not always for the best! Depending on the viewpoint!
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Thank you for your comment, Silvana! I decided not to talk about some of the disputable cameos at Sanremo because I wanted to stick to the topic of Italian culture but I agree with you on your take and how bad that reflects, in my opinion, on what is showcased as Italianness around the world! I’m glad you mom still watches it and enjoys it!!
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Well I thought they did not do such a bad job of bringing new talent and some of the beloved older talents on stage. It’s really hard to please everyone, but I thought there was possibly a little less foreign content this year? I like to see all kinds of different artistic expression, even if it is shocking, but when it is vulgar and disrespectful then there is no common ground in any language or culture. I do believe Italy is changing, but I would like to see it change in a way that suits Italy, so not be a copy cat and idolize English so much. Italian is a beautiful language and when combined in music is very melodious and evokes strong emotions. There is so much to be proud of past and present, so let’s have hope that San Remo continues to bring out the best in the sons and daughters of Italy.
One thing that left me a little perplexed and Marco Mengoni touched on it in his speech, was that not a single female was in the runner up contention. That was rather disappointing! I love Anna Oxa and thought she did not deserve to be cast aside in the way she was. She is unique for sure, but that did not matter it seems.
I feel this year’s San Remo was agist , sexist and concentrated too much on appearances rather than talent. Some little ploys went unmissed by me but that is another story.
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