Festival of Wine and the Italian Community
On Saturday, December 12th, the day began early at the ICBIE, to prepare everything necessary to receive the guests and the people invited, who were expected to arrive in the afternoon. At 2:30, we opened the doors of our institute to the Italian community and to our other friends in Salvador. People arrived and visited the ME.PE museum, the photographic exposition and took advantage of the sea breeze on the terrace in front of the casarão. At 5 PM we officially began with the presentation of the book “Nella tana del Giaguaro” (“In the Jaguar’s Den”), by Giuseppe Benedini. The author captured the public’s attention and curiosity by telling the history, the details and the legends of Italian immigration in the state of Bahia: Giuseppe showed a profound knowledge, the fruit of much research in the field and in Brazilian and Italian archives, and beyond all this, with an engaging talent for public speaking.
We continued with the awarding of the Leonardo Prizes for the categories: Italian culture, history, journalism, dance and language, and the prize winners were all Italians who have lived in Bahia for a long time, and who have built a rapport of friendship, collaboration and esteem with the ICBIE. Our Amphitryon Pietro, after declaiming several verses by Dante Alighieri and Pier Paolo Pasolini based on the theme of wine and food, started an auction of Italian and international wines, and all the bottles were sold, after entertaining competitions among the participants.
The we invited the public to see a theatrical dance performance put on by our ballerina friend Marcella Bomba and her friend, actress Rosalba Gravina, who presented a spectacle of dance, music and theater based on the musical traditions of southern Italy and which confronted the theme of travel and the changes in the lives of people who choose the whole world as their homeland. At the end of their performance, the artists invited the public to dance with them, and naturally the kids of our theater group took the opportunity to get up on stage, especially when they heard the familiar strains of “Bella Ciao”!
The evening concluded with the delights of a tasty refreshments on the terrace, where everyone again enjoyed chatting among the cool breezes.
Our heartfelt thanks go to all those who contributed to make such a pleasant evening!
