This photo pretty well sums up the evening, with Pietro surrounded by his bevvy of beauties — Marlene, Loredana, Loona, Meg, Francesca, Monica and Tiziana — in the Art Core Gallery last Friday. As always, the annual gathering of our Roman supporters brought together a couple hundred friends, old and new, renewing friendships made both in Rome and in Salvador, and proving the ICBIE’s power, its ability to bring different people together and to keep them united through the years.
This year we arranged a quick caravan of speeches, where Pietro, Roy, Francesca, Marlene, Meg and Tiziana gave testimonials of their ICBIE experiences, also cleverly inserting urgent appeals for “cinque per mille” donations on Italian taxes.
We were so lucky to have the Trio Batucajè to animate the evening with their lilting rhythms. Marena Orsini’s beautiful voice delivered the Brazilian repertoire with impeccable verve, and her subtle inflections of the words were appreciated even by our demanding critic, Meg Boaventura.
The gallery also had a big terrace on the roof, with tables and a bar, while many people prefered to loiter outside on the sidewalk or duck into the kebab place next door.
No one can wait to do it all again next year!
