2023-07-01 17:47:53
“The cross-section of a city, an island, a country and an era, through the tragicomic story of my family, the Buzzancas, from the beginning of the last century to the present day, from personal to national events, between Palermo and Rome, Sicily and Italy, always filtered by a character that unites us in the family DNA: that of entertaining and having fun”. So Salvo Buzzanca, brother of the recently deceased actor Lando, summarizes the salient features of his book, ‘We must celebrate’, with a preface by Laura Delli Colli, publisher Tozzuolo: a sort of ‘fictional essay’ in an interview with time.news.
Starting with the title: why and what should we celebrate? “It was the most widespread way of saying, when in Sicily at the time you went to visit a relative or a friend: when you entered their homes, you immediately exclaimed ‘then, we have to celebrate!’. Every occasion was good for us to party. It seemed to me perfect to describe the atmosphere that was breathed in the family, both on the paternal and maternal side; and it came naturally to me to adopt this expression as the title of the book”, replies Salvo Buzzanca.
“I was lucky enough to be born and grow up in a very entertaining family of humorists and storytellers, starting with my father and uncles: it was a sort of theater tour company… In a hypothetical noble coat of arms – he smiles Salvo Buzzanca – ‘we must celebrate’ could be the motto to be inscribed under the symbol. It is in this humus, it is with this fertile ground in which we have grown up since we were children, that the plant that made Lando Buzzanca a star was born of cinema and television, with his humor and his talent. I would not be able to see him in any other capacity than that of an actor”.
But how much Sicily, especially how much ‘Sicilianity’, is there? “It cannot be ignored. If, as Andrea Camilleri protagonist in a conversation, we want to distinguish Sicilians in the two categories of ‘rock Sicilians’ and ‘open sea Sicilians’, we Buzzancas are Sicilians from the open sea, but with a very long elastic that always takes us back to Sicily, with a bond that remains very strong”, reflects the author. The idea for the book “was born about four years ago, I wanted to pay homage to my family and surprise Lando: unfortunately it wasn’t possible, he left earlier…” regrets Salvo Buzzanca.
(by Enzo Bonaiuto)
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