A Max Gazzè in top form, in a refined and intimate show in the splendid setting of Piazza Duomo, officially opened the 2024 edition of the “Flower Festival” of Acireale. The artist, accompanied by the Calabria Orchestra, brought to the stage the hits most loved by the public who sang and danced to the notes of the most poetic lyrics (L’uomopiù furbo, Figlia, Su un cherry esterna, Quando Dormi), and to his more experimental compositions (The glow given to this sun, This strong silence or Colloquium Vitae), and the beloved ‘songs’ (A music can do, Sotto casa, La vita com’è).
“With Max Gazzè we have started a week full of musical events, colour, flowers and events in our historic center – declared the mayor of Acireale, Roberto Barbagallo – A festival started a few years ago that we want to relaunch by valorising above all our flower artisans and at the same time, bringing our decorated and colorful city to life. Through the installations present in various squares we wanted to highlight the artistic and architectural potential of our city. Our city needs spaces free from cars, open to tourists and citizens who want to experience our architectural beauties. The City is ripe for important choices and I believe that in a few years we will have changed the way we appreciate it. In the meantime, let’s live this week carefree, proud to have been born in a wonderful city.”
And speaking of beauty, I’m counting down to finally admire the flower-decorated floats that will parade along the streets of the historic center in a few hours.
Six true works of art created by our flower artists.
The proposed themes are more current than ever.
It starts at 5pm with the inauguration of the exhibitions and craft markets, “Fiori in Fiera”, located along the main streets of the city and a parade of the “Mask Schools”.
At 6.30pm presentation of the flowered floats, parade and permanent exhibition with performances and then at 9.00pm everyone in the square with “Discomania Radio 105”.
Descriptions and allegories of the six flower-decorated floats in the competition
“TELL ME WHO YOU ARE”
CULTURAL ASSOCIATION THE NEW MASTER FLORISTS OF THE SARDO BROTHERS)
How many times have we asked ourselves this question in silence or out loud, sometimes happy to have discovered a special person with whom to share life’s paths or perhaps a true friend… other times because disappointed by people who have demonstrated something that in reality then it is not the one for which we also fell in love, trusted, affectionate.
At the center of the work, the elephant Ganesha is defined as the destroyer of every obstacle, whether material or spiritual, which also symbolizes the ability to distinguish truth from illusion, the real from the unreal.
Life is represented as a roulette wheel that does not spin by itself, but which inevitably needs someone to direct it in the right direction, this someone is the man who in this case is represented as a joker, who shuffles the cards and manipulates the roulette also marking the fate of those next to him, the woman.
Man and woman take on a double face, but most of the time it is the woman who gets the worst of it, hiding her fears and insecurities behind a smiling mask, leaving aside the past, thinking about the present and not about future consequences.
“A SMILE CAN SAVE US”
(ASSOCIATION OF THE ANCIENT FLOWER MASTERS)
The value of the smile is the theme of this work.
Crises, pandemics, wars and the daily bombardments of bad news have made us stop wanting to smile and appreciate the beauty that life offers us.
The work aims to make people think and make them smile even if just for a moment.
On the front there is a large sun, a symbol of strength and rebirth.
Behind us are two music boxes from which two jokers will emerge representing the unexpected events and at the same time the surprises that life reserves for us every day.
A clown will invite us to react with a smile to always have an optimistic vision and appreciate life with joy… a smile can save us.
“STORIES OF ARTISTS WITHOUT STAGE”
(RIOLO ASSOCIATION)
It is a tribute to an often underestimated category: “street artists”.
How many times do we pass by a performance by these artists without even stopping for a moment to look at them? They offer us unique performances completely free of charge, with very little they create real shows, transforming our streets and squares into open-air stages.
How many internationally famous artists started their careers just like this, for example: Ed Sheeran, Robin Williams or Maneskin.
Street artists are divided into many categories: street artists who fill our cities with colors and jugglers who challenge technique and balance, magicians who give illusions, musicians and singers who enchant us.
A tribute to these artists is therefore what is created in this work, in the hope of arousing the same emotions that they manage to convey to them on the streets.
“BEWARE OF THE RATE”
(SPINOSA COMPANY – LAUDANI)
A warning on an issue that has cost us very dearly, especially for younger people, which unfortunately continues to produce massacres; let’s talk about the alcohol level, often exceeded in the joy of being together with friends, but the cause of very bad events.
In the work, a car is reproduced in the center which by choice is not of the latest generation, but from other times to refer to the saying “he who goes slowly, goes safely and goes far”.
On the sides various expressions of “alcohol levels exceeded”, various cheerful, extravagant, exuberant characters.
Then a large monster representing the allegory of alcohol; in addition to the inevitable road safety signs that excessive alcohol doesn’t make you see and finally a large range that aims to represent the range of possibilities that life offers us.
You can cloud yourself and take risks, with alcohol, or even worse, with drugs or you can choose to live a healthy life and enjoy the beauties of it.
“I’M NOT AFRAID OF YOU!”
CULTURAL ASSOCIATION FRATELLI CAVALLARO by Giacomo Cavallaro
Orazio, Seby, Alessio
The work represents an unfortunately increasingly widespread theme today, violence against women.
The title refers to a well-known song by singer-songwriter Emma Marrone, which highlights the courage to take control of one’s life.
Men who with such brutality and arrogance perhaps want to feel superior, to command, to control, to possess the woman next to him, totally depriving her of the freedom to do anything she wants and sometimes of life.
No one can ever justify or forgive a man who puts his hands on, disfigures or kills a woman.
No one can ever claim the right to mistreat a woman, much less to be called a man… these, without offense to animals, are animals.
In the center of the chariot a beautiful swan represents the woman; behind the swan, against the background of a heart, the face of a woman will appear, pure and delicate on one side, mistreated and scarred on the other
the violent man is represented by a wolf to symbolize the ferocity against the defenseless figure of the woman.
On the sides of the wagon we find the symbols linked to the fight against violence against women: the red bench, the red shoes and the red ribbon.
– “THE SCENT OF FREEDOM”
(URSO ASSOCIATION)
The work is inspired by the escape of the lion Kimba from a circus, news that caused panic and which quickly spread around the world through the media.
We take inspiration from this escape to deal with the topic of animals in the circus, where the positions for and against are clearly different.
In the foreground there is a tamer in very different clothes compared to those we are used to seeing him in, in fact he is locked in a cage scared, perhaps he is feeling what those poor creatures feel locked up in a cage.
It is surrounded by two animals, the largest that can perhaps be seen in a circus: a giraffe and an elephant.
Dominating the scene is the lion, the “king of animals” par excellence, free to run and savor the much-loved freedom.
Closing the scene will be Mother Nature in the form of a butterfly, to symbolize the freedom that these animals need, freedom that they only find in their natural habitats.
The butterfly also wants to be a sign of rebirth and regeneration, which can reconcile man and nature.
