“Say it with me: the mafia is a mountain of shit.” Dario Mangiaracina, frontman of La Representative di Lista, shouts from the stage at the foot of the E temple of Selinunte during “A nome nostro”, the initiative to remember the victims of the mafia conceived by Sade Mangiaracina. He shouts into the microphone and the audience responds: 10 thousand people arrived from all over Sicily for the long marathon of voices and sounds that took place yesterday at the archaeological park of Selinunte, a few steps from Castelvetrano, where the boss Matteo Messina Denaro was born, captured on January 16, 2023 after thirty years on the run and died in prison last September.
Nine hours of non-stop music, interspersed with readings by the actors Paolo Briguglia, Donatella Finocchiaro, Dajana Roncione, Luigi Lo Cascio, Fabrizio Ferracane and by the testimonies of the journalist Lirio Abbate and family members of some mafia victims: Rosamaria Vento (her father was killed by mistake in 1984 in Castelvetrano), Salvatore and Emilia Catalano (brother and nephew of Agostino, killed in the massacre in via D’Amelio), Giovanni Montinaro (son of Antonio Montinaro, who died in the street of Capaci) and Giuseppe Cimarosa (cousin of the boss Matteo Messina Money that he renounced). Also testifying to their commitment in the territories were the representatives of ‘Addio pizzo, ‘Liberà, ‘Casa memorià.
The illuminated E temple was the backdrop to the stage on which emerging bands but also big names in Italian song performed: Arisa, Malika Ayane, Raiz, Mario Lavezzi, Daniele Silvestri, Silvia Mezzanotte, Simona Molinari, Paolo Fresu and then Modena City Ramblers. The long day of music and voices, presented by Stefania Renda, Francesca Barra and Gino Castaldo, was broadcast live on the ANSA website and on Radio 2, media partner of the event. During the afternoon Giuseppe Anastasi and Carlotta Scarlatto of Cet di Mogol awarded two scholarships to young emerging musicians.
«It was an extraordinary second edition that conveyed emotions to all of us artists – said Sade Mangiaracina, creator of ‘A nome lorò and originally from Castelvetrano – if so many people have arrived here, this is proof that the right way is that of saying no to the mafia and working towards a better Sicily full of beauty, work and human respect. All this was possible thanks to the artists who immediately said yes to my invitation but also to the Sicily Region, confederal unions and Siae who supported us.”
The grand finale was entrusted to the Modena City Ramblers with ‘I cento passì: the Palermo actor Luigi Lo Cascio also took to the stage, who plays Peppino Impastato in Marco Tullio Giordana’s film. (
