A tremendous crash. A sudden illness. On the night of 2 June 1981, the metallic gray Volvo 343 driven by Rino Gaetano skidded on Via Nomentana, in Rome. At via Carlo Fea. The truck coming in the opposite direction was unable to avoid it. A long beep of the horn but without any effect. The driver said he saw Gaetano collapse on one side and reopen his eyes just a few moments before the impact. 42 years have passed since that night but Rome and Italy continue to love and remember Rino Gaetano more and more every day. A secular religion that regenerates the art of one of the most inspired and irreverent authors and interpreters of Italian song. Wrongly considered a disengaged songwriter, in reality Rino Gaetano was a visionary. Through the paradox, his songs unmask social models and their still very current contradictions. His lyrics, ironic and surreal, are the demonstration of a unique and nonconformist talent.
Also this year at the Parco Talenti in Rome the «Rino Gaetano Day» will take place, the event organized by Anna and Alessandro Gaetano (sister and niece of the singer) to remember the singer-songwriter on the anniversary of his death. Between today and tomorrow the Rino Gaetano Band and many artists and guests will take turns on stage to give new life to the songs of a never forgotten genius who has become part of the collective memory of our country.
The event at Parco Talenti continues to bring new proposals from the music scene to the public’s attention, involving young artists inspired by Rino Gaetano who will pay homage to him. On Friday 2 June Dario Gabrieli, Matteo Massetti and Antidoti Label will perform. Naive, Matteo Costanzo and Mille will follow, an artist already known to the Rino Gaetano Day audience. LaMario will present the evening and the guests will be Leo Gassmann, Comete and Luciano D’Abbruzzo. On Saturday 3 June, however, the participation of Thogo and Lave is expected. Followed by Guidobaldi and Daniele De Gregori. They will introduce Gaia Messerklinger and Greg. Guests will be Pierdavide Carone, Lorenzo Lepore and Giulio Wilson. Antonio Rezza and Flavia Mastrella will be present with a video greeting that will be broadcast during both evenings. The Rino Gaetano Band, the only official tribute to Rino Gaetano founded in 1999 by his sister Anna to keep the artist’s memory alive, will accompany the audience on both evenings through a journey of stories and songs that will retrace Rino’s artistic production of 6 albums and a live performance («Ingresso Libero», «Mio brother is an only child», «Aida», «Nuntereggae più», «Stay vile male, dove vai», «E io ci sto», «Q Concert») , exploring the deepest but at the same time carefree introspection of the human soul. The words spoken by Rino Gaetano on the occasion of a concert on Capocotta beach in 1979 sound prophetic today. «There is someone who wants to gag me – said the singer – I don’t fear them. They won’t succeed. I feel that, in the future, my songs will be sung by the next generations who, thanks to mass communication, will understand what I mean tonight. They will understand and will open their eyes, instead of having them filled with salt, and will wonder what was happening on Capocotta beach». At the Talent Park they understood it very well.
