Members
Vincenzo Santoro - author
Vincenzo Santoro has been organising projects and events on music and traditional cultures of Southern Italy for many years. He has published numerous essays and books on musical traditions of the Salento region - “ Il ritorno della taranta. Storia della rinascita della musica popolare salentina,” (A history of the rebirth of folk music of Salento) is his latest publication. .He is the project manager of the ’Archivio sonoro della Puglia’ (an archive of Puglia’s traditional sounds), at the National Library of Bari. Vincenzo Santoro is Head of the Culture, Sport and Youth Policy of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.
(please refer to the bottom of the page to find useful publications relating to regional folk culture)
The Accademia has asked Vincenzo Santoro the following questions:
Vincenzo Santoro - from being an industrial expert to becoming an author of traditional culture books - numerous publications that celebrate ancient songs and sounds. How did your passion for folk music and dance start?
Paradoxically, my interest for Salento folk culture started away from the Salento region. It all started in Pisa in the early nineties when, during my university days, some friends introduced me to this extraordinary world. I was completely won over, and began a very passionate journey – a journey not yet concluded.
What is the most interesting aspect of your job?
I would say that, first of all, is the opportunity to come into contact with so many wonderful people, who often have exciting stories to tell. Then is being able to contribute towards the "evolution" of the cultural heritage of Puglia (at least that's the idea ...).
Tango in the 80s, Latin American dance in '90s, and now ... it’s ‘Pizzica’ time (the ‘pinch’ dance). Is this a cultural evolution that has led to Pizzica, or is it simply a fashion phenomenon?
I would say both. Undoubtedly, the success of the music from Salento in recent years stems from general fashion trends. But it’s also true that at the heart of its music is an important cultural heritage, which has been characterising the Salento region for many centuries.
In some seventeenth century illustrations, Puglia is depicted as a woman whose dress is swarming with spiders. At her feet are flutes, tambourines, and violins: the musical instruments that produce the sounds needed to heal from the bite of a spider. There has been much ethno-anthropological research on ‘tarantismo’ (the name of the syndrome caused by the bite) and its music therapy. What is the ‘Taranta’ dance for you, or rather, how would you define this dance to an English spectator?
I would define Taranta as a ritualistic dance for "recovering" from the effects of a spider’s bite (Taranta is also the name of the actual animal). In popular belief, the venom of this spider caused a physical and a psychological debility in anyone biten by it (Tarantism). Only a very rhythmic dance, the Tarantella, could ‘cure’ those affected by the spider’s venom. A specialized orchestras played the Taranta, for days and days, until the "sick", danced off the effects of the venom thus making a full recovery.
However, this was indeed a popular belief, a kind of mass suggestion, because spiders from Puglia don’t produce these effects.
The phenomenon of Tarantism is described masterfully by Ernesto de Martino in his 1961 book: The land of remorse: A Study of Southern Italian Tarantism. (Translated from Italian by Dorothy Louise Zinn, with a foreword by Vincent Crapanzano. London: Free Association, 2005).
What exactly is Pizzica?
The Pizzica, or more properly called the "Pizzica-Pizzica” was the type of music that accompanied a dance at old traditional festivals but that was also used in ritual therapeutic Tarantism. But we must not confuse the two dances: In Tarantism there is a solitary dance by the ‘tarantato’ (the person affected by tarantism), who performs a true ritualistic dance, whereas the falk dancing at the festivals was, and still is, performed in pairs.
What about the 'Neo-Pizzica'?
This expression refers to a "contemporary" interpretation of the traditional Pizzica-Pizzica dance which has spread in the Salento region in the last fifteen years. This modern interpretation takes into account some features of the old dance style, but introduces a sensual courtship dance display.
The Pizzica has been performed in countries as far as Beijing. Are there any plans to bring the 'Notte della Taranta' (the night of the spider) a little closer to home, to London maybe?
I would say that the Night of the Taranta, will visit any city that care to invite them so ... we look forward to receiving an invitation to come to the UK!
What was the most rewarding moment of your career / life?
I would say that the publication of my last book, The Return of the Taranta, has been a very rewarding time; it also gave me an opportunity to give something back to Puglia by narratting a piece of its history.
What was the most difficult and how did you overcome it?
Certainly the death of my father when I was much younger. There are events that are hard to comprehend. We only overcome them with the love of those around us.
What is hope?
Well ... maybe it's just something that helps us overcome difficult moments.
What is perfection?
It does not exist in man.
What is your next dream to realize?
We’ll see ... there are several projects in the pipeline!
What is your message for young people who are around the world in search of affirmation?
Invest in your talents, do not to lose heart and be curious about life.
Principali pubblicazioni
Vincenzo Santoro (a cura di)
Don Tonino Bello, Manifesto di Pace, Manni editore 1999
Vincenzo Santoro
Vincenzo Santoro
Tradizione e modernità della pizzica salentina, in AA VV, Tarantismo e neotarantismo, Besa editore, Nardò (Lecce), 2001
Vincenzo Santoro e Sergio Torsello (a cura di)
Vincenzo Santoro e Sergio Torsello (a cura di)
Il ritmo meridiano. La pizzica e le identità danzanti del Salento, edizioni Aramirè, Lecce 2002
Vincenzo Santoro e Sergio Torsello (a cura di)
Tabacco e tabacchine nella memoria storica. Una ricerca di storia orale a Tricase e nel Salento, Manni editore, Lecce 2002
Alessando D´Elia, Salvatore Leopizzi, Vincenzo Santoro, Sergio Torsello, Donato Valli, Nichi Vendola (a cura di)
La teologia degli oppressi. Antologia di scritti e interventi di don Tonino Bello, Manni editore, Lecce 2003
Sergio Torsello - Vincenzo Santoro
Il progetto Il ritmo meridiano, in Note di storia e cultura salentina, Argo, Lecce 2003
Roberto Raheli, Vincenzo Santoro, Sergio Torsello (a cura di)
Uccio Aloisi. I colori della terra. Canti e racconti di un musicista popolare, Edizioni Aramirè, Lecce 2004
Roberto Raheli, Vincenzo Santoro (a cura di)
Il Salento di Giovanna Marini
cd doppio, Edizioni Aramirè, Lecce 2004
Vincenzo Santoro
Il Salento di Giovanna Marini, in AA VV, Melissi, Besa Editore, Nardò (Lecce) 2004
Vincenzo Santoro
Vincenzo Santoro
Identità, memoria, territorio, in Atti dell´Incontro nazionale ecomusei, Biella 9-12 ottobre 2003, Eventi e Progetti Editore, Biella 2004
Vincenzo Santoro
Vincenzo Santoro
Il "movimento della pizzica" e la politica delle istituzioni locali, in AA VV, Melissi, n. 10/11 Besa Editore, Nardò (Lecce) 2005
Vincenzo Santoro, Sergio Torsello (a cura di)
Vincenzo Santoro, Sergio Torsello (a cura di)
Il Salento levantino. Memoria e racconto del tabacco a Tricase e in Terra d´Otranto, Edizioni Aramirè, Lecce 2005
Vincenzo Santoro La rivolta delle tabacchine di Tricase del 1935, in AA VV, Memorie di «classe». Lavorare a scuola con le fonti orali per leggere il mondo contemporaneo, Massari Editore 2005, Atti del convegno nazionale “Memorie di classe. Le fonti orali nella storia”, Roma 14-15 marzo 2003
Vincenzo Santoro
Vincenzo Santoro La rivolta delle tabacchine di Tricase del 1935, in AA VV, Memorie di «classe». Lavorare a scuola con le fonti orali per leggere il mondo contemporaneo, Massari Editore 2005, Atti del convegno nazionale “Memorie di classe. Le fonti orali nella storia”, Roma 14-15 marzo 2003
Vincenzo Santoro
Rina Durante, militante culturale, in Folk Bulletin n. 412, luglio-agosto 2005
Vincenzo Santoro
Vincenzo Santoro
La ricerca del Salento perduto. Intervista a Brizio Montinaro, in AA VV, Melissi, n. 12/13 Besa Editore, Nardò (Lecce) 2006
Vincenzo Santoro
Vincenzo Santoro
Il balletto intorno al patrimonio, in AA VV, Melissi, n. 14/15 Besa Editore, Nardò (Lecce) 2007
Vincenzo Santoro
Vincenzo Santoro
Il progetto "GiovaniLibri" per promuovere la lettura, in "Economia della cultura", n. 1, marzo 2008, pp. 109-114, Il Mulino, Bologna
Vincenzo Santoro
Il ritorno della taranta. Storia della rinascita della musica popolare salentina, libro+ cd audio, Squilibri editore, Roma 2009
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