Masquerade Promenades 2006: February 12th, 19th, 26th, 28th, and March 5th

The 2006 Viareggio Carnival allegoric floats parades will start on February 12th from the impressive scenery of seaside avenues, and will end March 5th with the gorgeous night parade and the traditional fireworks. Five extraordinary opportunities to enjoy a unique show.
The sketches of the paper-maché floats will not disappoint the expectations of the public; majestic high-quality constructions will put on display themes shifting from satire to the present times, from arts to poetry.
The huge opening float Al cospetto del dio soldo non c’è più religione (In front of the God of money there is no religion anymore ) by Arnaldo Galli, Gilbert Lebigre and Corinne Roger, deals with the adoration of Western culture for the god of money. Money, richness, and economy are recurrent subjects of the parading floats: L’urlo di Chen terrorizza l’Occidente  (Chen’s shout threatens the Western world) by Simone Politi and Priscilla Borri presents the uncontrollable economic growth of China, which worries the Western leaders. Alfredo Ricci, instead, deals with the worrisome fluctuations of stock exchange in his float named La borsa scende, la borsa sale… ma per noi va sempre uguale!!!  (Stock Exchange goes up and down… but for us it is always the same!!! )
As far as the unfailing political satire is concerned, there is the float by Luigi Verlanti (sketched by Luigi Bonetti, named Apertura di caccia (Hunting season opening ), where the characters of our present Government become hunting targets. The current debated issue regarding marriages among homosexuals is expressed by two floats, both belonging to the two concurring float categories: El matador (The Bullfighter) by Alessandro Avanzini is a first category float, whereas Vamos a sposar? (Shall we get married?) by Emilio Cinquini is a second category float. Both of them make clear allusions to Spain and Zapatero. The second category float named Fenomeno da baraccone (The freaky show), by Giovanni and Libero Maggini, presents an improbable knight riding Italy, while Ma… il Diavolo è di dx o sx (But… does the devil side with the conservative or democratic party?) by Enrico Vannucci (and sketched by Fabrizio Del Tessa), puts on display a duel between the two political parties with the Devil as an arbiter.
Nostalgia materializes into the non concurring float by Roberto Vanucci and Carlo Lombardi, La macchina del tempo. Viaggio attraverso la storia del carnevale (The time machine. A travel through the Carnival history), where the fundamental stages of Carnival are put on display. The same nostalgia can be found in the second category float by Jacopo Allegrucci, Game over, which shows how new videogames crushed down the traditional toys.
The float by Fabrizio Galli, Mi rifiuto  (I throw myself away), deals with a burning matter of current news. Here a dreadful monster, human craziness, try to throw life into the dustbin. However, the hope, disguised as a stork, prevents it to make such a mistake.
The hope is also the feeling conveyed by the float by Franco Malfatti, Forza e coraggio  (Strength and bravery), where a lion wants to give us some encouragement and strenght in such a difficult historic moment. The destiny of humankind is determined by fate, however we are often the ones who decide for the realization of our dreams. This is the message of Massimo Breschi behind the float sketched by Luca Della Santa, Tra sogno e realtà (Between dream and reality).
With her poem,  E’ nato prima l’uovo o pulcinella?  (Was it born first  the egg or Punchinello?), Gionata Francesconi, winner of 2005 edition, puts on the stage a white Punchinello inspired by Tiepolo’s paintings.
The float promenade is made even more animated by group masquerades, where happy big masks resemble working animals in the artwork by Giorgio Bomberini, Il lavoro nobilita l’uomo ma….(Work enobles man, but…); funny dishes become alive for Michele Canova in La cena delle beffe (The mocking dinner); paper-maché photo-models parade for the masquerade by Edoardo Ceragioli, La cartapesta è tornata di moda (The paper-maché revival); buskers wearing animal-like costumes by Roberto De Leo parade for  Artisti di strada in sfilata al carnevale: uno spettacolo bestiale! (Buskers parade at the Carnival); then odd  witches conceived by Marzia Etna dance in the streets saying Balla ballosso streghe a più non posso!!! (Dance with witches as much as you can); half-politicians and half-boxers by Giampiero Ghiselli celebrate Festa de l’Unità (democratic party happening – “The Union Party”); whimsical narcissistic characters sketched by Alessandro Servetto and realized by Paolo Lazzari parade in Cosa non si fa per vanità (Vanity: the last frontier); in L’allegria dà i suoi frutti (Cheerfulness produces its fruits) by Adolfo Milazzo, happy and colourful pieces of fruits will parade; in Ritorno dal Veglione (Coming back from the masked ball), Mario Neri gives us visions of a blind drunkness; also, the masquerade by Luciano Tomei named Sinfonia buffa in sette movimenti (Funny symphony in seven movements), can be seen as a personification of musical movements.

Finally, there will be the parade of ten isolated amusing masks: I…dentici (The dentexes) by Annalisa Benedetti, Gruppo sanguigno (Blood type) by Andrea de Angeli, Pollo conta-minato (Contaminated chicken) by Monica Federigi and Stefania Scroglieri, Orango Tango (Tango Orang-outan) by Stefania Garbini, Masklerata (Crazy masquerade) by Alessandro Maltana, Ci sono dei casini in camera (Mess in the bedroom) by Floriano Marchi, La madre perla (del Tirreno) (Tyrrhenian mother of pearl) by Massimiliano Marmugi, Il pastore tedesco (The German Shepherd) by Antonio Mastromarino, Quattro sarti in padella (Four tailors in the pan) by Andrea Mazza, La  cappella si… strina (The scorched chapel)  by Andrea and Franco Pucci.

Satire, irony and amusement will pervade music, songs, and dances.

The show is guaranteed, once again.

L’Ufficio Stampa Fondazione Carnevale