48 OI magazine which is saints Peter and Paul’s day, the population turned to the patron saint of the tarantati, who is Saint Paul. A chapel adjacent to the cathedral of the city of Galatina was dedicated to the latter Saint. A large crowd turned to pray there before the harvest, to ask for the grace of healing and not to be re-bitten, to drinking miraculous water from a well, and finally to reaching the village of Melpignano for a great festival and a final concert. What is celebrated today on the last three days of June with stalls full of games for the little ones, candy stands for the sweet tooth, typical music and many lights, once was the time in which the “victims” of the taranta’s awful bite could ask for the grace of “Santu Paulu de le Tarante” and be freed, once and for all, from the rotten poison’s effects. In addition to the 29 of June recurrence, I remind that the Taranta is the hero of a Festival that has been celebrated since 1998 during the August holidays, being among the most important popular music festivals in Europe. In fact, it takes place every year on August evenings in various squares of the Salento villages, where Apulians and tourists dance alone or in pairs, snapping their fingers like castanets, while nationally and internationally renowned artists perform over 30 songs of the Salento music, using the traditional tambourine. The aim is to preserve the precious traditions, to expand the search for tarantism, to enhance the area with the art of music and with this beautiful dance which often had to defend itself from judgments that called it “cursed”. It is absolutely the opposite! The magic of this dance, the Taranta, is that it can transform the dancers’ body into an artistic medium, capable of expressing easy and un-schematic moves, at the exclusive and individual rhythm of one’s own sensations, which makes it a genuine expression of freedom. This dance is certainly capable of expressing happiness and the desire to react to the most dramatic moments of life, and this is also what makes it special. Finally… I have introduced you to a legend full of mystery, of fascinating rituals, whose magic wants to lead us to believe in the great philosophy of Life. We all must try to keep “dancing and singing in the rain” to make our dreams become true because...”the sun always comes out after the storm”. Let’s not stop believing it.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDMxMQ==