“The final phase will be characterized by an indisputably personal perception of time, there will be the need to hold it as much as possible, so that it can flow with difficulty, that last goodbye can be slow in arriving. That red earth and all that movement will appear as indispensable. The awareness that soon all that will vanish will be the only dissonant note of an unrepeatable symphony.

The activity carried out in Maputo has certainly exceeded every type of expectation. There was work to do, and not a little, but there was not a day in which I felt tired. It may be the implicit conditioning transmitted by a culture that is always in motion, by people who cannot stand still because nothing is given away, or the effect of those who still carry the aftermath of the past in their memory; which makes every step a symbol of freedom, of a freedom conquered.

The time to reopen my eyes and about fourteen hours had passed, I was in a place so different in appearance, but so similar in depth. On the surface everything around me was different, the dirt roads, the houses with sheet metal roofs, the behavior of the people, the look with which I was welcomed. There was not a day in which I did not feel part of a community, even though I believed I was not really part of it. I have always felt that I was part of that environment and the best part is that no one has ever put me in a condition to change my mind.

I wonder if, in my home country, a person in my same condition could ever experience the feelings of welcome that I was able to experience, I wonder a lot about that, but that’s another matter. There were words that were constantly repeated, I don’t know if out of habit or, more likely, because of them deep roots in social culture, they were ‘we are together’, which in Italian means ‘stiamo insieme’. I always felt a wonderful sense of community and I never had the feeling of being alone. Whether I was at home, immersed in the continuous and necessary discovery of culture, or in the midst of work activities, I never felt any sensation attributable to loneliness.

Work was certainly a fundamental aspect and it is exactly what I tell and remember with the greatest enthusiasm. I had the opportunity to support Soares and Omar in the Music Therapy activities, we worked intensely trying to satisfy all the proposed objectives. There was not a day in which we were not able to take a step forward, we had such a great need to progress that no form of discomfort could be an obstacle, even the mistake magically transformed into a pretext for a confrontation.

I had the opportunity to work with them for two months, the time necessary to carry out a specific supervision of all the people involved in the Music Therapy treatments and to organize, together, the work in the best way for that specific condition and for that specific moment. There was a continuous involvement marked by an authentic exchange, free of personal interests, both in the work aspects and in the artistic ones.

We played a lot, both during the Music Therapy activities and for the pure pleasure of doing it, combining the rhythmic dialogue of Mozambican music with the expressiveness of Italian music.

I played with them on the day that celebrates the Mozambican revolution, we played together several songs, even that Italian song that recalls the most important revolution of our country in its most difficult period. Although the song was known to many, few knew its true meaning. It is truly significant how music can act as a bridge between different cultures and crucial historical moments. The fusion of elements of Mozambican and Italian music not only enriches the musical experience, but also creates a space for dialogue and mutual understanding.

Playing together to celebrate the Mozambican revolution was a moment of great intensity and meaning, which united the memories and struggles of both countries. In the last days of activity, within the walls of the Machaka Association, my name was constantly repeated, which in Changana means “I am here”, probably to counteract and reduce the effects of what was soon to happen. It was the synthesis of over sixty days in which I felt alive, in which I was able to see and experience life for what it should be. Maputo is a place still intact, far from the over-stimulation to which we Europeans are accustomed, in the neighborhoods of Maputo life takes shape withlittle, but turns out to be much richer than one can imagine.”