Studies about the Maltese in Australia have been forthcoming by people such as Barry York, Maurice Cauchi, Rigu Bovington, Joseph C. Chetcuti and others but a new book Kitarri, Tombli u Teatrin (Horizons / The Malta Drama Centre, 2014) focuses exclusively on the various types of entertainment among the Maltese communities in Sydney and, largely, Melbourne.
The book is the result of an extensive six-month research period which author and theatre pedagogue Mario Azzopardi conducted in Australia last year. The book presents a rather depressing situation of the Maltese cultural milieu in Australia, confirming that now, the most important tenet of Maltese identity, the language, is doomed.
“The few writers that continue to cling to the edge are giving up hope of rescuing the language from its death throes,” explains Azzopardi, quoting a song satirist Fredu l-Fra (Alfred Cachia of Melbourne) who pithily describes the Maltese Authors’ Group as “The Dead Poets’ Society”.
Interviewing Cachia at his farm in Hoppers’ Crossing proved to be a mix of Maltese gastronomical flavours and other less savoury realities as Cachia and two other Maltese guitarists-cum-folk singers lamented the virtual death of Maltese ethnicity in Australia.
“The younger (third generation) does not relate to their parents’ and grandparents’ time capsule, and prefer to associate with adolescents and young people from other ethnic backgrounds.” However, they observe their Italian, Greek and even Asian friends would never dream of sidelining their roots; nor would their parents and grandparents.
Maltese with a solid educational background place a lot of the blame for the present situation or the stifling inertia, for example in Melbourne, on the Maltese Community Council of Victoria (MCCV).
Dr Joseph C. Chetcuti laments that the MCCV has no ideas how to generate Maltese cultural interest and feeds its members with tombola sessions, snooker and skittles, a mix of passive, non-inventive entertainment.
“The only saving factor,” denotes Azzopardi, is the production of teatrin which, albeit an archaic form of spectacle, still draws patrons and allows the Maltese language to survive a little longer.
The book also includes a CD with music by Vince Puli and verses by Albert Marshall, based on Lorca’s drama, Yerma.
Mario Azzopardi’s book ‘Kitarri, Tombli u Teatrin’ can be obtained at the price of €15 from Outlook Coop, tel: 21 44 1604; email: [email protected] or The Malta Drama Centre, tel: 2122 0665; email [email protected]