The St Gregory procession is steeped in tradition and dates back at least 500 years.  It happens every Wednesday after Easter and, in effect, apart from the religious aspect of it all, serves to mark the start of the bathing season, at least for the residents of Zejtun and Marsaxlokk.

I visited the beautiful town of Marsaxlokk yesterday morning, and the air was one where the people, after the sacrifices incurred during covid-19, made it clear through their actions that they want to get back to pre-covid times.  The events occurring during Lent and Easter showed that the people want to form part of a community once again.  The St Gregory procession was another confirmation if it was ever needed.

This augurs very well for the festa season, which is very successful.  I have spoken to various festa enthusiasts, and they all told me that they are looking forward to the upcoming festa season, despite all Covid-incurred difficulties.

If the attendances by the public are anything to buy, the festas this summer will be another success.

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The Green Festival in Valletta is a yearly appointment organised by the Valletta Cultural Agency and a legacy of Valletta 2018.

It was an immense pleasure for me to join Minister Miriam Dalli and VCA to launch this year’s upcoming Green Festival, which will see, among other attractions, St George’s Square being changed from night today.  Green will be the order of the day during the festival, and that is indeed a powerful message to send in the context of the Government’s focus on creating new public spaces and more green policies.

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Muzika Muzika is a festival with a purpose.  It is a music festival because it gives an opportunity to a number of artists, composers, authors, and technical people to showcase their talent. But it is also an opportunity for artists to portray their messages and communication in the Maltese language as a primary tool. 

I had the opportunity to visit the set of Muzika Muzika and see for myself the immense dedication of the people leading the organisation.  By the time of the publication of this column, the first soiree’ of the festival would have already taken place.  I am confident that the whole three days will be an extraordinary experience for the viewers and artists alike.

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I do not intend to dwell for too long on the vicissitudes of the Nationalist Party in Opposition. As soon as a decision is taken within the structures, you will inevitably find a strong counter-reaction if the matter.

Let us take, for instance, the Shadow Ministerial exercise which the Leader of Opposition undertook with the help, it is said, of Ray Bezzina of the George Pullicino fame.  As soon as the news came out, after a few seconds, a leading Nationalist MP, Chris Said, used brilliant diction to point out that a new split had occurred within the Party’s Parliamentary Group: between those who had served until GonziPN and the others.

I am sure that we have not yet heard the end of this.

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I enjoyed earlier this week meeting the Argentinian Maestro Jose Cura, who happened to be in Malta, along with his lovely wife, Silvia.  Cura is, of course, one of the leading tenors and conductors and an inspiration to many people.

I have to thank Catherine Tabone for introducing me to Maestro Cura.  It was indeed a huge pleasure discussing with him the culture sector in Europe and elsewhere and what Malta needs to keep moving forward in the artistic field.  He told me that he immediately fell in love with Valletta, and he felt the sense of “magic” in the city: the result of centuries after centuries of tradition and history in the making.

I hope to have the opportunity to meet Maestro Cura again in the near future.

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The Venice Biennale is a very huge appointment in the artistic calendar.  Malta had taken part for a number of years, then it stopped for a long 17 years.

In 2013 we had pledged that if elected to Government, we would start participating once again in the Biennale, and that is what we did twice (2017 and 2019) since then.

It is very important for Malta to be there for the Biennale as a sign of national prestige and to showcase our talent in the visual arts sphere.  Indeed, for an artist to participate in the Biennale is a landmark in their career, and we will keep investing to make Malta’s experience in the Biennale even better each time.

Malta will be represented by a curatorial project, Diplomazija Astuta, which has received positive reviews and comments from what I have been told.

Diplomazija Astuta is the work of curators Keith Sciberras and Jeffrey Uslip through a creative collaboration with Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci, Arcangelo Sassolino and Mro Brian Schembri.

The aim is to create, and I quote, “a conceptual, immersive, site-specific installation that bridges biblical narratives with contemporary culture”.  It also aims to, and I quote again, “transpose the zeitgeist of the Oratory of the Decollato in Valletta onto the Malta pavilion, re-situating Caravaggio’s immanent themes within modern life.”

The work will be on display between April 23 and November 27 and curated by Cecila Alemani.   I thank Arts Council Malta for doing fantastic work to make this happen.

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The preparations are well underway for the 1st May celebrations in Valletta.  The Labour Party is drawing up an interesting array of events for the day, culminating in the traditional meeting in Valletta.  A telethon in aid of the Labour Party will also occur, and I urge all those who support the Labour Party to provide a donation to help keep the work going.

Workers’ Day is a big day for the Labour Movement.  I am looking forward to the day itself.