A Little Long Journey
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"I did the same as you ... I left my country." From Italian to Spanish to English and Welsh. An Argentinian artist looks at the ever changing cultures in the Pinatti family.
Transcript
"I just wonder what were you thinking Dad? The war ended, all your friends smiling at the camera looking forward to a new life. I bet you were already dreaming about going to Argentina.
But just don't do it. Stay there. In a few years Italy will be a good place to live. You don't need to go and leave all your history behind.
A month in a ship across the ocean to discover a new life. Getting married, working hard, building a white locomotive ... and children.
And here is where I come in. Yes please I need a hand. I am probably too young to dream of the future. But see, there is no much time Dad.
All that energy, passions and dreams of sharing a life together. And now you say your final goodbye.
I always wanted to travel like you. I still remember my trip to Patagonia in my old Citroen, making new friends on the way and encountering all those road signs with this strange language written on it.
At the end I did the same as you, I left my country. Of course I did it quicker, I got the plane.
First Italy - your home - and I learned how to survive there. I still remember Eduardo who taught me the tricks of being a street artist. Long days kneeling on the floor earning good money ... well sometimes.
And then Wales. Finding the same road signs with a strange language that I encountered many years ago in Patagonia. Building an ordinary life here, making friends and what is best, I am still an artist.
Dad, you went to Argentina and I came to Wales and I wonder if I inherited your dreams of making a new life somewhere else."
An interview with the author
Please tell us a little about yourself.
Born in Argentina from Italian parents. In 1990 I went to live in Italy living as a street artist. In 1992 I moved to Wales where I live now working as a professional artist and teacher.
What's your story about?
This story is about myself but there is not a story about myself without telling about my dad, and there is not a story about both of us without thinking about my family in Argentina.
Why did you choose to tell this particular story?
Because I had never before placed my dad's story in relation to mine.
What did you find most rewarding about the workshop?
The opportunity to talk about something (a personal story) in a way that I never did before.
