Neither Italian nor Swiss – but both

At home between two cultures – Pippo Pollina swissinfo.ch

Sicilian singer-songwriter Pippo Pollina, who lives in Zurich, has worked with some leading names in Europe's music scene.

After 20 years in Switzerland in which he has built up his international career and had a family, Pollina tells swissinfo that he is integrated but in his own way – he has always remained true to himself.

My homeland and my roots are my memories, says Pollina, who has enjoyed popularity in Switzerland, Germany and Austria throughout his career, with later success in Italy.

swissinfo: You left Sicily aged 23 after the editor of the anti-mafia magazine you were working on was murdered. Did you flee or did you want to leave for pastures new?

Pippo Pollina: A bit of both. I’m a very curious person and I always wanted to explore life a bit more, and to a certain extent Italy was a bit constraining. I have a great love for Italy, but it’s a country that can block you, which always forces you to fall into line, which limits you because it often suppresses individual free spirits. I have always been independent minded. In Italy there was too much conformism.

And after all that had happened I didn’t want to put my life, or those of the people close to me, at risk. I felt I needed a break and this break changed into an authentic and unintentional “farewell” from Italy. It happened and I realised it was happening during this time.

swissinfo: You spent some time wandering around Europe and then you stopped in Switzerland, why?

P. P.: Because the conditions were better there for expressing my cultural background and the public was better at understanding it straightaway. Switzerland is an extraordinary observatory – you go into and through the Alps and to keep your distance from Italy you can simply look at it.

In Zurich, even in 1985-6, Italian newspapers arrived every day. Just sitting and reading the Corriere della Sera or la Repubblica with a cup of coffee was not something you could do in London, Paris, Stockholm or Madrid. The 700,000 Italians who arrived in the 1970s managed to spread the Italian way of life in a country that took strongly to it.

Later I met my wife and this influenced my decision to stay. Knowing me, I think I would have said to myself after a couple of years “Right, I’ve exhausted this experience, let’s try another and go somewhere else”. Today the reason for staying here is my children. Although I’m now separated from my wife, it’s important for me to be close to them, to be with them and help them until they are old enough to leave home. Then we’ll see.

swissinfo: Here you have a family, fans, a place where you can stay close to Italy but keep your distance. Has Zurich fulfilled all your desires?

P. P.: Although things are good as they are, I would like to reach a more Italian-speaking public because this would let me express myself differently. I get the impression that when I’m singing [in Italy] people understand the lyrics straightaway, which allows me to be more elaborate and literary in my songs.
My Swiss repertoire is not the same as the one in Italy, where my public is more political.

I live between two places. I know both of them. The advantage of somebody who in a certain sense loses their own country is that they acquire something else and become something between the two – not one or the other but both.

swissinfo: Do you have both nationalities as well?

P. P.: Years ago I began applying for citizenship and then I retracted my request because I was annoyed about a phone call from the police.

I recently handed in another one. And this time I was also tempted to take it back. A letter arrived asking for all my academic certificates, the schools I went to, my university records… I felt like saying “Sorry but whether I just did elementary school or have a degree, does that really change anything?” It seem as though it does. I would understand if they had asked whether I paid my taxes – I have been paying them regularly for 18 years – or if I had a criminal record, but I just don’t understand why they want my academic records.

The fewer passports I have the better. But you have to be realistic: today I have a residency permit and if I go to another country for more than six months I’ll lose it. I want to have the right to return to Switzerland because of my children. And this is only possible with a passport.

swissinfo-interview: Doris Lucini in Zurich

Pippo Pollina

Pippo – Guiseppe – Pollina was born in Palermo in 1963. He was hit by a car aged 6 when playing football, sustaining severe injuries. His physical injuries pushed him towards literature and music.

During his law studies at Palermo he worked for an anti-mafia magazine called I Siciliani. The editor, Guiseppe Fava, was murdered in 1984. Pollina then left Sicily and travelled around Europe.

In 1986 he met the Romansh singer-songwriter Linard Bardill in Lucerne who encouraged his singing and helped open doors to Swiss theatres. In 1993 he had success in Germany and Austria accompanying the German singer Konstantin Wecker on tour. He has also worked with French singer Georges Moustaki.

In 1997 he tried his luck in Italy, releasing the album Rossocuore – inspired by literary works – two years later. This included performances by Italian singers Franco Battiato and Nada. He has also written a musical.

Away from music

Apart from producing 14 albums, Pollina also acted in Ricordare Anna, a 2005 film by Walo Deubler.

He has also won several prizes in Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

His 2004 tour around Italy was captured by Hamburg filmmaker Christian Geisler and he has also been the subject of several books.