Pink (May 2019)

ISSUE175∫MAY2019

Women in music

EQUAL PLAYERS IN THE FIELD CREATING SOUND FEMALE NETWORKS

THESE LADIES ARE ROCKING OUR WORLD

GET A TASTE OF THE PINK FASHION SHOW

WHERE STYLE MEETS SPORT

FULL-ON FEMININE CREATIVITY FROM JEWELLERY DESIGN TO CERAMICS, DECOUPAGE AND SILK

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INSIDE

May 2019

60 50

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FEATURES 13 LifeStyle generational fashion Mother-daughter bonding through clothing 18 ArtyFacts and so she made it Ladies lending beauty to their art 24 ArtyFacts music to her ears When it was a man’s world 29 WomensWorld femmetastic tracks Redefining the Maltese music scene 35 WomensWorld finding the music in noise Meet the Malta Sound Women Network 41 InFocus be the change Getting into clean politics

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FASHION 46 FashionStory seeing sicily Jewellery design inspired by decadence 50 ShowStopper riding high A feel for The Pink Fashion Show

FITNESS 60 OnForm the sport of queens Ladies who play polo

REGULARS

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11 EditorsNote 42 WomanKind the dorothean Paola Frassinetti

COVER Photography Andre Gialanze ∫ Styling Marisa Grima [marisagrima.com] ∫ Hair Lara and Ruth Steer from dsalon, Swieqi ∫ Make-up Chris Attard from Franks, using Guerlain ∫ Location The Malta Polo Club, Marsa, the venue for The Pink Fashion Show ∫ Model Rebecca @ Supernova MM, wearing shirt, €70; skirt, €90, both Mexx.

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EDITORSNOTE

With Chris Attard, Ruth and Lara Steer, part of the ShowStopper and fashion show team.

It’s that time of the year. Preparations are in full swing for The Pink Fashion Show, a Times of Malta event that is now galloping into its 12th edition, scheduled to be held on June 15 at the Malta Polo Club in Marsa.

Guests can start getting geared up to attend the catwalk with a difference and combine this event with an elite sport, polo, which we feel goes so well with the fashion world.

The anticipated show, pre- and postparty will, in fact, be combined with the Cawnpore Cup and guests can watch a match, get familiar with the game and socialise in a sporty-chic setting before the catwalk kicks off.

As always, the setting of The Pink Fashion Show promises to be unique and original, with the Marsa horse racing track turned into the glamorous venue of one of the most sought-after and stylish events on the fashion calendar.

Heartfelt thanks go to our sponsors and supporters, who, year after year, know that their place is at

WRITE IN AND WIN

this event, organised by Malta’s leading magazine for women, with its strong focus on fashion across the decades that has made it the frontrunner in this field too.

To steal a preview of the look and feel at the show, and the winning brands on our racing track runway, including Calzedonia, Cortefiel, Gerry Weber, Mexx, NOOS, O’hea Opticians, Pedro del Hierro, US Polo Assn and Women’secret, check out the ShowStopper photo shoot on page 50.

Our model, Rebecca Camilleri, rubbed shoulders with plenty of horses and players to be captured by Andre Gialanze at the polo club; while the draping make-up technique was nailed

by Chris Attard from Franks, using Guerlain; and sister duo Lara and Ruth Steer from dsalon in Swieqi created their version of a horse’s mane for a grand hairdo to complete the equestrian-themed look.

Watch the making of this photo shoot with behind-the-scenes footage on timesofmalta.com, the Pink magazine Facebook page and Instagram; and watch this space for more surprises riding your way from The Pink Fashion Show… including an invitation to this fun night in the post?

We want to hear from you. Send us your feedback on Pink and any stories that may have touched you in some way, and you stand a chance of winning a Miss Dior Roller-Pearl eau de toilette, courtesy of Franks.

Write to Pink, with your contact details, at Allied Newspapers Limited, Triq l-Intornjatur, Mrieћel, BKR 3000, or send an e-mail to pink@timesofmalta.com Correspondence may be edited for length and clarity. If prizes are not claimed within two months, they will no longer be available. Winners should be willing to have their photograph taken for marketing purposes.

May 26, 2019 ∫ Pink is a monthly magazine ∫ Issue 175 ∫ Executive editor Fiona Galea Debono ∫ Publisher Allied Newspapers Ltd ∫ Printing Progress Press Ltd ∫ Production Allied Newspapers Ltd ∫ Contributors Chris Attard, Adriana Bishop, Iggy Fenech, Anna Marie Galea, Mary Galea Debono, Marisa Grima, Megan Mallia, Helen Raine, Lara Sierra, Lara and Ruth Steer, Rachel Zammit Cutajar ∫ Design Manuel Schembri ∫ Photography Jonathan Borg, Andre Gialanze, Matthew Mirabelli, Mia Sarah ∫ Advertising sales Veronica Grech Sant [2276 4333; veronica.grechsant@timesofmalta.com].

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Pink May 2019 ∫ 11

WOMENSWORLD

A

s different as chalk and cheese would be a good way of explaining how Shanrika Vella and her daughter Kylie come across: one is an extrovert, while the other is an introvert; one dresses for the occasion, while the other makes an occasion for every outfit; one loves the classics, while the other lives for the ‘new’ and the ‘edgy’.

Needless to say, this contrast means they bicker quite a lot – not very unlike any other mother and teenage daughter do, of course – but it also gives their relationship balance. For example, Shanrika, for her bubbly and outgoing personality, is very relaxed in her attitude. Kylie, meanwhile, is softspoken and demure, but her word always has a tone of finality to it.

But, psychoanalysis apart, what brings them together more than anything else is their love for fashion.

“AT 14, I WENT TO A WEDDING IN A PINK, A-LINE, BOUCLÉ SUIT, WHICH EVEN MY MOTHER THOUGHT WAS ‘FOR OLDER PEOPLE’”

GENERATIONAL FASHION

Shanrika Vella and her daughter Kylie Darmanin have an incredibly special bond; one that is built upon mutual love, sarcasm and an innate adoration for fashion. IGGY FENECH joins in.

“My mother has two extremes,” 19-year-old Kylie says. “It’s either really casual or very dressed up in her best evening wear.”

“Shush,” pipes up 37-year-old Shanrika, who spent most of her childhood in her grandmother’s Valletta clothes shop Frans, and who has gone on to work at various boutiques around Malta over the years.

“I like to be dressed up, but I also like wearing practical things on a day-to-day basis, you know? Also, while I follow fashion, I always stick to the classics… I would never wear something just because it’s ‘in fashion’, and I’ve always been like that. In fact, at 14, I went to a wedding in a pink, A-line, bouclé suit, which even my mother thought was ‘for older people’.”

Pink May 2019 ∫ 13

WOMENSWORLD

Meanwhile, Kylie is very much a product of the Instagram generation, with her fashion choices carefully curated to not just fit her chosen aesthetic but also her mood. And her unique looks – both wardrobe-wise and genetics – have been turning heads, with this model gracing the covers of magazines, garnering a prominent role in the official music videos for Christabelle’s Taboo and

“I like making casual clothes look interesting,” she reveals. “Unless I’m at work, my mood is always ‘icon’.

But that wasn’t always the case.

When I was 12, I became quite the tomboy, and it’s only now that I’m obsessed with pink and pastels. I like anything diva and Spice Girls, and I never wear bras in the summer either, as I think it fits the general look I’m going for better.”

“WHEN I WAS 12, I BECAME QUITE THE TOMBOY, AND IT’S ONLY NOW THAT I’M OBSESSED WITH PINK AND PASTELS. I LIKE ANYTHING DIVA AND SPICE GIRLS, AND I NEVER WEAR BRAS IN THE SUMMER EITHER, AS I THINK IT FITS THE GENERAL LOOK I’M GOING FOR BETTER” Michela’s Chameleon, earning a nomination for photo model at last year’s Malta Fashion Awards, and featuring in Flanelle, Forest and Man magazines abroad – all in the span of two years.

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While the role fashion plays in their lives is as different as the clothes they wear, it has always brought the two together… Although there have been hiccoughs along the way. In fact, halfway through

Shanrika explaining to me how happy she was to have a girl and how it was her passion to pick out outfits for her daughter, Kylie explains how her boyish phase, fashion-wise, was a way for her to assert her personality.

“It didn’t last long,” Kylie says, blushing, “but that’s when my passion was ignited. And that’s how things go for me… Like, I never intended to be in the [ fashion] industry. As a kid I was quite quiet, and I’m still a very introverted person.”

Among the many factors that influenced Kylie to get into the industry was her best friend Mia Sarah, who Shanrika refers to as her “second daughter”. Mia, who took the photos for this article, has been taking snaps of Kylie for a few years now. And the more photos they took, the more attention Kylie got, and the more a job in the industry seemed likely.

WOMENSWORLD

“FASHION IS THEIR POINT OF REFERENCE, A WAY FOR THEM TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES, AND A WAY FOR THEM TO ASSERT THEIR INDEPENDENCE…” “Of course, I’m never told anything,” Shanrika grins. “I had no idea she was nominated for an award until they had the first meeting at the MFA headquarters. And I didn’t even know Kylie was thinking of starting a fashion design course until she had enrolled and was about to leave the house for the first session.”

Kylie shrugs: “I’m very independent and I like being alone.”

Your typical mother-daughter duo, what makes their relationship sweet is how, for all the trials and tribulations that they’ve faced together –

Shanrika’s separation, Kylie’s adaptation to her new life, and facing the world together, to mention but a few – fashion has meant that there’s always been a constant in their life.

It’s their point of reference, a way for them to express themselves, and a way for them to assert their independence…

And it also inspires a sarcastic remark, or a loving hug – whatever it is that they need on that day.

THE BABES’ FAVES FOR KYLIE Fashion Icon: Dua Lipa Designer: Moschino Colour: Baby pink Film: Anna Karenina [2012] Food: Sushi FOR SHANRIKA Fashion Icon: Lauren Koslow Designer: Chanel Colour: Royal blue Film: Enough [2002] – obż biż-żejt Food: H

Photography Mia Sarah

Pink May 2019 ∫ 15

ARTYFACTS Sue Mifsud, Saz Mifsud and Elaine Wirth.

AND SO SHE MADE IT For anyone who is an artist and desires to go ahead with what they love doing despite the odds, this is for you from MEGAN MALLIA. She met three women who lend beauty to their art – be it decoupage, ceramics, or silk printing – with their characters and idiosyncrasies.

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ew things undergo as beautiful and as compelling a metamorphosis through time as art does. Illustrations on cave walls, portraits of royalty, Van Gogh sunflowers, Bernini sculptures – these are the things that rest on the tip of our tongue when asked about artworks.

In addition, throughout history, women were hardly ever recognised as artists themselves, but merely as muses, or sources of inspiration for the man sitting proudly behind the easel. And so, the metamorphosis shows, art is not solely

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painting and sculpting; nor is artistic creativity purely a man’s possession.

Several women today exemplify this perfectly and lend beauty to their art – be it decoupage, ceramics, or silk printing – with their characters and idiosyncrasies.

QUIRKY AND COLOURFUL “Art is a generic term; you can’t really classify it,” says Elaine Wirth, a young artist who creates 3D-printed objects, ranging from elephant lamps to spiral vases, and covers them in decoupage.

She is wearing a bright orange jumper when we meet, and her nails are painted teal, a few shades darker than her eyes, which light up as she speaks.

Upon walking through the door of her studio, it is instantly evident that her character fills every nook and cranny in the room: macramé, dip-dyed, hangs from the walls; a small 3D-printed Frida Kahlo sculpture sits by the sofa, bright and colourful woven rugs lying beneath; a pink sequined umbrella hangs from the ceiling; a blue and green spiral vase with a bright pink flower stands on the table beneath.

ARTYFACTS A turning point in Elaine’s creative life came in the form of a book by Elizabeth Gilbert, Creative Living Beyond Fear. Elaine recalls: “This book really struck me. I started underlining a lot in it, and I started thinking about creative living.”

It made her want to start doing something just for herself; to keep herself in that creative space. She started weaving and later moved on to macramé, “I just got it and instantly loved it!”

For Elaine, art is all about experimentation. She gives herself a new project each year. “I get bored easily,” she laughs. “I like to try, learn the skill and then move on to the next thing.”

Decoupage was a calling for Elaine.

She says she fell in love with it. Starting with a papier-mâché giraffe for her niece, she then began buying elephants – “huge elephants” – to decoupage, eventually setting up her brand, Decor Elly. She works closely with her partner who brings her products to life with stop-motion videos on the brand’s Instagram and Facebook pages.

“I GET BORED EASILY. I LIKE TO TRY, LEARN THE SKILL AND THEN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT THING”

“I’ve always loved art. It was always in me,” Elaine says. “I’ve always loved making things with my hands.”

Elaine studied 3D design at Mcast, where she experimented a lot with jewellery making and interior design.

She began to grow interested in window displays, specifically designing props for windows, and eventually, she got a job as a visual merchandiser, which meant assembling ready-made props. Although she remained in the job for four years, she says she “wanted to be the one to create and design these”.

However, it is not always easy to find the exact resources she requires. “I kept searching for more papier-mâché things and couldn’t find what I liked,” Elaine says, so she decided to buy a 3D printer.

Now, she buys designs and prints out curios and small sculptures, before giving each her own personal touch with a splash of gold paint, or patches of paisley decoupage. “This is what I love,” she says as she flips through a file packed to bursting with sheets of patterned papers in all shades and hues.

“I really source the papers… I love researching; it’s my favourite thing – especially with something I like…

I’ll try all the different routes to find what I’m looking for.” And seeing her expression as she handles her creations, it truly shows.

Elaine, with her brand Decor Elly, takes part in artisan markets in Malta.

She loves the community spirit there, all the artisans becoming like “a big

family”. She also feels that there are more women coming into the arts and the business sector in general.

Her advice to other artists is to experiment and explore. “I love experimenting. I’ve been experimenting with my looks ever since I was 18: I was changing my hair every week, you know.” She laughs. “I like to be different.”

CHARACTER IN CLAY “So much can be learnt about people and their lives from the artwork they produce,” says Sue Mifsud, a ceramic designer and artist who weaves stories into clay.

Her creativity began to bloom in childhood. She says her grandfather was her inspiration, and as a child at his house, she would “be given a hammer, nails and wood to play with”.

Sue’s “affair with clay” goes back to 1993, when she began attending evening classes. She says that the clay “became an immediate addiction because it satisfied that need to handle and create objects with a very tactile medium”.

And indeed, tactility and texture very much define Sue’s work. Her plates might be imprinted with the scales of snake skin she found during a walk through Buskett, or the fluffy surface of Maltese bread, or they may contain the imprint of a cactus, or honeycomb. These pieces of “subtle texture” allowed her to incorporate her stories into her ceramics.

The idea of crystallising a time and place in a piece fascinates her. She reflects on how the marks in cut Maltese limestone, for example, “are like words in a diary telling us about how they were made, during what period and even the strength of the people handling them”.

Perhaps the only drawback of having a passion for texture and tactility is the fact that it may be a source of potential reproach. “Much to my family and husband’s disapproval,” explains Sue, “I have to feel every surface I come in contact with.”

Sue has a philosophy that she sets firmly in stone: “Plagiarism is the death of creativity.” She believes that true art comes straight from the heart, and not from copying another’s work. She insists that you must allow your art Pink May 2019 ∫ 19

ARTYFACTS to tell your story and that you “let its beginnings come from the people, activities and places that surround you”.

When she is not creating pieces, Sue gives lessons in clay and ceramic design, and it is during these hours that she tries her best to pass on this message to others.

“I try to teach my students to use their own voice when working,” she says, “so that from day one, they express themselves.”

Reflecting on the art scene in Malta, Sue says it “seems to be very diverse and vibrant at the moment”. When asked about what she thinks of women’s place in the art sector, she illustrates her point that they are no longer constricted to the role of the muse beside the easel by sharing an anecdote: “Not long after I started ceramics in 1993, bags of clay changed from 25kg to 12.5kg, and I always wondered if that was due to so many women using the medium.”

Sue clearly owns her medium brilliantly. Her advice? “Be prepared to hear constructive criticism.” Besides that: “Just go for it!”

BIRDS AND BLOOMS “I’m very bad at buying black clothes,” laughs Saz Mifsud, a fashion designer who takes her photographs, sketches and paintings and digitally prints them onto silk accessories. “I love colour.”

She is wearing a brightly coloured scarf printed with birds – her own design – wrapped stylishly around her neck, with light tortoiseshell earrings.

Saz says she has always been interested in art and fashion. Her inspiration probably comes from visiting museums when she was much younger.

“I’ve always loved looking at historic fashion and costume,” she says. The muse of museums provided her with realms of beauty in textiles, and looking at them used to give her so much joy.

Amid the places crossed in her travels as she got older was Lyon, famed for its silk-weaving industry. “They actually produce silk there,” she points out, “and it got me really interested in the textile side.”

One of the skills Saz acquired during her fashion print design course at the University for the Creative Arts in Kent was digital printing, which is what she uses in her work today. The technique involves “creating imagery, either by using photos, sketches, or paintings, and then 20 ∫ Pink May 2019

creating a physical, or digital collage”. This digital collage is then sent to the printers and is printed directly onto the silk.

“It’s almost like a printer printing on paper, on a very large scale,” she explains.

The result is accessories ranging from scarves and neckties to bags and headbands, each composed of gradations of hues and scattered with gracefully swooping ferns, variegated leaves, swirls from the inside of seashells, or beautifully exotic birds.

“The shapes and the colours you find in nature are so vast and so beautiful – I don’t think you can find them anywhere else,” she states. Her latest avian collection is a continuation of the previous, which began with her at the bird park, taking photos of different types of birds and sketching, then incorporating both photos and sketches into the designs.

Saz reflects that “unusual” colours are a rare find on the market and, therefore, she feels that her forte lies in using combinations that are experimental and not so easy to find in stores. By using a great range of colours in each collection, she guarantees that her clients will have “a scarf or bag to match any outfit”.

In fact, Saz always keeps her clients’ tastes in mind, but never holds back from experimenting either.

Art is for her what it is for Sue and Elaine. “It’s everything… It gave me the chance to do what I love every day,” she says, smiling. It is a way of transcending the prosaic habits of life; a form of escapism that she feels enriches her life and the lives of others.

Saz reflects on how wandering through museums, where artworks and artefacts surround you, is a source of constant learning, even if you do not necessarily understand the meaning behind the pieces.

With a note of annoyance, she says that “we are often taught that art is there to do on the side”. But people need to be educated about art’s importance.

Systems of Knowledge, an obligatory subject in Malta, is one effort to do this, she feels.

“Art is an important part of history and understanding the world around us,” Saz says. Education means enriching the soul as well as the mind, after all. And if such education begins at an earlier age, it may encourage more to take the creative path.

ARTYFACTS

Music to her ears

Judging by the proliferation of female singers and musicians both locally and on the international scene, you’d be forgiven for thinking that women have always been equal players alongside men in the music world.

But in reality, music was [and still is in certain areas of the industry] very much a man’s world.

ADRIANA BISHOP finds out about women’s private participation in the male-dominated history of music on the island through Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti’s much-lauded Music in Malta exhibition.

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alking through the Music in Malta exhibition, currently on at the Mdina Cathedral Museum, it is evident that men were the primary participants, singing and performing in public, while women were ‘relegated’ to playing instruments in the privacy of their home. And this, it seems, was very much the norm in Malta until just over a century ago.

“In music, women were just as capable as men, but they were not as visible and were not given the same opportunities,” remarks Dr Anna Borg Cardona, the curator of the exhibition that has shone an unprecedented

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spotlight on the history of music in local culture through the ages from prehistory to the first vinyl recordings in the 1930s.

Dr Borg Cardona, an authority on traditional Maltese musical instruments and folk music, explains that such was the stigma on women singing in public that members of the upper classes would immediately label women singing gh-ana out in the open as prostitutes.

“Society trained women to keep musical performance private,” she adds. This may have its roots in the ban on women singing or playing musical instruments in church during the 17th and 18th centuries.

“Women were excluded entirely from the ritual of Christianity,” explains Dr Borg Cardona. “They couldn’t sing in public or play instruments within the churches. This gave birth to the cruel phenomenon of the male castrati singers, who replaced female voices. The Jesuits used castrati a lot and there is a record of castrati being paid to sing in a funeral in Valletta in the 17th century.

“During that period, the only place where women shine is in the nunneries.

They had to play an instrument and sing within the convent walls on a daily basis,” continues Dr Borg Cardona.

These convents possessed some of the “loveliest” organs, and the exceptional

ARTYFACTS

one displayed in the exhibition, dating from 1774, comes from the Benedictine Monastery of St Peter in Mdina.

Made in Naples by Domenico Antonio Rossi, the positive organ [pictured above, right] was designed to be easily moved from room to room and, when closed, resembled a highly decorative cabinet. Astonishingly, this particular organ is still in good working order.

The question of course arises as to who would have taught the nuns to play musical instruments in the first place. Dr Borg Cardona said it is believed that the knowledge could have been passed on within the cloistered convent from one nun to another, although in the 18th century, there were reports that an organist would come in on feast days and may have also taught the nuns.

While there are no known compositions by Maltese nuns, the exhibition displays motets [pictured above, right] by one of the most prolific female convent composers of the baroque, Isabella Leonarda, an Italian nun from Novara.

Born in 1620 into a prominent family, Leonarda entered the Ursuline convent of Collegio di Sant’Orsola at the age of 16 and spent the rest of her life there. She is credited with having composed some 200 pieces of music over a career spanning 60 years. The Mdina Cathedral owns a composition

by Leonarda published in 1677, at the time when she was the madre of the convent, for four voices and violin accompaniment.

The exhibition opens with a selection of what Dr Borg Cardona calls prehistoric “acoustic ornaments”, strings of perforated shells, fish vertebrae and terracotta beads [pictured above], which would have been worn perhaps as necklaces, or around other parts of the body, and which would have rattled as the person moved. It is reasonable to assume that these may have been worn by women, if not by men too, and could be considered to be among the first

“IN MUSIC, WOMEN WERE JUST AS CAPABLE AS MEN, BUT THEY WERE NOT AS VISIBLE AND WERE NOT GIVEN THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES” Dr Borg Cardona points out that given that this piece of music would have been performed in the convent by women, it is strange to include bass voices. “It is possible that they played bass instruments instead of the bass voices, but in the outside world, it could have been performed with alto, tenor and bass voices, omitting the soprano voices.” Even more exceptionally, Leonarda also composed secular music.

primitive instruments after the voice and the body. The ‘necklace’ of fish vertebrae dates back to 2350BC and was discovered at Tarxien Cemetery.

The tradition of using anything to hand to make musical instruments persisted through the ages. Until the advent of more sophisticated toys, every Maltese child would have grown up playing in the fields making the most basic ‘sound producer’ out of Pink May 2019 ∫ 25

ARTYFACTS Today, very few women sing gh-ana anymore, but very often, they were their son’s first singing teachers.

“I once recorded a man singing gh-ana and I asked him where he had learnt all those songs. He answered: ‘From my mother’,” says Dr Borg Cardona.

Gh-ana was traditionally sung without any accompanying musical instruments. Men would sing or talk to each other in rhyme in the fields, a far cry from the standardised Dr Anna Borg Cardona at version of folk singing on a the exhibition opening. stage that we experience today. While the exhibition corn or wheat stems or arundo donax could not include the role of women in reeds, creating the simple bedbut reed gh-ana and folk music, Dr Borg Cardona instrument. intends to further her research on the The bedbut was either played as subject and especially follow up on is, or formed part of more complex records of an all-female group of instruments such as iż-żaqq, an endemic tambourine players who lived in Gozo. form of the bagpipe unique to Malta.

While the upper classes were Made out of the entire animal, including unimpressed with women singing in the tail but minus the head, the żaqq was public, in the baroque era, society only ever made and played by men. This women as well as those further down instrument alongside friction drums and, the rungs were beginning to own later, locally made guitars formed the musical instruments. “The ċetra [lyrebasis of the Maltese folk music tradition. like instrument] was owned by women Dr Borg Cardona has famously lower down the ladder of society, but the researched and learnt how to reconstruct harpsichord was owned by upper-class these age-old instruments. women. Spinets might have been slightly Folk singing was generally associated cheaper,” explains Dr Borg Cardona. with men, but that’s not to say that The exhibition features a telling women did not partake of a few rhymed portrait of a well-dressed 18th-century verses. On the contrary, they were known Maltese lady holding a snuff box in her to have been singing lullabies and gh-ana hands and with a fortepiano behind her tal-banju songs when they met up at the on which rests a piece of music for a village washhouse or in the shade of a high voice [pictured on page 24]. It is carob tree to wash the clothes. likely that she was the owner of the “This tradition died the minute the instrument and that she played and washing machine was introduced in the sang the music too. In this period, 1950s and women could do their laundry women emerged as the prime in the privacy of their own home,” entertainers, but always in the privacy comments Dr Borg Cardona. of their homes, in their salons.

“Even when they washed the clothes The exhibition also includes an early in the yard of their house, they would sing fortepiano from 1780, a square piano to their neighbours. Some of the singing called a ‘table piano’ because when closed was spirtu pront, while other songs were it resembled a table. The precursor of learnt by heart. Women also sang gh-ana today’s pianoforte, it would take another tal-fatt, which relates a whole story, and 80 years before the instrument was the high-pitched Bormliża in which the improved and surpassed the popularity voice is used in a very ‘ornate’ way. Men of the harpsichord. would sing it in a screaming high pitch, By the 19th century, with the invention but women sang it too,” she adds. of the upright piano, the instrument 26 ∫ Pink May 2019

became relatively cheaper and many were being imported into Malta from Southampton. “Women were definitely part of this movement. They were not only playing the piano, but also teaching it,” points out Dr Borg Cardona.

The first all-music shops opened in Malta in the 1840s, and by the 1890s, the mandolin became all the rage with allmale mandolin bands being formed in Malta. Women were also learning to play the instrument, although never in public.

And it wouldn’t be until the 20th century when women started performing in public with the previously all-male popular brass bands that had formed back in the 1850s.

The exhibition ends its journey through musical time with the first vinyls of Maltese men singing gh-ana, recorded in Tunis in the 1930s. The invention of the gramophone was revolutionary, and when the first such machine arrived in Malta, an advert was placed in the newspaper inviting people to come and listen to it. Maltese women were never recorded singing, but they were certainly avid listeners.

Today, they have very much emerged from the musical background and taken centre stage.

After years of meticulous research and months in the planning, the exhibition is only open for a few more short weeks. Meanwhile, Dr Borg Cardona now hopes or, better still, “dreams” of one day having a permanent museum of musical instruments.

“When we started working on this, people asked me if we had enough instruments to make an exhibition.

Yes, we did! We pulled out so many instruments from convents, churches, but also from private homes. Some had been owned by the same family for years and passed down from one generation to the next. We had to leave out so much because space was limited.”

Dr Borg Cardona has also contributed to a permanent exhibition of musical instruments in Arizona, where she curated the Malta section, which is represented by traditional folk instruments. Perhaps, one day, her dream will come true in Malta.

Music in Malta – From Prehistory to Vinyl at Mdina Cathedral Museum is open daily from 9.30am to 5pm [last entry at 4.15pm] till June 16. musicinmalta.com

WOMENSWORLD Fuzzhoneys

FEMMETASTIC TRACKS

Ira Losco has been rocking us for 16 years now, but in the last five, plenty more sisters have been doing it for themselves. HELEN RAINE talks to three groups who are redefining the Malta music scene.

FUZZHONEYS Duo Francesca Mercieca and Caroline Spiteri have created a jangled, knife-edge of a sound inspired by artists as diverse as Nirvana, the Beatles, Rage Against the Machine and Queens of the Stone Age. Francesca’s heavy guitar riffs and elastic vocals are given heft by Caroline’s drum rhythms. The women describe their sound as “garage rock, spiced up with elements of the blues, a dash of girly punk and a whole lot of soul”.

Francesca and Caroline met through mutual friends in 2011. “The music creation started by accident when we were both at a friend’s who had a drum set. Francesca had her guitar and we decided to jam a little jam,” says Caroline. “From that session, the Fuzzhoneys were born.”

Much of the band’s power comes from the lyrics. Period is a hard-hitting anthem for menstruation and includes some cracking lines such as “let it rain from within” and “sublime, mundane, a different kind of pain”. Caroline says: “Period was written during our first jamming sessions at a garage in Marsa.

We were both on and decided to describe how we were feeling in the perspective of the period’s cycle.”

It’s an intentionally provocative piece. “I was excited to see if it would be taken with a pinch of salt, as it’s really nothing to be ashamed of mentioning – and it’s interesting how society, intellect and culture vary on the topic,” Francesca says. In case you missed the message in the vocals, the video features the girls surfing on a tampon.

“MOST OF THE SONGS ARE IN THE FIRST PERSON AND I FEEL LIKE EACH CHARACTER’S EMOTION, FANTASY AND STRUGGLE ARE THERE” Francesca says that during the songwriting process, she creates a character for every song. “Each track has a whole narrative… Most of the songs are in the first person and I feel like each character’s emotion, fantasy and struggle are there.

I’d say our lyrics start from raw and simple. The messages are mostly to love, unite and accept each other.” They question the scrutiny women are under in several songs, including their feminist manifesto Femmetastic.

Jamming remains an essential part of songwriting, Caroline says. “We discover a guitar riff or drum beat we both enjoy; Pink May 2019 ∫ 29

WOMENSWORLD In her case, success has come with collaboration. She has worked with producers like Benbrick, Zeke McUmber and Ron Haney and each has sprinkled their own brand of magic dust onto her music.

Annie Lennox took a personal interest in I Am Willow after seeing the artist perform at an after-party for Sting. In a moment that must have felt like winning the lottery, Lennox invited I Am Willow to give her a private performance and supported her work with studio time.

“IT’S LIKE CONSTANTLY WALKING A TIGHTROPE WITHOUT HAVING DEVELOPED THE MUSCLES FOR IT” then we work together to achieve a tighter and more interesting structure. The subject of the song comes after that. Francesca takes care of most of the lyrics, but we always discuss the message we want to evoke.”

Music has its fair share of drudgery, but there are some sweet rewards. “Doncaster in the Candy UK Tour felt like it was my birthday,” Francesca says. “So, I said that, and most people actually thought it was my birthday. People were screaming, the place was packed, and Abominable Soul called us on stage to join them.”

Another epic performance happened in Sheffield on the Glitter Tour. “Everyone came on stage jumping and singing to Period.”

The Fuzzhoneys did their first foreign live gig at Malta Takes London 2014. It was a pivotal moment. “Being at a new venue, out of your homeland, in front of new faces brought a certain stress mixed with excitement, which made the live performance special. Both Francesca and I were very nervous, but we knew it was the next step for us.”

The twosome has a few local live performances in the works, as well as a mini foreign tour for their debut album Love Juice.

In the meantime, they are writing new tracks for the next EP.

Despite the stellar endorsement, Carrie still has a day job, albeit a music one. “I don’t just live on my artist project. As well as being involved in several projects from dance music to soundtrack and synch music in films and TV series, I am also part of an award-winning writing and production team here in London. We create tailormade songs for major label artists as well as unknown artists who are looking for a full sound.”

fuzzhoneys.live

I AM WILLOW I Am Willow is a pseudonym for Carrie Haber, and her ethereal tracks will slide inescapably into your subconscious like the roots of that water-seeking tree. Haber has a classical music background but counts Tori Amos, Goldfrapp and Jeff Buckley among her inspirations.

The road to success has been winding. “It’s taken a long time for me to find my feet as an artist. I had no one to guide me. Or rather, I had many opinions all pointing in different directions,” Carrie says.

“Music demands a fountain of skills, stretching from business management to legal affairs, marketing, style and design and public relations, as well as an artist’s ability to balance their self-expression with what the people want. It’s like constantly walking a tightrope without having developed the muscles for it.”

She might sing alone, but she admits: “A solo artist can never really succeed solo. There must always be a team, not to mention strong connections in high places and a lot of luck.”

30 ∫ Pink May 2019

I Am Willow Photography: Paula Klupsch

Her proudest achievement is winning a 2018 MTV award with a song her team wrote for the group Egirls in Japan.

I Am Willow plans to continue releasing her own music, but she says: “My heart is very much into writing and producing for others. I am absolutely in love with it!” She encourages other Maltese women to get into the music game, but she advises: “Learn patience. Understand that talent is not enough. Don’t take anything personally. Surround yourself with people who will tell you the truth.”

Carrie has no current plans to return to her home country. “I came to London for a month just to test the waters and perform some gigs. Three weeks later, I had moved permanently. I definitely think I’ll stay for a while.”

Her parting shot is the mantras she lives by: “Do more of what makes you happy”; and “When you complain, you make yourself a victim. Leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness.” facebook.com/iamwillowmusic

THE NEW VICTORIANS Sisters Philippa and Bettina Cassar fuse classical harmonies with technology to create the sweet, clever songs of The New Victorians… and they use ordinary people as muses.

“We’re inspired by people and their stories,” Philippa says. “People are beautiful, messy and fascinating!”

The girls describe the resulting melodies and lyrics as “honest, close to home and hopeful”.

Inspiration strikes randomly. “Sometimes, as with Lie Liar, one of us would spit out a song in the middle of the night and just present it as done; other times, we’d have a chorus or hook, but work on the lyrics and arrangement for months before it is perfect; it can also begin with a lyric in a journal or a beat one of us created on Ableton and then jamming off of that to create something we both like,” Bettina says.

“IT’S EASY FOR US TO COMMUNICATE, TO BE BRUTALLY HONEST AND TO PUSH OURSELVES TO BE THE BEST. NO ONE ELSE QUITE UNDERSTANDS YOU LIKE A SISTER DOES” The family connection is both a blessing and a curse. For Bettina: “On the one hand, it’s very challenging – we need to be disciplined not to be talking work over Sunday lunch, and to remember to appreciate each other as more than just work partners. But on the other hand, it’s easy for us to communicate, to be brutally honest and to push ourselves to be the best. No one else quite understands you like a sister does.”

When asked about their ‘look’, the women pause. “Uh oh,” says Bettina, “a fashion question… It’s normally a touch of our grandmother’s hand-me-downs, mixed with what we’ve stolen from our mother’s wardrobe and the bargains we’ve found at a charity shop! Thankfully, the lovely Carla Grima comes to the rescue.”

The New Victorians

They are making music full time. “It’s a bit of a juggle,” Bettina says. “A few weddings, a few corporate gigs and then some creative passion projects… It hasn’t been this way for long though. I was a music technician at a university in London for a time, and now share the bills with my husband. Phil was a student until recently and still lives at home with our parents, so that helps. We are grateful to be surviving on our music and art.”

The struggle seems to be paying off as the girls are in the ascendant, opening for Anastacia as part of her Evolution Tour last summer. They also launched MARA, a show celebrating women with original music. The Cassars created it from scratch in collaboration with eight other women. Four shows sold out in Malta, followed by a performance in Scotland, a five-show run in London at the Vault Festival, and the prospect of heading to the Edinburgh fringe.

They also have the 100th anniversary of Sette Gugno in the pipeline [on June 7, 1919, British troops fired on Maltese civilians, killing four people]. “We’ve created a work with original music to tell the story of this historic event. It’s an honour – and also a slightly huge, scary task! We’re ready,” Philippa says.

Using fear to fuel creativity is part of their modus operandi.

“If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat,” Bettina says. And she encourages newcomers to the music scene to get their feet wet.

“Get going”, she urges. “There’s lots of work to be done, lessons to be learned and fun to be had!” thenewvictoriansmusic.com Pink May 2019 ∫ 31

WOMENSWORLD

FINDING THE MUSIC IN NOISE LARA SIERRA discovers the gift of being able to find beauty in music that doesn’t make sense, and in everyday noises that are heard on the streets, when she meets the Malta Sound Women Network, encouraging women to join an exciting new music scene that has hit the island. These women are encouraging other females to stand up in a male-dominated world and have the confidence to say “shh” for a moment; just listen. It’s about finding beauty in silence and in noise, and crucially, it teaches that what is a little bit different is beautiful too.

I

t wasn’t unpleasant, but it didn’t feel right. Strange noises and reverberations sounded out across the hall, and I shifted uncomfortably. Instruments played, and yet I heard no song. The notes were all there, just never as I had heard them. So, what exactly was it?

I was attending a concert by Malta Women Sound Network [MSWN] at the Malta School of Music. British-born Jess Rymer, 24, and Maltese Yasmin Kuymizakis, 28, decided to launch a group where women could learn about music technology and sound without being in a male-dominated space. It is the sister group of the Yorkshire Sound Women Network, of which there are several other branches in the UK. Brought to life only in August 2017, its workshops were attended by over 50 people

by October.

“We use programmes to record and manipulate sounds,” explains Sophie Cooper, guest musician for the evening concert.

“It tends to be a male-dominated environment, which is why there is a need for a group where women are encouraged to participate.”

“It can be intimidating,” agrees Jess. “Trying to get into this area of music as a woman isn’t easy. I’ve given countless workshops on electronic music, which are attended only by males.

When mothers hear about it, they tend to assume that it’s only for boys and will just automatically send their girls to ballet.

That’s why we started these workshops advertised to girls only, and it’s gone down well so far. A lot of the women aren’t musicians at all; some are lawyers and others are photographers, and the list goes on.”

Yasmin explains that the workshops contain multiple approaches: they learn about the history of electronic music, how to make soundscapes, and also do sound walks and listening… Yes, you read it right, sound walks and listening!

Pink May 2019 ∫ 35

WOMENSWORLD

Yasmin Kuymizakis and Jess Rymer Band with The New Victorians [right].

Sophie explains:“I’ve organised a sound walk back in the UK, for example, where we take a walk through the countryside. We take a few instructions to pull out of a hat, such as ‘sit for two minutes and listen to the birds’. It’s a form of meditation, really.”

Yasmin nods. “You can do a sound walk anywhere, on a busy street, or in nature. The idea is that you are just listening to your surroundings.”

clear that this is what makes the Malta Sound Women Network particularly important. They have created something that encourages women to stand up in a male-dominated world and have the confidence to say, shh, for a moment; just listen.

It teaches them to find beauty in silence and beauty in noise, and crucially, it teaches them that things that are a little bit different are beautiful too.

“JESS GIVES AN EXAMPLE OF RIDING HER BICYCLE AND BECOMING AWARE OF A BEAUTIFUL SOUND THE WIND MADE AS IT BLEW THROUGH A BUS STOP. SHE DID THEN CYCLE INTO A CAR, BUT THAT’S BESIDES THE POINT” Jess gives an example of riding her bicycle and becoming aware of a beautiful sound the wind made as it blew through a bus stop. She did then cycle into a car, but that’s besides the point.

They bring these ideas of exploratory music back to a studio and enhance it, or recreate it, using technology. Yet it’s not just unusual sounds, but also unusual tones and tunes. Both Jess and Sophie are classically trained musicians, who use their instruments to discover notes and modes that do not fit the usual realm of music.

Sophie explains that these are called ‘extended notes’. “A trombone has a slide, so you’ve got your set notes and then hundreds of other options in between, a bit like a voice. It can be slightly off, or slightly sharp, or flat, which is interesting to play with; it’s very intuitive. I also use a lot of electronics, including pedals and amps, which make different sounds and create different tones.”

So, are they effectively playing out of tune? Well, no, Jess replies. Ignoring conventional harmonies is called ‘atonal’, but Jess describes their music as ‘pantonal’. “You’re in lots of different keys,” she says. “You have the gravitational pull towards lots of different keys at the same time, and I do have a gravitational pull towards the major keys, but I also like to use Indian scales, or folk scales, which contain many different notes. So, I’m not against using the major keys, but I have all of these extra options; they are all available to me.”

What a gift to be able to find beauty in music that doesn’t make sense, and in everyday noises that are heard on the streets. As the discussion continues, it becomes increasingly 36 ∫ Pink May 2019

The first set of workshops built up to an exhibition at Saint James Cavalier last year in collaboration with Action Planet. The teens workshop created instruments from recycled objects, and the adults were taught how to record sound. They went on a sound walk around Malta and then a soundscape was played on loop at the exhibition.

With sound music being such an unusual field, it is intriguing to discover what led these women away from their more traditional backgrounds and down this route. Jess used to play the trumpet, but the demanding perfectionism of rehearsals and performances went against her creative instinct.

“During my studies, I specialised in composition,” she explains, “but I found I started getting very nervous; even throwing up during rehearsals. I had had enough. If music always does what you expect it to do,” she says, “isn’t that a little bit boring? I would just play Mozart again and again, but then, once I started making pieces with a contemporary dancer I had been reluctantly forced to work with, I discovered something really amazing and it all went from there.” Alongside voluntarily running the MSWN with Yasmin, she is a freelance musician and composer, as well as doing music therapy and teaching music.

For Yasmin, her route into sound music is particularly exceptional as she wasn’t even a musician to start with. While studying communication at university, she took a sound engineering module, had an extremely encouraging tutor and realised that all she wanted to do was make music. But she had a problem. “It’s not like I could just sit at a piano and start playing,” she says. “I didn’t know how to do that, but I still really wanted to make music.”

WOMENSWORLD

After searching for music courses that didn’t require a musical background, she finally stumbled across sound art and design. Now she creates sounds for games, specialises in post-production, or sometimes even just creates the sound for a button. She also crosses over into more conceptual art, making soundscapes for visual arts, exhibitions and so on.

With sound music covering such a broad spectrum, the question is: is there really a need for a network just for women? Is it that hard to find women in music technology?

To give an idea of how hard it really is, Jess explains how MSWN actually came to exist. “The founder of the Yorkshire Sound Women Network approached me about setting this up in Malta. I told her that I only knew of one other girl who is in music tech, and I barely even know her. I said I didn’t think I could do it as it was too much work with just two of us. She replied, saying: ‘Don’t you think Malta’s a place that needs something like this if there are only two people?’ So Yasmin and I got together; then I approached the head of the Malta School of Music, who has let us run our workshops and concerts here.”

Yasmin emphasises that they do not wish to exclude men, but merely encourage the participation of women. “At the moment, a line-up in our field would be entirely male, or there would be just one female. That’s why a women’s group is needed right now. Eventually, it would be nice to have mixed groups, where we would have an equal amount of males and females at the concerts. It’s important to emphasise that many male musicians have been supportive of this network.”

Jess agrees. “We’re creating a safe space where woman can feel free to create. We learn differently from men, so being taught by women makes a difference to our creativity. Our aim is to have a network of females, so when someone calls us up for work, we can recommend a woman.”

Later, when listening back to the conversation, I also re-watch the video of the concert, sitting in a café where music is playing in the background. The music is making it difficult to hear Sophie’s trombone solo clearly. Frustrated, I turn up the volume on my headphones, but as I do, the two sounds cross and I freeze. The song playing in the café [Shape of You by Ed

Sheeran], combined with Sophie’s haunting trombone, is not in tune, nor is it in time, but together they make the saddest, most beautiful music I have ever heard.

I listen to it more intently than anything else I have ever heard. I am anticipating the two sounds coming together in a perfect cadence, but it never happens. It leaves me on tenterhooks; that longing for a conclusive finale, like a film that doesn’t have the happy ending you’re expecting. Just like real life, this music is a bit messy and a bit difficult, but it feels so real. Suddenly, I get it. Sound music is truly mesmerising. Have a listen and allow yourself to be challenged.

Have a listen to these for an introduction to sound music: 1. Search Sophie Cooper Live at Oto July 2014 on You Tube for an appetiser.

2. Dive right in with John Cage 4’33” on You Tube.

3. These young talents mix things up with electronic music: Search Keep Me in Love by The New Victorians on You Tube.

4. Don’t forget to see the full spectrum of sound music by visiting Malta Sound Women Network on Facebook.

Pink May 2019 ∫ 37

INFOCUS

BE THE CHANGE Politics has become something of a dirty word in Malta as the country is rocked by scandal after scandal. We can cross our arms, tut and pretend it’s not our problem… or we can do something about it. Cami Appelgren chose option two and stood in the European Elections this weekend as an MEP. She shares her story with HELEN RAINE to inspire more women to go into politics. If you’re intelligent, committed, ethical and organised, then by the next elections, you could be standing too. Malta needs you!

“F

or many years, my followers told me not to touch politics in Malta; they wanted me to remain ‘me’,” says Cami Appelgren. But as she watched environmental degradation spiral out of control, she realised that although her grassroots movement was strong, she needed to do more.

“I had so much support from followers and friends that I felt it was the right time to take the leap into politics. A new kind of politics is needed; one with no partisan baggage, or badmouthing… where we cheer the good and challenge the bad, no matter the party colours.”

The process was simpler than you might imagine.

Appelgren stood on a platform of environment, public health and infrastructure, running with the Partit Demokratiku.

“Once I accepted the offer of being a Partit Demokratiku MEP candidate, I had to be scrutinised by a neutral group of people. They made sure I was the right candidate for the party, but also that the MEP position was the right one for me. It’s important that it goes two ways!

“I could have done it as an independent candidate, however, my core visions aligned well with Partit Demokratiku,” she adds.

That’s important because the nature of Maltese politics means that although there are no formal barriers for independents, only a handful have ever been elected.

Competition for the MEP elections was fierce, with Appelgren vying for one of six seats reserved for Malta in the European Parliament.

Despite the relatively easy process, Appelgren still agonised over the decision to stand. She is a mother of two and says: “The most difficult part for me was to take the leap. For sure it has meant much less time with my family, and although I got their full support, it hurt being away from them at times.”

The sacrifice was worth it though. “We urgently need more good people within politics. We need politicians who work for the people and not the other way around. It is time-consuming and you don’t get rich doing it, but the feeling of doing good for society is priceless. I encourage everyone with a vision of a better society to get involved in one way or another.”

Rather than being exhausted by the current political situation in Malta, Appelgren is energised and sees the potential for progress. “Many people don’t agree with wrongdoing among our politicians, but they don’t feel they can change it. Hence, they go for the ‘least bad’ option.

Pink May 2019 ∫ 41

INFOCUS

WOMANKIND

The vision of ‘it’s just one, what does it matter’ influences the whole of society in a very negative way. We need to realise that every time a person speaks up, a drop is added to the bowl of empowerment. When enough people stand up to be counted, it will overflow. We need to be persistent. Today’s society is not a healthy one; the power has to be with the people and not with the few at the top.”

Appelgren took the challenge of Malta’s political ‘twohorse race’ in her stride, saying: “I’m a very persistent person.

I started my movement picking up plastic bottles along the beach in St Paul’s Bay; today, I am seen as one of the people kicking off the long-term environment awareness movement in Malta. I will keep on working hard, being among the people and being a role model. I live by the motto that we have to be the change we wish to see.”

“TODAY’S SOCIETY IS NOT A HEALTHY ONE; THE POWER HAS TO BE WITH THE PEOPLE AND NOT WITH THE FEW AT THE TOP” Come what may, Appelgren wants to see change in the EU as well as Malta. “When it comes to the targets set by the EU, I sometimes feel they aren’t very fair. For example, a northern country with massive access to renewable energy resources has a much easier time reaching the goal of 2020, while for Malta, it will be harder. Each country should maybe have more personal goals to push for gradual change. However, don’t misinterpret me. At the moment, Malta is not striving hard enough to reach these goals.”

Importantly, she planned to run a different kind of campaign.

“I am an activist and will remain so. I relied on my followers to spread the word. If people want a change, they also have to do their part. I tried to enable and empower them…

“The ‘why’ behind a message is a strong communication tool too few politicians are using,” she continues.

Appelgren also pledged not to take any money donations for her campaign. “That is the beauty of the grassroots movement; it just needs a tiny bit of water [motivation rather than money in my case] and the grass will grow and the roots will get stronger.”

HOW TO BECOME AN MEP Like Appelgren, you can work with one of the three parties to be nominated as an MEP. If the current political parties don’t move you, it is possible to go it alone – almost any Maltese adult is eligible to stand as an independent MEP if they choose. All you have to do is register to vote [if you have not already]. Then you’ll have to register your intention to stand as a candidate and formally declare that you are not disqualified and that you are not standing anywhere but in Malta.

European Parliament President Antonio Tajani encourages citizens to participate in European democracy, saying: “We have to change Europe and make it more effective by answering citizens’ concerns and building upon what we have achieved.”

42 ∫ Pink May 2019

THE DOROTHEAN Paola Frassinetti knew from personal experience about the drawbacks, with regards to education, of being born a girl in 19th-century Genoa. She believed that education was the key to the development of society. MARY GALEA DEBONO assesses the achievements of her courageous commitment to the advancement of women.

I

n the past, before learning institutions were regulated by state legislation and education was made accessible to children from every strata of society, a formal education was the prerogative of the few. Among the poor, both sons and daughters were expected to contribute to the family income from a very early age and years spent on the school bench were an unaffordable luxury for them.

The role of girls in society was to be ‘good’ wives and mothers capable of managing a household; literacy was hardly an asset.

Daughters were, therefore, practically excluded from the benefits of learning.

Paola Frassinetti knew from personal experience about the drawbacks, with regards to education, of being born a girl in 19thcentury Genoa. She was the only daughter in a family of five children, and when her mother died, although she was just nine

WOMANKIND years old, she found herself, with a little aid from an old aunt, responsible for the running of the house and the rearing of her two younger brothers.

Paola was an intelligent girl and must have yearned for an equal opportunity to learn as had her four brothers who all became priests. But her father’s possessive love and her sense of duty precluded her from fulfilling her wishes.

One day, when she was about 19, her eldest brother, Giuseppe, who was the parish priest of Quito, a small village outside Genoa, came to visit the family, and finding Paola exhausted and listless, realised that something was very wrong with his sister. Taking the matter into his hands, much to the distress of the father, he offered to take her with him to Quito for some rest and a change of atmosphere.

“PAOLA WAS AN INTELLIGENT GIRL AND MUST HAVE YEARNED FOR AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN AS HAD HER FOUR BROTHERS WHO ALL BECAME PRIESTS. BUT HER FATHER’S POSSESSIVE LOVE AND HER SENSE OF DUTY PRECLUDED HER FROM FULFILLING HER WISHES” Don Giuseppe had a project in mind. He wished to start a school for the poor girls of the area. In Northern Italy, industrialisation had brought with it a rapid spread of urbanisation with its attendant squalor and degradation. As crime, alcoholism and prostitution increased, many were the priests who sought to improve the plight of women from the lower classes – the main victims of these social upheavals. One such initiative was the setting up of the Opera di Santa Dorotea, launched by Don Luca Passi to help vulnerable and exploited women.

Don Giuseppe’s intention was to teach the poorer girls of the area not only catechism and sewing, but also reading and writing, and he asked Paola to help him organise the school.

She, herself, had never received a formal education, but she was an intelligent woman, capable of learning fast.

This innovative idea, introduced by the parish priest and his sister, was welcomed by the parents and the classroom at the parish hall was soon teeming with enthusiastic girls.

Right from the start, Paola showed that she had an intuitive understanding of the importance of systematic learning for girls. She believed that education was the key to the development of society; that more could be achieved for women in the less privileged section of society by instruction than by helping them materially; that begging eroded their dignity; that learning was the only tool to combat vulnerability; and that women would stand a better chance of gaining a livelihood, and consequently their independence, through dignified employment for which education was crucial.

Although Paola had never been trained as a teacher, she soon demonstrated that she was born to teach. She possessed a combination of tact, gentleness and docility with controlled severity and discipline. Later on, when she founded her own congregation of nuns, she always showed respect, understanding, kindness and solidarity with her companions while expecting from them total commitment to the mission they embraced.

Her letters to her sisters contain a wealth of guidelines on how superiors should behave towards their subordinates.

St Paola Frassinetti and Beato Pio IX.

Neither would she have achieved her goals had she lacked courage, an immense energy and a practical approach to problems.

Fortunately, she had vast reserves of these qualities. Her resilience in times of difficulty was buttressed and complemented by her spiritual courage. It was her strong faith in God that helped her to overcome every setback she encountered in the process of fulfilling her goals.

While teaching in the small school in Quito, Poala had also met and forged a friendship with the young women in the village.

Under her energetic leadership, a spontaneous group was formed. They met every Sunday afternoon, combining studying with relaxation; reading and discussing passages from the Bible with walks in the woods. One topic close to their heart was the need to actively help the poor.

Paola had her own vision of how this could be achieved. She had no intention of joining any of the existing orders of nuns.

She envisaged a congregation where nuns had to share all the privations of the poor and where the poor themselves could become nuns without the obligation of bringing with them the required dowry.

One Sunday, she outlined this idea to her group of friends and she also discussed her plan with her brother and other priests, who, without actively discouraging her, advocated caution.

Her brother offered her a compromise; he suggested that Paola should form a group of 12, who would continue to live in their homes, hold study meetings in the parish and test themselves through acts of sacrifice and humility. The priest’s Pink May 2019 ∫ 43

WOMANKIND suggestion turned out to be a sensible and more parish priests needed the one – at the end of the year, of the origDorotheans to open new schools and inal group, only six were left willing Paola had to send for more nuns from to continue with their experience. The Genoa to do the teaching. date for the setting up of a communal In the following years, new schools life was set for August 1834. for girls were opened not only all over In Quito, they settled in a house that Italy but also in countries like Portugal and Brazil. There were the free day was more of a hovel where even the most schools for the poor and the paying basic things such as a table were missing. boarding schools for the richer girls, but Teaching poor girls was their main aim. in her heart, Paola always had a preferThey accepted as many pupils as they ence for the poorer ones. could and even included three boarders.

Besides dedicating herself to the Naturally, none of the girls paid for education of girls, Paola also worked to their education, so Paola had to find reform two houses of correction for the finances to support her project. women, which were in a deplorable She acquired some looms and her comstate. This was no easy task not only panions dedicated a few hours before because the inmates themselves were and after schoolwork to weaving, earning often violent and undisciplined, but some much-needed money. also because of the corruption of the But the difficulties were many. Paola’s “THEY SETTLED IN A HOUSE directors, who had turned the institufather, terrified of being abandoned by THAT WAS MORE OF A tions into a business enterprise. With his only daughter, not only continued to HOVEL WHERE EVEN THE her tact and patience, she managed to make strong emotional demands on her, MOST BASIC THINGS SUCH break the barriers of hostility and win but also put up an unrelenting opposition AS A TABLE WERE MISSING. over the women. to all her decisions. During an outbreak TEACHING POOR GIRLS WAS A later project was the setting up of of cholera, he threateningly forbade her THEIR MAIN AIM” the Artigianelle, an institute where to visit the sick. To make up for this, marginalised girls were given accomevery evening she washed the sisters’ modation while being taught a craft. This was the counterpart clothes. But the pressure of work was too much and, physically of a similar project for boys started earlier by another priest. exhausted, many in the group became despondent. As a last Saints live within a context; for Paola and her congregation straw, some slanderous rumours began to spread and Don it was the 18th century, a turbulent time all over Europe. Italy Giuseppe advised his sister to disband the community. was in the process of unification and anti-clericalism was rife.

The disgruntled ones abandoned the congregation, but Many Church institutions were suppressed, and the schools Paola was not one to be easily disheartened. A month after run by the Dorotheans were under the constant threat of the dispersal, with two of her companions who were keen to expropriation. In the face of often violent antagonism and continue the work they had started, they reconvened. Soon, outright persecution, Paola remained patient and calm and they were back to the original number of 12. Teaching looked for practical solutions. remained the main aim of the new congregation, but Paola It is against this background that one must assess the had learnt a lot from her first experience. achievements of her courageous commitment to the advanceHer sense of leadership and organisational skills attracted ment of women. Two centuries after her birth, the struggle for the attention of Don Passi, the founder of the Dorotheans, girls to receive an education remains a societal problem in who was himself keen on finding the right person to unify and many cultures. The story of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani guide the diverse groups. Paola accepted the offer. After all, activist for female education, is a case in point. their aim – educating girls and especially the poorer ones – When Gino Lubich and Piero Lazzarin wrote her biography, was exactly hers. Her 12 companions began to call themselves they emphasised that the success of her achievements is Sisters of St Dorothy and adopted their habit. mainly due to the fact that she was a woman: “Not a saint, not In Genoa, the Dorotheans were soon successfully running a foundress, not a sister, not a person that seems abstract, a number of schools. The sisters continued to work hard to inaccessible or asexual,” adds Claudio Sorgi in his introduction collect funds without which they could not carry out their to their book. charitable work. Paola’s reputation spread quickly, and it was Although there is more than an element of truth in not long before she was approached to move to Rome to open this judgement, Paola remains, above all, a person who a school there. At first, she hesitated, but told that there were understood the signs of the time, and with courage, energy more poor girls and fewer schools in Rome than in Genoa, she and great personal sacrifice, sought to turn that vision into was convinced that it was not only the way forward but also a reality. her duty.

After a long spell of illness, during which she was almost When Paola arrived in Rome with her two novices, they completely paralysed and incapable of speaking, hearing and found that their house consisted of two dirty, fly-infested walking, Paola died on June 11, 1882. She was canonised on rooms over some stables. Hard work and the determination March 11, 1984, by Pope John Paul II. to carry it out were the only assets that were plentiful. More 44 ∫ Pink May 2019

FASHIONSTORY

Seeing Sicily Elena Taranto wanted to make sure each and every woman got something that spoke to them on a personal level when she embarked on jewellery design. She tells ANNA MARIE GALEA her Perfetta D’Empaire inspiration comes from only one thing: the baroque and decadent atmosphere of the Sicily she grew up in and which defined her very soul.

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s the old Annie musical song goes: “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile.” However, for Elena Taranto, it was going to take much more than an upturned frown for her to feel like her outfits were complete… which made starting her jewellery brand Perfetta D’Empaire as much of a passion as it was a necessity.

“I have always loved showing off my style, but something I always felt I was missing in my outfits was extravagant jewellery, especially when it came to

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earrings. Things came to a head for me in 2012 when I was living in Madrid. One day, I simply decided to create my own jewellery.

“The problem here was that, at this point, I had never even picked up a needle, so I made an agreement with a lady who owned a shop: she would help me sew and put together my earrings, while I would look after her shop for a few hours every week.

“I have pretty much been making my jewellery ever since, but I started to take it more seriously in the last three years.”

Frustrated by the lack of choice that people had when it came to jewellery, Elena wanted to make sure that each and every person got something which spoke to them on a personal level.

“The philosophy behind my work is to create jewellery that is unique. It is important for me that the customer knows that no one else has the same pair of earrings, or necklace. I also love custom-making pieces for people who want something specific.

“In every piece that I create, I try to make sure that all the details are perfect, even though this can be hard to achieve with handmade things.”

Unlike many other designers, Elena tries to steer away from trends and is more focused on making timeless pieces: “I always say that I don’t like to read fashion magazines, or check the latest

FASHIONSTORY Made in Malta: some of Elena’s favourite things from here previous collections.

The new collections, inspired

by Spanish singer Rosalia.

“YOU CAN’T IMAGINE HOW MANY TIMES I MAKE MISTAKES! I START AGAIN AND AGAIN, AND IN THE PROCESS, I WASTE MATERIALS. IT CAN LITERALLY TAKE ME 10 HOURS TO MAKE ONLY ONE PAIR OF EARRINGS WHILE I’M IN THE EXPERIMENTAL PHASE OF MY PROCESS”

online trends, and I mean it. I really have never done this. Seven years ago, I anticipated the fan earring shape when I made my first earrings and now it’s much more common.

“My inspiration comes from one thing alone: the baroque and decadent atmosphere of the Sicily where I grew up and which defined my very soul.

Nothing is more inspirational than Sicily as it represents everything that is beautiful to me.”

Although Elena’s Sicilian roots are firmly in place, she also feels greatly inspired by our little island, which she has called home since she left Madrid in 2013: “Malta has a very fascinating side, which has inspired me a lot. I love it in winter when the beaches are devoid of people and the waves take you far out. However, I do suffer a bit in the summer heat. I love to go to places like Mdina, Żurrieq and Gh-ar Lapsi and enjoy the few remaining unspoilt places.”

While her inspiration is always clear, when it comes to her design and execution process, things are not always linear and smooth sailing: “I often say to

people that if someone were to see me working on my jewellery, they would probably think it’s impossible that I create them by myself because I’m a complete disaster. You can’t imagine how many times I make mistakes! I start again and again, and in the process, I waste materials. It can literally take me 10 hours to make only one pair of earrings while I’m in the experimental phase of my process.

“However, it does take me a lot less time with pieces that I only have to reproduce. Since I make everything by hand, I’m very slow, but ultimately, the sense of satisfaction makes it all worthwhile.”

Pink May 2019 ∫ 47

FASHIONSTORY “SHE’S ALSO A WOMAN WHO SUPPORTS AND APPRECIATES THE HARD WORK THAT GOES INTO THINGS MADE BY HAND” Expressing her love for working with lace, silk and organza, Elena is nothing if not thrilled with her new collection, which was launched recently: “The new collection has made me sweat more than any other I have ever done because these new pieces are hard to make.

“After the Layla Collection, which was the last before my daughter’s birth and dedicated to her, I wasn’t thinking of making anything new because, with a newborn [she is nine months old now], it’s not easy to work. However, in September, a friend of mine sent me a video of a new Spanish singer called Rosalia and something happened inside

me. I got really crazy about her and I started watching all her videos, and a few days later, I started to imagine new earring shapes I had never thought of before.

“When I was about to go to sleep, images would come to me by themselves, without me prompting them. I’ve dedicated my new collection to her album and I also plan to join an

important fashion contest with these new pieces.”

They should do well with the Perfetta D’Empaire woman, who has character and a style of her own.

“She’s self-confident and doesn’t care if someone looks at her in the street because she is wearing big earrings, or a fabulous necklace. She’s also a woman who supports and appreciates the hard work that goes into things made by hand. ” perfettadempaire.com

SHOWSTOPPER Jacket, €179.99; top, €69.99; trousers, €99.99; scarf, €39.99, all Gerry Weber.

Riding high MIX STYLE AND SPORT FOR A QUINTESSENTIALLY EQUESTRIAN LOOK AND A TASTE OF THE BRANDS AT THE PINK FASHION SHOW ON JUNE 15.

Photography Andre Gialanze Styling Marisa Grima [marisagrima.com] Hair Lara and Ruth Steer from dsalon, Swieqi Make-up Chris Attard from Franks, using Guerlain Model Rebecca @ Supernova MM Location The Malta Polo Club, Marsa, the venue for The Pink Fashion Show Watch the making of the photo shoot on timesofmalta.com and Facebook @pinkmagazine

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SHOWSTOPPER Zip-up jacket, €45.99; trousers, €29.95, both NOOS.

Pink May 2019 ∫ 51

SHOWSTOPPER

Top, €58.99; trousers, €79.99, both Cortefiel 52 ∫ Pink May 2019

Bikini top, €40; trousers, €29.90; bag, €19.95, all Calzedonia.

SHOWSTOPPER

Pink May 2019 ∫ 53

SHOWSTOPPER Jumpsuit, €45.99; flip-flops, €19.99, both Women’secret.

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SHOWSTOPPER

Dior sunglasses, €475, O’hea Opticians.

Pink May 2019 ∫ 55

SHOWSTOPPER Dress, €99; trainers, €89; bag, €77.90, all US Polo Assn.

56 ∫ Pink May 2019

SHOWSTOPPER Blouse, €148; culottes, €102.99, both Pedro del Hierro.

Pink May 2019 ∫ 57

ONFORM Verena Steiner

THE SPORT OF QUEENS

Polo is often referred to as the sport of kings. However, in recent years, women have been getting in on the game, at least on a foreign platform. Locally, females in this sport are few and far between. One of them, Verena Steiner, talks to RACHEL ZAMMIT CUTAJAR about her passion for polo, together with the challenges facing the oldest club in Europe – the Malta Polo Club.

T

he game of polo has always been associated with male players, however, women’s participation in the sport has seen a global spike, with more and more women getting involved. One third of players registered with the United States Polo Association [USPA] are women and Briton Nina Clarkin was the first woman to achieve the coveted 10-goal handicap in 2015.

In the local polo scene, female participation is still somewhat limited.

This season Verena Steiner has become a fully paid up member, taking to the

60 ∫ Pink May 2019

pitch on a regular basis along with Katarina Kleppe from Germany and Maltese player Caroline Lockwood.

Two other young players, Sara Manduca and Sophie Busuttil, also take to the pitch whenever they are able, though not on a weekly basis.

Verena walks into the polo club, where we meet for the interview, fresh off the pitch, with her dog in tow, and orders a Campari, settling down for an after-game drink.

Players meet for practice chukkas on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, with the Monday session reserved for beginners, Verena explains. “The

beginner chukkas are slower, so we can all concentrate on form and the rules of the game, rather than just going hell for leather and hoping for the best.

“A few of the more seasoned players sometimes join us, whether it’s to help us out or because they are bringing on new or difficult horses that could benefit from the slower speeds.”

As the weather this winter was pretty wet, making the ground too slippery to play, many of the players were getting onto their horses at any opportunity, so if they were able to play on a Monday, they came to join the beginners, she explains.

ONFORM “The more advanced players got a taste of the feminine side of the sport this year.

Both genders bring their own style to the game. Women generally play safer and tend to give more importance to following the rules, taking care of their form, both in a horsemanship sense and also from the game perspective. We move a little slower, but we also pass the ball more,” she jokes.

“We are trying to put fun chukkas on the menu again. Every single game does not have to be so competitive.”

Originally from Vienna, Verena relocated to Malta for a job opportunity as a director for an iGaming company 12 years ago and later moved on to run solar power farms in Greece, Spain and Italy. She was introduced to polo by her Pilates

take into consideration that other horse sports from pony club right through to dressage, showjumping and even crosscountry are mostly practised by women.

Verena explains that there are a number of challenges facing anyone wanting to play polo in Malta: “As with anywhere in the world, you need more than one horse to play the game… more like four horses, and these cost quite a lot both in terms of time and money.”

A polo game is divided into four [six at more professional levels] seven-minute chukkas, where players change horses after every chukka. As the horses are travelling at quite a speed, they tire quickly and can only play one or a maximum of two chukkas in every game.

“BOTH GENDERS BRING THEIR OWN STYLE TO THE GAME. WOMEN GENERALLY PLAY SAFER AND TEND TO GIVE MORE IMPORTANCE TO FOLLOWING THE RULES, TAKING CARE OF THEIR FORM, BOTH IN A HORSEMANSHIP SENSE AND ALSO FROM THE GAME PERSPECTIVE. WE MOVE A LITTLE SLOWER, BUT WE ALSO PASS THE BALL MORE” teacher, Kate Hindle, who also used to play polo but has recently stopped.

“I’ve always been an animal lover; I had cats when I lived in Vienna – because you can’t really have anything much larger than a cat when you live in the city – and got my first dog 25 years ago. I was always interested in horses, but I never really had the opportunity to indulge in any horserelated sport.”

Living in Austria, Verena practised a number of high-adrenaline sports, including skiing, cycling and even jumped out of plane.

“I couldn’t really imagine myself doing something like dressage, or jumping, but when Kate suggested I try polo, I thought to myself, this looks dangerous… I think it could be fun.”

Verena joined the Malta Polo Academy and started to learn to ride before she started tackling the game itself. Today, she hires a horse, Sakura, from Jeremy Besancon, who is also her trainer, and is currently coming up to the end of her second season in the game.

“Women have a lot to offer the sport of polo, the after-game drinks are much less like a drunk rugby club and a pair of boobs look great in a polo shirt. We need to encourage more women to take up the sport.”

But why is polo still such a maledominated sport? Especially when you

“The horses need to be ridden every day and this can be challenging if you have to juggle a full-time job and/or family life. I’m lucky enough to be flexible in my working hours, so when I need to ride, I just hop in the car and head down to Marsa, and I can always go back to work in the evening when its dark and riding is not an option.

It gets more difficult in winter when we ride between 1 and 5pm as it gets dark early, and I know this is not a luxury everyone can afford.

“Some of our players are only able to play at the weekend and have grooms to work their horses during the week.

However, I enjoy looking after the horses, tacking them up myself, working them during the week and taking them out to graze with a coffee and croissants on a Sunday morning, so I’m grateful that I am able to be flexible.”

As the responsibility of family still often falls on the woman, juggling enough horses to play polo and children is often an impossible feat, and some women have started playing only to stop shortly after having kids.

Another issue facing polo players in Malta is the lack of space. Stabling in Marsa, which is where the Malta Polo Club is located, is becoming more and more difficult. With business centres being built Pink May 2019 ∫ 61

ONFORM

around the polo pitch, it is getting more and more difficult to find suitable stables and safely travel to the polo pitch – horses don’t do very well in traffic.

“I currently hire a horse from Jeremy.

However, I couldn’t consider buying her unless I had enough space to turn her out. Stables are hard to find; paddocks are impossible.”

It’s not all doom and gloom though and Verena emphasises that getting involved in polo is more than just a sport. “Polo keeps you active even when you’re not playing. Working the horses and keeping them in good order keeps you moving all the time.

“It is also a very social sport. We meet up and ride every day and there are always after-game drinks, especially 62 ∫ Pink May 2019

at the weekends. It’s really nice to be able to stop for a drink – and sometimes a meal as well – when you’re still in your boots and breeches and the dog is always welcome too.

“It also provides great travelling opportunities. I took some lessons in Oxford in the UK and spent a month in Argentina last year. It gives you the opportunity to develop your skills, but also to meet new people and learn new cultures. And all this surrounded by people who are just as passionate about the same thing as you. It’s really easy to establish solid relationships in that environment.”

The essence of it all is that in spite of all the challenges faced, the Malta Polo Club still clings to the sport, which was introduced to the island in 1868 by the British Army officers returning from India, making it the oldest polo club in Europe, even older than Hurlingham in England.

“If we can attract a few new beginners every year, then the polo club will continue to thrive. We’re hoping to see a few more ladies join the summer academy during the off-season,” Verena says.

For more information on joining the summer academy, contact the Malta Polo Academy on www.maltapolo.com

PINKPROMO

THE FUNCTIONAL APPROACH TO CHRONIC DISEASE We’re all unique individuals. Here’s how to maintain our state of wellness – a delicate interplay of genetic make-up, environment and lifestyle – according to Dr Alex Portelli, in collaboration with Medsytec Engineering Limited.

Functional Medicine is a systems biologybased approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease.

The patient is regarded as a unique individual whose state of wellness is a delicate interplay of the genetic make-up, environment and lifestyle.

A comprehensive history and physical examination are further directed by targeted, specialised tests. The aim is to identify imbalances and guide low-risk interventions that attempt to slow progression, or indeed to reverse the drivers for disease through modification of physiology at the cellular and systems level.

Data collection is ever important and various parameters need to be evaluated and recorded. Anthropometric body composition forms the basis of initial assessment and includes body mass index [BMI], the relationship of the individual’s height to weight. Charts are available as standards for different genders and ethnicities.

HEIGHT AND WEIGHT SCALES

Falling outside the healthy range statistically increases your risk of chronic diseases like diabetes, circulatory disease and some cancer types. Accurate and dependable scales are essential to quantify small changes and trends.

BIA SCALES

Sometimes, BMI calculations can be misleading in muscular and athletic types, but can be finetuned by also calculating waist circumference to hip ratios. A more accurate idea of a person’s state of general health can be obtained through Bioelectric Impedance Analysis [BIA], which accurately quantifies ratios of fatty tissue [FT] versus fat-free tissue [FFT].

The BIA identifies the quantity of metabolically active fat, which is a more accurate marker for risk of cardiometabolic disease. Various models exist, with the eight-electrode type 66 ∫ Pink May 2019

[

]

giving a more accurate assessment of the various body tissue compartments.

such that medication can be stepped up in anticipation.

BP MONITOR

ECG MACHINE

Vital signs assessment includes pulse and blood pressure measurement, particularly in a relaxed, sitting state, with the arm supported. Readings from both sides are taken, preferably on different occasions.

Assessment of heart rate and regularity, hypo- and hypertension are important parameters needing targeted management. Patient-owned monitors give a more representative picture of the individual’s true blood pressure levels.

An electrocardiogram taken at rest gives valuable information about heart rate and rhythm, heart size, present and past coronary events, as well as heart rate variability.

The advent of affordable, handheld, portable ECG monitors has helped greatly in patients with infrequent and never documented palpitations, where the individual can record and transmit the actual ECG trace before even reaching a healthcare facility.

Exercise stress tests are basically ECG traces recorded while the patient is performing standardised graded exercise and are more sensitive in detecting coronary artery insufficiency.

PULSE OXIMETER

Pulse oximetry is a functional parameter that quantifies the efficiency of our breathing, essentially estimating the amount of life-giving oxygen in the blood.

Most pulse oximeters will also show a pulse rate reading that normally should range from 50-100 beats per minute.

PEFR METER

Peak flow meters measure the velocity of expired air when the individual is asked to exhale forcefully through the device.

It is an indicator of ventilatory capacity, i.e., how well one breathes in order to exhale carbon dioxide and inhale oxygen.

It is especially useful in individuals who have a chronic lung condition such as asthma, where daily measurements of peak expiratory flow rate [PEFR] can predict a worsening of the condition,

Advances in technology have greatly revolutionised investigation and diagnosis of health concerns, but the mainstay of functional medicine remains the patient/doctor interaction, where a partnership is forged with the common aim of optimising health and wellness.

For more information, call Medsytec Engineering Limited managing director Daniel Camilleri on 2149 3097/8, 7930 6510; or send an e-mail to info@medsytec.com; www.medsytec.com Medsytec Engineering Ltd is in Megaline Building, - argh - ar 1979, Qormi, QRM 1790.

Triq l-Gh