- Title: WEST BANK / ITALY: BETHLEHEM BOY SHINES IN INTERNATIONAL SONG CONTEST
- Date: 19th January 2005
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) VICTOR HOUSH, MUSIC SHOP OWNER, SAYING: "There is a huge demand for the song. We order his cassettes all the time and there is a big demand for them."
- Embargoed: 3rd February 2005 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK / BOLOGNA, ITALY
- City:
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVADPHI3N50QA9Z4N2SAEPXOA8CT
- Story Text: Milad Fatouleh, a 10-year-old boy from Beit Jala near Bethlehem, armed only with a dream and a song, went to Italy recently to represent Palestine at the Zecchino d'Oro children's song festival held in Bologna.
Little did he know that his song "Una Stella a Betlemme" (A Star in Bethlehem), written and composed by Tony Jiacaman, the director of the Higher Institute of Music in Bethlehem, would take Italy by storm and raise him to fame.
Fatouleh has spent his childhood taking voice training at the Higher Institute of Music in Bethlehem and studying the lute. He was chosen from among 30 other students of his school to participate in the Zecchino d'Oro (Golden Sequin) contest in Bologna His success at the competition surprised both his family and friends and made his song a household tune. He was awarded first place among the foreign participants and second place overall.
Zecchino d'Oro is an international children's song festival that aims to stimulate the production of modern children's songs that aspire to teach social, civil and ethical ideals.
Besides the message of goodwill and brotherly love that is present in all the Zecchino d'Oro songs, each year the festival also launches a concrete act of solidarity: a fund to help children in one of the needy areas of the globe.
Fatouleh's song speaks of the hope for peace and tranquillity in Bethlehem.
Fatouleh, who studies at the Terra Santa School in Bethlehem, longs to live in peace and freedom, just like other children around the world.
"We, the children of Palestine, love peace as Bethlehem is the city of peace. Like the butterflies and birds fly in freedom, we must do the same - have peace and freedom like the rest of the world's children and I will keep singing for peace," Fatouleh says.
Fatouleh's school headmaster says he was surprised at how successful Fatouleh's song has been internationally.
"I am very glad. I was very astonished and surprised when I heard he won the second prize and when I heard the song it was marvellous. I didn't think it would be like this. It was very, very, very nice," Father Marwan Dadas said.
Milad's mother says she is above-all proud of the fact that her son represented the Palestinian people.
"My son was awarded a certificate and a medal. I am very proud of my son. I am proud, first of all, because he represented his country Palestine. This was something great. I have a great feeling as a mother that her son represented Palestine and sung about peace," Iman Fatouleh said.
Already shops in Bethlehem are stocking up on CDs and cassettes of Fatouleh's song and shopowners say they are struggling to keep up with the demand.
"There is a huge demand for the song. We order his cassettes all the time and there is a big demand for them,"
one shopowner said.
The Zecchino d'Oro festival was first staged in Milan in 1959. In 1961 it moved to the Antoniano di Bologna where it immediately became not only the most popular children's and family television event of the year but also a real and proper social phenomenon. In each edition of the festival seven Italian songs from abroad, all sung by children aged between three and ten, compete.
In 1976 the festival took on an international perspective and welcomed into its repertoire an extraordinary world of music that over the years has seen more than 70 countries from all over the world represented on the Antoniano's stage. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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