During a week of mourning for Raffaella Carrà in Italy, a picture summed up her universal appeal: a rainbow flag-a symbol of the LGBT movement-beside her Catholic church coffin.
Carrà died on Monday at the age of 78. She is a cultural institution in her home country and is regarded as the “most beloved woman”.Light entertainment TV queen, she also acted and topped the music chart Europe And South America has groundbreaking and positive pop music.
On Friday, thousands of people accompanied her coffin through the streets of Rome to the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli to attend her funeral, which was broadcast live on the public television channel RAI.
“Raphaela left us. She has moved towards a better world, where her humanity, bright laughter and extraordinary talent will always shine,” Cara’s long-term partner Sergio Gapino ( Sergio Japino) said.
Television, film, sports, and politics, as well as millions of admirers who followed her every move in her 60-year career, expressed their condolences.
“My heart is broken,” said 54-year-old Giusi Angileri from Marsala. “Raffaella Carrà is the joy of Saturday night. My mother calls me to school every morning to sing her songs. To me, La Carrà represents a sweet awakening. She gave me a smile, even if I had to get up to go to school .”
Carrà was born in Bologna in 1943 and studied dance, but started her career as an actor in the “peplum” genre of the Italian historical epic film. After co-starring with Frank Sinatra in the United States in the adventure film “Feng Ryan’s Express”, she returned to Italy and became the host of the Broadway-style TV variety show Canzonissima, which is often featured by Carla.
In conservative Italy in the 1970s, when Carla appeared on stage with her belly button exposed in front of millions of viewers, it caused one of the biggest scandals in the history of Italian television. This incident angered the leaders of the Vatican and the Christian Democratic Party, but they were powerless.
In 1978, conservative Italians were also helpless. Carrà released the album Raffaella, which included a song called Luca, which described in detail the homophobic prejudice and violent attacks suffered by Italian homosexuals in the 70s.
In the days after Cara’s death, the Italian media reported extensively Angelica Frey’s 2020 Guardian article Frey discusses how Carrà’s songs revolutionized the way of entertainment in Italy-and empowered women in the bedroom.
Frei wrote: “Her dress and daily life were considered lively by the standards of the era. She was occasionally censored, but her career spanned the entire 1970s.” “She was regarded as a whole of Europe. Feminist icon. The original Italian version of this song, Do It, Do It Again [a 1978 hit in the UK] Encourage women to exercise control in sexual behavior. “
Francesco VizzoliIn 2017, as the curator of the Prada Foundation’s Italian television exhibition in the 1970s, Carla “did more work in emancipating women than many feminists”.
There is also sadness and love to confide in SpainIn the 1970s, as the country got rid of the Franco dictatorship and Carla lived and worked there, she told a Spanish interviewer in 1977 that she “always voted for Communists.”
In 2017, she was named a global gay icon at the World Pride Conference in Madrid, and the following year, she was awarded the Civil Merit Medal by King Felipe.
“Spain is an old love,” she said at the time. “I have sang songs in all of its cities. What I like about the people there is that when they meet me, they will say:’You are one of us.’ Spain is like my second hometown. “
Plans to name a square in Madrid after her are further proof of the country’s enduring love for the singer. Next Wednesday, the Más Madrid party will propose the establishment of Plaza Rafaela Carla in the center of the capital.
“She represents the freedom of generations, for grandmothers and grandfathers, for parents, and for young people,” The party said“She was one of the first public figures to talk about sexual freedom. As a music and TV star and an international gay icon, she is an inspiring figure. Raffaella Carrà has always had a deep connection with Madrid, where she said she felt free .”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Pay tribute on Twitter, Calling her “a woman who has inspired happiness, courage and commitment in generations”, and added: “Her music makes us uplift; her free spirit fills our souls.”
