Marco Santin, Lifetime Achievement Award: "Gialappa's First 40 Years"

by Marcello Iezzi

The Grottammare National Humor Festival, Cabaret Amoremio!, is about to begin. It will be held in the Pearl of the Adriatic on Friday and Saturday. This festival is celebrating its 40th anniversary, the same year as Gialappa's Band, featuring legendary vocalist Marco Santin, who on Friday will receive the Golden Orange for Lifetime Achievement. Santin, with Gialappa's, revolutionized television language, blending irony, improvisation, and irreverence. The award celebrates not only a career that is unconventional, but also a style of satire that has left its mark.

1985: you started with Gialappa's, Grottammare with its festival. How does it feel to receive a lifetime achievement award that's the same age as your professional career?

"No impressions, we were just born together."

His voice and style defined an era. When did you realize that Gialappa's comedy was changing the rules?

"I haven't figured it out yet, maybe I'll figure it out later. For almost our entire career, we've been quiet. We haven't noticed how successful we've been. We've always focused on doing our job, making people laugh, finding new comedians, and poking fun at Italy's biggest names: from football to Sanremo to Big Brother. We've focused on that. We haven't asked ourselves that question."

The Golden Orange Award celebrates a career rich in innovation and experimentation. Which project do you feel closest to?

"We've always done projects that we're passionate about, starting with 'Mai dire Gol,' at a time when football wasn't a joke, and continuing right up to now. All of these programs are deeply felt, because we only do the things we love."

If a young Marco Santin were to take his first steps in comedy today, where should he begin: radio, TV, the web, or a festival like this?

"I'm biased in this answer, because radio is the most beautiful and authentic medium. I'm so attached to it that last year I hosted a solo show on Radio Capital. Radio is the most beautiful medium of all. So if someone's starting out, I always recommend it."

New comedians are arriving, are you worried that the students might surpass the masters?

"It's not a problem, anything that makes people laugh is welcome. We're a bit of a quirky comedian. We don't appear on video; we comment on the clips and act as sidekicks for the comedians. I'm not afraid of someone obscuring us. Some have tried to copy us, but without success."

Is there anything new for the new season?

"Yes. We're definitely working on new things. We'll bring back 'Gialappa's Show,' then we'll probably do the Champions League again, and two other projects that are top secret for now."