Salvatore Adamo will finally become Belgian!
On the eve of his 75th birthday, the artist Salvatore Adamo announced the news in the Belgian press: he has just submitted his application for Belgian nationality. Italy, which up until now has not authorised dual nationality for its nationals, has relaxed its rules in this respect.
If you look for Salvatore Adamo's nationality on the Internet, a lot of biographical information presents him as being Belgian or Italian-Belgian. And yet, the singer of hits including "Laisse tes mains sur mes hanches", "C'est la vie" and even "Inch'allah" is still not officially Belgian. And this is despite the fact that this icon of our musical landscape has been living in Belgium for 72 years. The reason is simple: "I felt I needed to do it out of gratitude... It was important for me not to lose my Italian nationality, out of respect for my parents, and now I'm going to have both, I'm a happy man", the singer explained to the RTBF.
Since his earliest success, Salvatore Adamo has been associated with Belgium, where he arrived as a child. However, he was born in Italy, more specifically, Cosimo, in Sicily, on 1 November 1943. And he has travelled with an Italian passport ever since.
His birthplace has not forgotten him either: a few days ago, the artist was in San Remo to receive the Luigi Tenco Prize, the equivalent of a 'Victoire de la musique', during a migrant-themed evening. Salvatore Adamo took the opportunity to perform a new song, "Migrant", which is a call in the current debate on migration.
However, the singer does not intend to take a stand on political issues with this song he wrote two years ago: "I have never tinged my songs politically, my message is a humanist one". *
*Interview by V.D.W. AND CVD in 'La Libre', Thursday 25 October 2018