[1981]
Music / Musica / Musique / Musik / Musiikki : Guillermo Michel
Lyrics / Testo / Paroles / Text / Teksti : Bengt Ahlfors
This song is from the 1981 peace cabaret »Snurra min jord« (Turn, My World, Turn) of Wasa Teater, the Swedish Theatre of Vaasa on the Finnish west coast. The lyrics have a direct bearing on the cartridge factory of Lapua (Swedish Lappo), a small town in Southern Ostrobothnia.
On 13 April 1976, the factory, located in downtown Lapua, was destroyed by an explosion. Forty workers, mostly women, were killed and 60 people injured in Finland's worst industrial accident. The factory was rebuilt in a new location outside the center and production reassumed. Ever since, bullets from Lapua have been flying and lighting fires all over the world.
Italian translation by Riccardo Venturi
Italiensk översättning av Riccardo Venturi
“Questa canzone proviene dalla pièce cabarettistica pacifista del 1981 Snurra min jord (“Gira, mondo mio”) del Wasa Teater, il teatro di lingua svedese di Vaasa sulla costa occidentale finlandese. Il testo si riferisce direttamente alla fabbrica di munizioni di Lapua (Lappo in svedese), una cittadina dell'Ostrobotnia meridionale (in finlandese Pohjanmaa, in svedese Österbotten).
Il 13 aprile 1976, la fabbrica, situata nel centro di Lapua, fu distrutta da un'esplosione. Quaranta lavoratori, in massima parte donne, rimasero uccisi e 60 persone ferite nel peggior disastro industriale mai avvenuto in Finlandia. La fabbrica fu ricostruita in un nuovo luogo fuori dal centro e la produzione ricominciò. Da allora, le munizioni di Lapua hanno continuato a volare e a appiccare incendi in tutto il mondo.” [Juha Rämö]
I didn't know this really sad story, but all this reminds me closely of the Flobert fireworks and ammunition factory of Sant'Anastasia, in the outskirts of Naples. Practically just 1 year before Lapua's explosion, on 11 April 1975. Two places so distant, and so close. A world so distant, and so close.
According to some scant Google references, the author's name is Guillermo Michel (Guillermo = given name, Michel = family name) and he was kapellmästare in the Wasa Teater. His name is mentioned in Österbottniska Posten nr 38, 1980 and in nr 10 of the same newspaper (1985). I found his name also in this issue of Svenska Litteratursällskapet i Finland. According to another Österbottniska Posten article I could read through cache copy, Guillermo Michel was born 1936 in Barcelona (Spain) and moved to Finland in 1970.
"Guillermo Michel är född i Barcelona i Spanien 1936 och hans föräldrar var pappa och mamma. Pappa var anställd som vice VD på en stor firma. Guillermo Michel flyttade till Finland 1970 efter att ha spelat på restauranger i Tyskland, Sverige, Belgien, Frankrike och Österrike i 14 år. Efter att i fyra år ha spelat på restauranger fick han ett två-årskontrakt som kapellmästare på... (continua)
I was aware that the author's name could be either way, but I chose to go with Swedish archive records. I'm still not 100 percent sure that it was a wrong choice, but it probably was.
Music / Musica / Musique / Musik / Musiikki : Guillermo Michel
Lyrics / Testo / Paroles / Text / Teksti : Bengt Ahlfors
This song is from the 1981 peace cabaret »Snurra min jord« (Turn, My World, Turn) of Wasa Teater, the Swedish Theatre of Vaasa on the Finnish west coast. The lyrics have a direct bearing on the cartridge factory of Lapua (Swedish Lappo), a small town in Southern Ostrobothnia.
On 13 April 1976, the factory, located in downtown Lapua, was destroyed by an explosion. Forty workers, mostly women, were killed and 60 people injured in Finland's worst industrial accident. The factory was rebuilt in a new location outside the center and production reassumed. Ever since, bullets from Lapua have been flying and lighting fires all over the world.