Penelope Cruz to Appear at Sanremo Song Festival: Does She Sing?

One of the things the husband and I have done to help immerse ourselves in the Italian language is buy Italian music on CD. We occasionally peruse the tiny Italian sections of our local music shops, and have brought back at least one CD from the last two trips to Italy. We like most of what we’ve bought (which is a pretty good track record, considering the vast majority of it is purchased based on cover art alone), though the music snob in me has a nagging suspicion that we’re becoming fans of the Italian equivalents of Britney Spears and Michael Bolton. I cringe at the thought.

One of our favorite CDs to look for each year is the annual production of the songs featured in the Sanremo song festival. There is a competitive element to the festival, in that one song is chosen as the year’s winner, but I have yet to figure out what the criteria for “winning” is. All I know is that the CDs offer up a nice mix of musical styles. Someday, I’d like to attend the Sanremo festival in person.

If you happen to be in Italy at the end of this month, you can live my dream for me – and see Penelope Cruz in the process. The festival begins on February 27 this year, and while past years have seen international stars like John Travolta, Hugh Grant and Will Smith be interviewed onstage between acts, there’s no word yet on what Cruz’s appearance will entail. She’s at an advantage, in that she learned to speak Italian for her 2004 role in “Non ti muovere” (“Don’t Move”). At least she’ll know what they’re saying about her.

Okay, so I know I’ve seen a very funny snippet of the interview with Will Smith online, so I went hunting for it. Apparently I’m running a karma deficit, however, because the one I found just now was (ahem) Michael Bolton. Yeah, I probably deserve that.

If that hasn’t put you off your lunch, here’s a bit of history about the Sanremo Song Festival. I think an event with such an illustrious history deserves better than Michael Bolton, don’t you?