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Sunday, June 19, 2011, 05:20 by David Schembri
The fun of playing with fire
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Antonio Carnemolla performing his act in Valletta on Friday . Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi
The wiry frame of a man with scraggy hair whistles in the street as he juggles three flaming
torches. The accordion music in the background is on the soundtrack to French film Amelie, but
the scene is Valletta, not Paris.
Antonio Carnemolla, 30, is a Sicilian-Maltese street artist who wants to be that surreal character
one finds only in films.
“You know the chimney sweep from Mary Poppins? People love that character, but they realise
he doesn’t exist. I, on the other hand, exist,” the juggler says.
“My aim is to play out dreams to the Maltese and to tourists. My show is not just for children,
it’s also for adults, a chance for them to return for a minute to their childhood,” Mr Carnemolla
says.
Now based in Padua, he started juggling at 17, and after completing school a year later decided
he could make a living from it, touring Italy for the past 12 years.
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Mr Carnemolla, whose mother is Maltese, has decided to perform in Malta for the summer, saying
he derives inspiration from the island.
“I noted there weren’t shows like I do, so I thought I’d go to Republic Street to do something,
not just for tourism, but for children, because being a small island it’s not like one sees jugglers
and circus actsevery day.”
The dearth of buskers in general in Malta has turned him into a hit with businesses, with some
expecting him to perform outside their venue for free – which he shuns.
“People have to understand this is an art, that there is practice and skill involved,” he says.
He admits he does not practise much, and makes up new tricks as he goes along. In Italy, he
does different shows where he performs in a square and people gather round for a half-hour
show, and he does shows inside theatres too.
As improbable as it may sound, he makes enough money from his mobile circus to support his
work on a lifelong dream – that of directing a feature-length film. He spends the rest of his time
writing and chasing funding.
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Public Lecture: Human Rights
“I’ve already done seven short films, including one for RAI. My aim is to direct a feature-length
film, but there are many film directors in Italy and it’s very hard to get funding,” Mr Carnemolla
says.
The juggler’s ties with today’s Malta have historical overtones.
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“When I was one, Richard Muscat from the Nationalist Party came to Marina diRagusa, where I’m
from, to start broadcasting.
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“He couldn’t find anyone to help him, and then someone told him that my mother, Irene Galea,
was Maltese. My father, who was into radio, helped him build an antenna to broadcast into Malta.
”
“While in Sicily, Eddie Fenech Adami, Guido de Marco and Louis Galea all used to visitMr Muscat. I
have a picture of Dr Fenech Adami and myself when I was just one – I plan to go find him and
show it to him,” he says.
As he juggled his torches in Republic Street, a small crowd gathers in awe as he performs in
black three-quarter trousers and braces next to an old-style trunk. As he goes on with his
routine, an old man mutters in Maltese: “Come on, give us something else”.
“Hang on, I’m still warming up,” comes the reply.
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