Brava Mina!

I have learned while living here in Italy that on of the most famous singers to come out of Italy is Mina Anna Mazzini, or just Mina as she goes by. Since 1959 she has sold 76 million records! Her very loud voice earned her the nickname the "Queen of Screams". Mina didn't just sing in Italian but also in English. With all that fame, why haven't we heard of her? Well Mina's pregnancy and relationship with a married actor caused her a ban on the public Italian channels in 1963. After the ban, the Italian broadcasting service RAI continued trying to prohibit her songs which were forthright in dealing with subjects such as religion, smoking, or sex, of which she had a few. She also retained quite the bad girl image. Mina added sex appeal to her swinging 60's act, featuring public smoking, dyed blond hair, and shaved eyebrows. Scandalous, I know but there's more! As her record sales were unaffected by the television and radio ban, audiences demanded to see Mina on the air, Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI) was forced to end the ban and let Mina return to television on January 10, 1964. After many many affairs with Italian actors, Mina now lives in Switzerland married to a cardiologist. She doesn't sing in public anymore but still records albums. Here is my favorite Mina song and I have told Pier that the day I can sing it is the day I have mastered Italian!